My prep for the vacation trip really began in earnest on June 9, a Sunday. I divvied up my time on three tasks:
One, I got my big items out of the room and left only the unmovables. The contractor that my unit’s agent tapped to repaint my ceiling asked that the room be as “cleared” as possible. Big items like the bed and closed cabinet can stay, the rest can go. So I set out to pack my things as if I was moving house again, but all my items will be put in the living room area. By June 12 before I leave, the only items I have left to take out of my room are my pillows and my laptop.
Second, I had to “editorialize” my things – finally decide what to bring. My previous entry detailed the essentials, all of which ended up in the final zip-up. I just had to cut the “wants” from the “needs” and cull accordingly. The first task helped greatly as I was able to find more things I could be rid of in Singapore but can serve as some little things I’d like to keep back home. Like the LKY commemorative coin my work boss gave out. Or the stacks of red envelopes I ended up keeping. And other little things as well.
Third, I had to pack both my backpack and luggage. I had 30 kilos to fill – 10 kilos for the carry-on bag (it’s the Scoot rule), and 20 kilos for the paid check-in luggage. Again, from my previous blog, I had to buy new luggage as my old Kamiliant had its wheels’ rubber be fucked. I bought a green Slazenger one, same size, but the biggest difference was the new Slazenger luggage had option for extra room size. It had a zipper running around the sides that can expand the luggage to an inch (thicker, not longer). The Kamiliant didn’t have that. Very nice. My items can fit without the joint being a problem. Extra room meant less squeeze-y inside. The second task bled to this one as well, as once I decided on a more manageable number of items to bring, I had to decide whether they go in the carry-on bag or in the check-in luggage. I borrowed my roommate’s luggage scale to constantly estimate my main luggage’s weight, and I had to keep editing it until I was satisfied it was under 21kg. Oh also, I put on rubber wheel covers on my new luggage. I liked what it did for my smaller luggage when I went to Thailand (less noise and more smooth roll).
The backpack was where I kept hemming and hawing. This one was more personal. This one has to be on my back for long periods of time. I had leeway to fudge the 7kg weight limit a bit – from lots of airport experience, the check-in ladies just eyeball it – but not to the point that it would inconvenience my back.
My first Japan trip in 2017, I made the mistake of making my backpack carry the excesses of my luggage. I managed to keep it under 25kg, but my backpack was like 11-12kg. I managed to pass the eyeball test when I checked in, but I was hauling that on the Kansai Airport floor, walking to the gates, and my God that made me swear off doing bootleg mountaineer cosplay. I managed to bring all my shit home, but my back hurted a bit for two days whenever I bent or stretched.
And seven years later, I still do not want to repeat that shit. Airports can be a long walk and a half. So I was determined to keep my going-into-airport backpack on or under 8 kilos. No more than that. And from that, I immediately decided to not bring my Lenovo Thinkpad along. It’s a solid 1.75 kilos, not to mention the charger is also adding more, like a kilo as well. I instead opted for the 2015 13” Macbook Air I use to test my in-development webpages on for desktop Safari compatibility. That’s around 1.34 kilos, with the charger it’s 1.8-ish, definitely lighter. And much smaller too, it fit on the backpack’s laptop compartment snugly. I packed in the toiletries, the printed docs, mobile charging cables, Nintendo Switch, neck pillow, and other more items, and I managed it to be at 7.8kg. Cool.
My SG-TW flight was at 11.35am at June 12. So from my habit, I had to be at the airport by 8am or earlier. That time was safe as well, I could use the public train for cheap instead of booking a Grab car. But that predicated I had to wake up at 5am. Shower, get dressed, eat breakfast, ensure room is spic and span, leave. I had to be on the road by 7am.
In a classic “me and my stupid ass”, my final solution was to NOT sleep. I spent 12am to 5am watching the animes I downloaded and kept on my external drives. Binge-watch. I could not trust myself to be able to sleep by 12am and wake up by 5am. I might oversleep and fuck up all my plans. Thailand’s crazy plan might’ve worked, but I slept lightly there on a bed not of my usual coziness. Not trusting me in my own cozy bed on my own room. So, anime it was. And maybe some YouTube random watching in between.
By the time 7am hit, I was headed towards Holland Village MRT. Plan was to head to the green line towards Tanah Merah, so I went to the common station, which was Buona Vista. By 8am or so, I found myself at Terminal 1 in Changi, already a bit sweaty from walking to and fro stations and changing terminals. Dang. Sweaty cheapskate. Thank God I wore a black shirt. But still, I pegged it as a good-enough morning exercise. I lugged this heavy shit from Holland Village to Changi Terminal 1, calories burned.
I had to say I skipped my regular breakfast at home. I did start by 5am, but by my stupid ass again, I forgot to concoct my standard midnight choco oats. I found that out by 5am. So, I skipped that. Instead, I munched on two egg tarts, still protein but sugar-loaded, and I hoped I would need that energy later. By the time I got to the airport, I was hungry again.
I went to the regular routine – check in the big luggage, pass thru biometrics in the automated counters, and soon I was in and hunting out my gate, which was near the right end of Terminal 1. Once I saw my gate, and I had 2 hours to kill, I looked for breakfast. Unfortunately, the desired breakfast, the kaya toast stall at the ground floor, had long lines and all the tables were taken. So I headed to the food court on the second floor to look for breakfast. I settled for Hainanese chicken rice with steamed bok choy. Proteins and greens.
Once I got on the flight and the plane finished its initial ascent, I was able to finally sleep. 4+ hours to kill, and sleep was a good option. Especially that I skipped sleeping earlier. Didn’t take much for me to doze off. Neck pillow came in handy as well. I did set my watch alarm to 4 hours as well so I can shake off the grogginess with enough time before landing. I didn’t need to be disturbed, I didn’t order any flight meals. One bottle of water and Smints helped me stave off any kind of hunger. Once I woke up, I spent my minutes playing through Super Mario World. I got to the Forest of Illusion when the captain’s pre-landing announcement came, and soon after, we were in Taiwan.
Briathrail // Albert 2MNG 
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