trippin all over

the prelude

Friday:
2330hrs : waiting at bishopsgate bus-stop for bus to airport, thinking: how come i gotta take such an early bus?? urgh...

Saturday:
0040hrs: finally reached stansted airport.. *brrr... cold...*
0100hrs: secured a sleeping space in front of a check-in counter. * blardy floor so cold n hard*
0126hrs: urgh... y m i doing this? camping out in the airport sucks
0133hrs: ah ben starts snoring... im still trying to fall asleep
0246hrs: still awake * glazed-over eyes* urgh.. so cold...
0430hrs: *ding ding ding* counter is opened for check-in. we get chased off our sleeping spots... *so poor thing*
0527hrs: yeah!! found a row of seats to stretch out on!!
0600hrs: "will passengers boarding flight ez3886 to amsterdam please proceed to the counter for check-in" *oh gawd... just when im getting some zzzz*
0628hrs: stretched out fully on a row of seats at the waiting area for a 10min power nap * stupid kids screaming blardy murder 2 rows down..*
0655hrs: plane taxied out to the runway n i swiftly proceed to fall asleep uncomfortably in the cramped, narrow seat
0815hrs: "welcome to Schipol Airport"
08222hrs: waiting in line to clear immigrations with a whole bunch of rowdy american kids *super dazed... i need sleep*
0847hrs: still wandering ard the airport trying to find means to get to city area
0854hrs: finally bought train ticket to get from airport to city centre : centraal station.
0935hrs: arrived at Amsterdam Centraal Station!! yeah!! finally!! * desperately needing coffee... looking like a dazed panda*

0936-1100hrs:
tourist instinct kicks in immediately and zoomed in on the local tourism info centre to get city map n watever freebies they have.
major dissappointement - lousy place only for booking overcharged city tours and selling city maps for EUR2. *cheapo me quickly shuffled out of the place*
wandered around aimlessly for a while, narrowly missed getting ran over by trams, cars and bicycles ( no sleep...cannot function ) before sitting down to have an energy boost. ( read : extra strong cuppacino )
fervent flipping of maps printed off the office printer ( full utilization of office supplies) and cross-checking with the big big coloured area map at the junction and itinery planned out for the day..
* eh wait.. not going to check into hotel 1st ah??!!*
walked n walked n walked looking for the stars indicated on the black n white A3 map... ( the stars are tourists attractions lah)
* take photos, take photos, take photos. walked n walked n walked*
so tired, was running on auto-pilot.. just follow blindly.. but thankfully the weather's reallie good.. partly cloudy, with a good breeze and so much less pollution than london... nice.. plus there are plenty of trees ard! so much green ( well at least compared to ldn) feeling more relaxed already

posted by princess @ 6:16 AM