December 7th was a BIG day for our little girl. Not only was she interrupted VERY early in the morning from her sleep (she usually sleeps till about 7am) but she would be travelling on 4 planes, covering 4 cities (starting from Canberra) and arriving in Penang, Malaysia. Cheryl's biggest concern was her ears because of the altitude and we took on board so much advice that most of it worked. That was, until the last flight, but more on that later.
So the adventure begins at Canberra airport, we checked in and went through the security check at the 'new wing' of the airport to get to the gate where our flight to Melbourne was leaving. Grandpa and Nan were on hand to say have a good trip and not long we headed down and onto the tarmac (get my first experience of the new airport and what happens, we get a remote gate :() and finally onto the plane for the short hop to Melbourne.
The entourage leaving Canberra, Cheryl, Abigail and me...
Abigail with Grandpa, Nan and me...
Abigail with Grandpa, Cheryl and me...
Flight time was only 45 minutes so it was quick. Abigail was fed as we climbed to the cruising altitude and then as we descended into Melbourne. Poor girl was probably thinking what is happening today, why am I being fed so often and whatever happened to my sleep? :)
OK, so in Melbourne we only had about 25 minutes on the ground before heading to Perth. That was just enough time to change Abigail's diaper and walk to the gate, on the other side of the Qantas terminal. Now this flight I was looking forward to. A new plane (2nd newest of the fleet) and a new cabin with PTV's for a domestic flight. Got on board and saw this lovely flight attendant who really helped us settle in. They said on the Qantas website that airplanes equipped with PTV's would allow passengers the ability to start entertainment on the ground rather than wait till the air. What they didn't say was that if you were taking a bassinet seat, that wasn't going to be possible :(. Ah well, I got to use it once in the air anyway. We left about 20 minutes late but once in the air, it wasn't bad. I watched Toy Story 3 (those who know me would know why) and then a fair bit of Mr Bean since there wasn't enough time to start another movie. The cabin itself felt very refreshed and yes, the hot meal wasn't bad either. Again, Abgiail was fed as we took off and as we landed. I reckon she would have been pretty full by the time we got to Perth, but no complaints, especially about the ears.
In Perth we knew we had a longer layover. This was a good opportunity to take a breather. What we didn't know was that the shuttle to the International terminal ran once an hour during the time we arrived. That sucked because we had to wait just on an hour before the next shuttle. So since there were a few of us, I decided to ask whether they wanted to split a cab. They all agreed and long and behold, we arrived at the International terminal. Perth International terminal is really small. But we cleared customs and immigration and headed airside. Now that was even smaller.
With about 45 minutes to kill before boarding, we walked around and Cheryl got to the use the Internet before boarding. We had to walk through the duty free shop (it seems to be custom in Australia that you have to walk through duty free after clearing customs) and boy was Abigail the STAR attraction. All the ladies crowded around her and played with her. That said, I went off and explored the small terminal, with just our lonely plane sitting at the gate waiting to head to Singapore.
Flight 3 / 4: Perth to Singapore. This aircraft had probably the narrowest seat of all the seats we encountered that day. This, combined with the fact that the armrests were fixed probably didn't suit Abigail too well since she was kicking up a fuss when we tried to feed her before taking off. But we were happy since she started taking the pacifier as well!! Anyway, we took off from Perth with a very energetic captain and crew and headed north for Singapore. News was on and then a movie that lost interest very quickly on me, Made in Dagenham. Anyway, Abigail slept about 90 minutes to 2 hours before waking up. I slept I think about the same time as her while Cheryl tried to sleep longer. When she was up, we took her walking around the cabin. She was liked by all on board as well... :) 3 hours and 40 minutes after take off, we landed in Singapore airport. Abigail didn't need milk, rather she took the pacifier again.
The one thing we miss about Changi airport wasn't the humidity that hits you in the face when you walk out, but we miss our soup spoon. Now this is a little shop that sells probably the heartiest soup in Singapore. Once we completed formalities for our last flight, we headed there for soup. Boy was it nice. :)
The LAST flight, Singapore to Penang. OK so this flight was full. Even though it was only like a 150 seater plane, it was full. Our row had us this gentleman who we asked to sit in the aisle for better access and then a Malaysian couple (as Cheryl says) with children sitting on the other side. Everything went smoothly until we started our descent into Penang Airport. Now everyone always says that when travelling with kids, the change of altitude will always be an issue. They should swallow or blow their noses hard to fix this. I don't think the father knew this. Why? Because when her daughter started screaming her lungs out because of the altitude change, all he did was cover her ears and say it was ok. Turned on the light to distract her but nope... She kept screaming. Eventually Abigail started crying as well... Pretty sure out of sympathy so we had two screaming kids and the poor gentleman sitting next to me. I could just see his face (why am I seated here??).
TOUCHDOWN Penang, 8.20pm. So after a LONG day, started at 3.40am Penang time, we arrived at Penang 8.20pm and got everything done by 8.40pm. Luggage into the car and driving. So 17 hours after we first started from Canberra, Abigail, Cheryl and I completed our first trip overseas as a family. Mind you, Abigail has already been to Penang before, but saw everything through mummy's eyes. :)
Thank GOODNESS the trip back to Canberra won't be so long or torturous. We fly Singapore Airlines (bring on the slings and the seafood meal!) and then Qantas back to good ol' Canberra.
I am sorry I hadn't updated in a long time. I never knew Uni could be so time consuming. Anyway, a little more free time now so I might blog again later to catch everyone up some more.
In the meantime, a picture showing us in front of a Christmas tree at the Traders Hotel in Penang.
Until next time,
Alex
Christmas tree at Straits Quay 
The picture above is one of Abigail looking suspiciously at the camera. Probably wondering " What are they up to now?" We visited the newly opened Straits Quay shopping area at Tanjung Tokong. Penang is about to have way too many shopping centres. First there was Time Square, then First Avenue, now Straits Quay and later Paragon. How is each centre going to survive? Penang may be crowded, but its most certainly not enough to sustain 6 big shopping malls. I hope its not going to be a situation where the opening of one centre sees the demise of another. I think the city needs better planning. To the folks giving their approval for such projects, "Hey, think again!"
Abigail turned 5 months in December so we celebrated her 5 month birthday in Penang. I know, you are probably thinking '5 months? Thats a birthday??' Well to be honest, I needed an excuse to buy a yummy chocolate cake (if you have read about my consumption of food post delivery, you will understand) So I thought why don't we celebrate her turning 5 months and get a cake? Hahaha.... Ok moving on.
In the little series of photos above, Abigail was having a very animated conversation with the auntie who was sitting across from her. We met up with some family friends for dinner and for the first time, Abigail was very captivated by a conversation a stranger was having with my mom. A stranger to Abigail that is.
We took this lovely shot at church on Christmas day.
This trip back to Penang was also so that my grandmother, Abigail's great grandmother, could see Abigail and have a cuddle with her. This is a picture at that visit. It will be something for Abigail to look back upon as needless to say, she is not going to remember taking this trip.
