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The Bags are Still Not Here, Part 2

3 Jul

The perils of jet lag continues! Waking up at 5.30am yesterday morning not for golf but due to jet lag seem to have clouded my senses.

I misinterpreted the information on the status of our bags as stated on the website that KLM provided. Bag One will leave Amsterdam Schiphol Airport on 2nd July, not arrive at KLIA on the said date. And the airport baggage claims office called yesterday evening to confirm this.

What this means then is that Bag One will arrive on 3rd July, today and delivered to us in the evening. Haish…

Meanwhile up till yesterday, Bag Two was still being traced. Dear oh dear…

Work and worry took the toll on me and last night, I crashed at 9.30pm; I couldn’t hold up and brave the anxiety anymore. And this morning I woke up at 3.30am. I’m not complaining though because there was a text message from KLM saying Bag Two is currently being transported to KUL! Yay.

I checked the website and indeed, Bag Two was labeled ‘Rushbag’ and on flight KL809 en route to KLIA. I hope it’s the same flight as Bag One.

We hope to receive both bags this evening. Fingers crossed.

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The Bags are Still Not Here

2 Jul

Yesterday evening fighting jet lag, we waited in vain for our bags to be delivered. It was exasperating to call the airport and put on hold until the line went dead. Eeesh…

We checked Delta’s website—as we checked-in at their counter and our KLM flight codeshare with them—and the status showed the last entry being ‘Bags removed planeside at SLC’. What did this mean? They never left Salt Lake City? But we were told they were stuck in Amsterdam! Gulp.

So using the power of social media, I messaged KLM directly on WhatsApp last night and they responded in less than an hour. Pretty good. They gave me a new site to check which I did. And status showed ‘Tracking continues and to check later’. Hmm… at that point, it was getting late and the body couldn’t hold up anymore, what else can we do but sleep?

This morning, I woke up at 5.30am unable to sleep anymore. And I checked again. There’s some progress – the same website showed one bag, not both, is on the next flight in. As we did only one PIR (Property Irregularity Report) for both bags, how come status indicated only one bag coming in? Is it not necessary to indicate both? Hmm… not very reassuring I thought. I queried KLM this morning and they responded after an hour and a half. The second bag is still being traced! Goodness. But there’s no need for another PIR.

A quick counter check on flightaware.com showed the aircraft departed but was late. And Schiphol itself is experiencing a lot of delays, an average of 43 minutes for arrivals and one hour three minutes for departures.

We were just there on Sunday and our departure was delayed 24 minutes; I thought it was the inconsiderate dude (whom the Captain did announce to everyone) who came onboard late. But it’s actually more technical than that with the delays at such lengths for inbound and outbound.

Well, looks like we have to hang on again tonight to receive bag one of two coming home. Stay tuned for the adventures of Bag Two.

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Oops, The Bags are Not Here

1 Jul

It’s mind boggling when I look back now at the total time of the whole journey inclusive of the car rides. So from the time we left Corvallis for the airport, the flights, transits and our taxi ride home, it was 43.5 hours! Goodness gracious me.

The delay of the bags added to this and it could have been worse if the delayed flight departures were longer. But being under half an hour each time, the flying itself made up for it.

Yesterday when we touchdown at KLIA, all I was thinking of was a nice cold shower and a good sleep to start my recovery from the jet lag. But our checked-in bags never arrived. With this clouding our minds, how to sleep snugly?

We stood at the baggage conveyor belt for more than half an hour and our two checked-in bags never came. They are still in Amsterdam, along with the bags of several other travelers who transited at Schiphol Airport.

Some of them were connecting from Paris and Japan, and us from the US. Like them, we lodged a report and this took time too as the office was packed. Initially I thought we had to go to the airport this evening to get them but hubby said they will be delivered to us instead. I await anxiously for them.

This morning I woke up at 6.20am. I had a good eight hours sleep with four and a half of it being deep sleep. That’s good, maybe a faster recovery but the nagging headache is still there, I don’t know why. Hubby on the other hand, woke up every two hours. He said he was still in airplane sleep mode and each time, he was expecting to be served a meal or ice cream! Hahaha…

We jumped right into work this morning, not wasting any time to rest.

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Oh My Body, Part 2

30 Jun

There’s always something about the return journey compared to the initial arrival one. The traveling hours are about the same or sightly longer but the woes seem to be different.

When we first arrived in the US three weeks ago, the next day upon arrival I had recovered from the jet lag. The same can’t be said for returning to Malaysia for sure.

I recall our 2012 US trip, I took a week to recover from the jet lag. Now, seven years later, a week too or longer? Hmm…

Maybe the fact that we are returning from a holiday – back to reality, makes it hard for the body to accept, thus longer to readjust.

In the meantime, I was hoping to sleep 18 hours throughout when we arrive home but I cannot do so because our checked-in bags never arrived at KLIA! Haish…

Looks like recovery sleep has to be shortened to return to the airport tomorrow as our report has been done and bags should arrive by then to be collected.

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Oh My Body

30 Jun

All that sitting and inability to find a snug position on the second leg had caused my backache to flare up. Throughout the journey, I had my painkiller on standby but I tried not to resort to them.

The last three hours of more sitting and waiting in Schiphol was just so arduous. And we didn’t want to walk too much too as we had the backpacks to carry and the cabin bags to pull along. We both knew it will just tire us and most likely we can’t sleep well on the third leg of the journey.

By 8.00pm, the announcement came on for boarding and in an orderly fashion, passengers boarded when their zones were called out. We sat in the aircraft for a good 40 minutes or so because of one late inconsiderate dude to come onboard. Eventually we were cleared for take off, 24 minutes passed the scheduled 8.50pm.

Within an hour, dinner was served! And after the meal, I tried to sleep again and it wasn’t easy. I just couldn’t get any comfortable positions. So I watched a movie and a couple of documentaries but not long enough to kill time. We still had over five hours to go. Felt like forever. Oh my body!

Eventually I forced myself to sleep. After all, I was wedged between two people this time, I couldn’t get up and the aisle passenger was asleep. Then I had to pee. Oh dear…

Do I wake her? It wouldn’t be polite because she was in deep slumber snoring away. Hubby too was sound asleep against the window. Hmm…I shouldn’t go pee and tried to sleep instead as my eyes were tired. I think I managed two hours at most and not more. And it made matters worse.

The legs were sore, the back hurt, the butt numb and the shoulders stiff and I still had to pee. As if these problems were not enough, a tiny nagging headache started developing. Oh my body…

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We Wait Again

29 Jun

The transit this time at Schiphol is in the main terminal and there are so many things to eat and shops to browse. We arrived by 2.30pm after a rather pleasant journey with no bad turbulence. But the same can’t be said for comfort and the inability to sleep well. Our next flight is at 8.50pm but boarding, as printed is 8.09pm. Still… a long wait. Again.

By now, with three hours still to go, the both of us are really tired and no will to explore. Somehow with one extra transit and stop throws the whole body system awry. I just want to lie down and sleep if I can. Big yawn…

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So Tired

29 Jun

I was feeling tired and we were not even halfway when we were in transit at SLC International Airport. I suspect waking up at 6.30am could be the factor.

We boarded our Amsterdam-bound aircraft at 8.15pm mountain time and there was a 20-minute delay before the aircraft departed at 9.20pm. Finally, on the way home.

The cabin lights before take off

Two hours into the flight, dinner was served. I watched a movie and then tried to sleep. It was so difficult. The space was not comfortable – I twisted and turned but could not find a snug position. My Mi Band2 showed four hours of light sleep and zero deep sleep. Yawn…

Before I could try again, the cabin lights were turned on and our next meal was served. Breakfast? Lunch? It’s hard to tell because it’s almost five in the morning Oregon time and almost one in the afternoon Amsterdam time.

The cabin lights before the second meal

By now the body is all confused, the perils of long distance travels. And we have one more 12-hour leg to go!

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Now We Wait

29 Jun

The goodbye was quick and thankfully tear-free. We went through security check with a small glitch – a bottle of water in the bag, so that had to be surrendered but luckily my spanking new Dutch Bros flask cleared because I remembered to empty it out.

The flight to Salt Lake City International Airport was smooth and on time. Upon descending only there was some slight turbulence. SLC Airport is kinda small. We walked the whole terminal where we are transiting and that’s it. Nothing caught our eye.

Mountain range in the background still has snow

Luckily we found a quiet corner with a table and it’s a good spot to rest, have a meal without hurry. Another four hours to go before our flight to Amsterdam as I write this…

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Heavy Heart Again

29 Jun

The inevitable has come. We are leaving today…

Yesterday, it rained on and off the whole day, adding unnecessary gloom. And I was told it hardly rains in Summer! But has it really been Summer? Save for the first couple of days, it has been cold for us throughout our stay.

Our flight departs at one but we left for the airport by eight in anticipation of heavy traffic. And for the first time, the sky was mostly grey. Dull, sad and not a single cloud or blue, a reflection of our feelings?

It stayed grey for the first 45 minutes of the journey to the airport before the sun managed to peek out.

Despite the heavy heart, we leave knowing M1 will be okay. She has started working and undertaking her graduate program studies at the same time. All grown up and doing good, we are really proud and totally in support of her next path in life.

Maybe knowing this fact, I can sleep well on the flight home.

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It’s a Wrap, Folks!

28 Jun

Today is our last day with our first born and the weather this morning reflected the sentiment – dreary and sad. The skies are crying, raining in other words. It is darn cold! Brr…

We wrap up our wonderful two and a half weeks with her (and M2 for the first week) as we prepare ourselves for the separation. There is now less activities, last minute purchases and packing to do.

Tomorrow begins our long, long journey back: 34 and a half hours from PDX to KLIA and not counting the drive to and from the airports. I feel numb just thinking about it.

The additional hours are due to an extra stop and longer transit time unlike when we came, there was only one stop at Amsterdam at a relatively short transit time. Oh well… I hope there’s more movie choices to watch on board as I have done four movies already when we were coming out. As for the transit stops, an opportunity to explore the airports I guess.

We will return with treasured memories and looking forward to our next family gathering.

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