Leaving Ireland... second attempt :-) this time posh style.
Bro, this is short article you can read it š
Time to leave Ireland has come and as Iām half way between sitting and lying in 10D seat of business class of āEat your hatā airlines or in Slovak āEj ty hadā sipping great Bordeaux, watching movie Late Night it came to me that the movie selection could sometimes be representation of my subconscious mind, trying to tell me something and if I will pay attention to it, I might have eureka moment or some realization what could be important or it could be just me talking gibberish. Well anyhow as I had my beauty snooze after take-off, I was able to see movie while waiting for a lunch and wine since after food Iām planning to snooze again to get rest on this hop on ā hop off trip with four stops. Food was light and tasty āsurprise for an airline foodā , crew nice and polite ā with a lovely smileā, seat just long enough to fit my little i.e short me in it. The checking in at Dublin was so pleasantly surprised THANKS to Nook friends and colleagues at the airport who took me out from the que long enough to be for few hours and take me to the front āpeople in the que must hate me or adore me as some VIP ā and helped me to get business class upgrade ādonāt worry I have paid for it, nothing is for freeā but still it was so good to see familiar faces and have chat with them before I will leave home. As well as there is nothing more beautiful than smile of a woman, that makes all better even payment for business class upgrade which Is not the cheapest š However they made me feel good as much as I wanted to leave Ireland, it is still my home and it is sad to leave home no matter what is waiting for me on the road āand the road is pretty goodā as I look forward to see it all and dive all those fabulous locations what are ahead of me. I would say that the people boarding the plane at the gate in Dublin might be a little bit confused as I hugged both of the girls at gate before boarding plane. Ella, Dovile, THANK YOU very much for such lovely and nice good bye, you made my departure much much easier than I was expected. It was a good time be at home in Dublin and now it is time to spread the wings and fly out, enjoy the life and see some new places and areas. It is cool to get some sleep on the plane and the upgrade was worth every cent as I cannot sleep seating, except once when flu home from Mauritius after three days wedding I was so tired that I did collapsed in the seat. However since I will be diving shortly after landing I need be rested. Few stops along the way and I will be soon at Okinawa woo hooā¦ Food on the plane was good, sleep too and drink as well š Rain left behind in Dublin and Sun is waiting in Okinawa as well in all the stops on the way there. First stop at Abu Dhabi with two hours stop, that makes just enough time to walk through security and onto gate in time and no stress. Second flight to Hong Kong was with delay so I had to left plane first and since I knew that there will be short time there I have spoken to Fumiko ācabin crew managerā on second flight and she arranged for me to be met with ground crew who whisked me through airport and security in short time with all the shortcuts for staff. I left aircraft first and little lady was waiting for me as I run a little through big sock what was sucking people out of the plane and spit them to the terminal building and as I run towards her she just shout or say a bit loudly OKINAWA ? I said yes and she started walk front of me so I slowed down a bit, otherwise I would lose her since my legs a bit longer. We were walking through all the staff shortcuts and boarded the train to get me to the gate just in time to board as last person, after quick check of my visa requirements and flight out from the Japan. Big brother is watching all !
For those who did not get the code name in first lines it is Etihad and I have to say that it was absolutely pleasure to fly with them and the staff could not be more helpful or nicer and I would compliment FUMIKO the crew manager on second flight as she was so good helping me get ground staff assistance in Hong Kong ! Well done Eat Your Hat or Ej Ty Had š great airline with fab cabin, excellent food and great wine āhowever the Porto was finished way too soon, so I need to switch to red wineā and bed long enough even for me to sleep. I defo look forward to fly with them again. Hong Kong looked nice from above but too much skyscrapers and I remembered that in past I was mesmerized by idea to go to Hong Kong and now when I was flying above and saw it I was somehow disappointed or not pleases as much as I would expect and had no desire to go there. Maybe on some connection flights I might stop over there for three days visit as the hills looked great and would be nice to see the city while Iām in Asia but it could be some other time. After 24 hours on the dot from time I entered airport in Dublin I exit the airport in Okinawa i.e. 7:00am and what a lovely weather 30 degrees Celsia sunny with little overcast and humid ahh I love it !!!! I got the monorail to the town for 260 YEN and walked to my Grand Cabin Hotel āyes the name is correct as they are just cabins, no roomsā literally corridor lined with windowless cabins on both sides what looked like storage facility or posh dog kernels. However I love it ! so clean and so efficient in space design and use, Japan always blow my mind. One bed, safe for your valuables, towels, PJās and slippers all immaculately clean, arranged in the cabin with sign for everything as where to put it after use, hoe to use it āsafe, not towels š ā and the bathroom way too good or better say excellent for European standards. Ahh I love Japan and I know that it is not easy to live here as I would need to know and adhere to all the rules of society but my o my, everything is working and all is clean, organized, it is a heaven for OCD person such me. As I mentioned earlier the movie on the plane triggered some eureka moment and Japan even fortified this feeling as I felt that this is me, be in present and meeting nice people who are generally concerned of general cleanliness, politeness and in short they are or must be OCD with all work tasks and life.
Even going to airport was surprise as usually there are two hours prior flight time for check in and all and in Europe this might not be enough time but here, hey my flight is at 7:15 so I got here by taxi at 5:15 since I had my ālittle suitcase with diving gearā and I need to check in and pay for additional weight āyeah diving gear is heavy and bulkyā and surprise surprise the terminal was dark, no people around just me and taxi driver in his beautiful spotless white gloves what matching his white seat covers trying to explain that all will open at 6:00 so left me standing alone like some lost person front of the terminal and took off. Efficiency and punctuality is amazing here as lights went on exactly at 6:00 and security open door the same time while all the staff was already waiting at their positions with smile on their faces. I was checked in and paid for excess luggage in less than 5 minutes and all with smile never leave the face of the girls at desk. Not sure if they have this smile surgically created and paid for by JAL as part of uniform or it is in their nature, but oh my, it sets your day and make all better when you see smiling and polite people around. Have to add that the domestic terminal was closed but the international was open so I could sit down with rest of gaijin people in the international terminal while waited for domestic one to be open. Here we go in the bus to the plane beside all the army planes and fighter jets getting fueled up and ready for flight. Actually I think that they are the same Rosa fly in Italy so it must be standard army cargo plane. On the plane topic, the Irish connection is present even here as Iām boarding Bombardier plane to Yonaguni, for those who are not tuned in it is a company what made planes in Northern Ireland. Feel pretty fresh this morning, even despite the early morning hours as I slept more less whole day yesterday after arrival to hotel from 16:00 with short break at 19:00 to 20:30 when I went to get water and wait for my suitcase to be delivered, which was as promised by Hong Kong airlines person at Okinawa airport. Thank God for that as I barely kept my eyes open, so grabbed suitcase and headed back to the āroomā cabin and fell asleep immediately. Woke up few times in the night which is due the time difference but just checked the time and back to sleep again, until the alarm went off at 4:30, when I had some trouble to wake up as usual, I sleep the best and deepest when the alarm is going off š So not bad first day in Japan after such long journey but I cannot wait for Yonaguni and diving.
