The journey of my life

It all starts with the quest for the window seat. And that feeling that comes back every single time: excitement, happiness.

The check in and security procedures are always the same everywhere in the world. Is this why I so feel at home?

On the plane, before departure, I feel happy from hair to toes. I watch outside of the window. We are in line to take off. There’s a Oman Airlines plane just before us… here it goes and takes off, and quickly becomes little on the horizon. “We’re going to look the same in a minute”, I think.

Then out there comes the engine start, and we roll down the take off strip. Heart bouncing in my throat in a mixture of total, pure happiness and some kind of fear – as much as I love flying coz it allows me to see the world, I am also an “earthwoman” – not scared of flying, but when I land I feel better.

And then I think I could sleep but how can I miss the free show going on below us? I’m going to fly over the Middle East, including the pretty much off-limits Saudi Arabia. And I can’t wait to see Dubai from above. They told me it’s beautiful. I’ve never been there and the stopover is just 1 hour… I don’t want to miss the quick peak! And then on to Asia.

First time on Singapore Airlines. It looks very luxurious and new. I love the crew’s uniform. The staff is so kind and offers us a hot towel before departure. Such a nice surprise.

The journey is part of the trip, and an important one to me. And every time I sit on a plane seat I get that feeling again… pretty much regardless the destination. I guess it’s addiction. I’m an addict and travel is my drug. It’s hard, if not impossible to quit. But after all… why shall I?

Another plus is that there is Someone Special sitting right next to me. Feels like one of the happiest moments of my life. I tell him. We smile to each other.

Saudi Arabia looked almost like an infinite expanse of desert. But I found out there are volcanos in Saudi Arabia. Or at least they look like volcanos… and I wouldn’t have known without flying over them.

Approaching Dubai for landing, all I could think was “these people in Dubai are crazy” – looking at the new Burj Khalifa skyscraper. Yes, crazy. I so wanted to see the Burj al Arab hotel too, but I missed it. Maybe on the trip back…

We take off again from Dubai and shortly after I find myself sipping a delicious “Singapore Sling” and thinking about how beautiful life is. I couldn’t be happier. And I’m still about 6 hours away from destination!

A funny fact about the packing process is that I’m now so used to the “Middle Eastern dress code” that I found myself asking people whether I could wear sleeveless shirts in Singapore or not. At the same time, I know it’s going to feel weird to walk in the streets with a tank top or shorts. I’m not used to it anymore, and also I’m traveling with Egyptians. Well, we’ll see!

All I saw of India was a vast, dark land sprinkled with small towns, under a sky of beautiful stars. My first sight of India were lights in the dark, like galaxies in space. I bet the sky was jealous of such a beauty.

And here she comes: Mrs Turbolence. She’s frightening and reassuring at the same time. Because if you’re used to fly you know that nothing is going to happen, so you kind of enjoy it. But at the same time you just want it to pass.

Oh, funny how “just a few posts away” I was writing about writer’s block, and now words just flow like water… Travel never stops inspiring me.

This was my lovely journey to Singapore. Slept: 0 minutes. Enjoyed: every single second!

And the visit still has to start.