Taipei - The Journey

I mentioned about holidaying in Taipei in my previous post. Why Taipei? It is more likely a win-win situation. As some of you are aware, HB's nature of job makes it difficult for him to get his leaves approved during school holidays. I was not surprised at all when he told me his application had been rejected. Sort of used to it, I think. But having checked his roster, I noticed 1 day off Taipei. The girls & I had never been to Taipei... & why not? So, HB made arrangement for our tickets to the capital of Taiwan.

The girls did not argue at all when I told them about us going to Taipei. They have always looked forward to travel by plane. The only concern was ME. I was wondering of my fate in the cabin. Hahaha! Me, the only adult to supervise 2 children, a toddler & an infant.

I remember an incident somewhere last year. I was traveling without HB but with my 3 girls (was carrying Nadeen then in my 2nd trimester). Balqis right after we took off started to throw tantrums. I couldn't recall what we were served but it was not rice. That I still remember because she was shouting & screaming to eat rice! Crying for "aciiiik...! aciiiik....!" which was (nasi) rice. That was the day I felt blessed for Balqis 's lisp. Nobody understood what she was screaming out of her lungs for. Not even her 2 sisters. When the crew came to check on her, I mumbled something about her wanting to sleep. Other passengers were cool about it though... smiling with concerned eyes & said something like "Letih tu....". I quickly agreed. She cried all the way from JB to KL.

Was I traumatized by that incident? Sort of... It was merely less than an hour flight. But to Taipei, it took us approximately 6 hours plus the short transit in Kota Kinabalu.

Had to be positive about it though. Balqis after all, a year older & a big sis to Nadeen. My problems had always been with Wardah & Balqis. Best of friends, Worst of enemies! Decided to separate the two. Requested for 4 seats in a row. Easier for me to monitor all 4. Not my luck, somebody had made the booking for the 1st row. I could have agreed on other rows but the bassinet for Nadeen was only available for row 1.

Wardah & Balqis at KLIA, these mischievous two didn't waste time at all while I was checking in. Scribbled something on their notebooks. And... yes, Wardah was on the floor & Balqis was on the table. Obviously the airport lacked of seats to sit on!!

This was the plane we were to board. Boeing 737-400, MH 68. At the waiting room, I captured the attention of many other passengers. A mom, traveling with 4 kids!

We boarded. Our seats, row 1 & row 3. Instructed Yasmin to babysit Balqis at row 3 & informed the flight attendant if possible to change their seats to row 1 as well. Right before take off, the same flight attendant approached the 2 men at row 1. Requested them to exchange seats with my girls. It felt so weird. Having her doing the talking whilst I was like half a meter away. They did not hesitate. I thanked them of course. Hence, during take off I totally had to trust Yasmin to look after Balqis. Still , I asked for the crew to check on their seat belts. Could hear Balqis asking this & that. Yasmin answered voluntarily. Wardah was of course restless. Kept on looking back, trying her luck to have a glimpse of her sisters. But the truth... she was jealous. Missing the fun. Away from mama's eagle eyes...

Once seat-belt on sign was switched off, the flight attendant ushered my 2 girls & the 2 men to exchange seats. You should see the look on Wardah's face. Once seated, Wardah waved "Baaaalqiiiis...!" & my 3rd girl returned the wave with "Kakak Aaaaaadaaaah...!"

Wardah begged to sit next to Balqis. I forbade. She kept on pestering me with her request. In the end I gave in. Allowed her to exchange seats with Yasmin only when they were done with their meals. She signaled to Balqis about it & Balqis responded, "Yeah! Yeah!"

Balqis & Yasmin having their meals. They really enjoyed the bread served.

Wardah too.

As promised Wardah exchanged seats with Yasmin. Balqis was of course very excited. Knowing Wardah, she would come out with creative ideas for them to play together. I heard them agreeing on playing "Teacher-Student". Of course, Balqis was the teacher, Wardah had to give in as a student.

Yasmin got busy with a toy given by the air hostess.

A miniature of the jumbo jet.

Balqis saw the jet. Quitted playing with Wardah & started to maneuver.

I totally forgot about baby Nadeen. She was with me most of the time, of course. Failed to sleep in the bassinet. How could she, with her sisters kept on checking on her almost every minute. I have to thank these people for helping me to babysit Nadeen. It was either when I was having my meal or when I needed to ease myself.

Thank you Yasmin. You were a real help.

Thanks to you too Jovine. Really appreciate your MH - malaysian hospitality... ;-)

Even the Captain of the flight gave a helping hand... Hehehe!

Besides "Teacher-Student", Wardah came out with a marvellous idea. Meet Captain Amirah Balqis!

And again Wardah had to give in to Balqis. Flying on the right hand seat...

This was during our transit in KK, of course. Here's another pose during our transit at Kota Kinabalu International Airport.

The journey from KK to Taipei was trouble-free. Perhaps, I was getting used to the situation. Balqis felt asleep after dinner. She slept next to my seat. Wardah & Yasmin took this chance to play Boggle. They tried to take a nap but failed. I guess, they were too excited to even rest. We reached Taipei safely. The immigration was friendly though not fluent in English. I was most of the time uttering "NiHao..." & "SheiShei".

The girls at Chiang
Kai Shek International Airport

We took the hotel shuttle. The journey took about 45 minutes but none of the girls complained. Thrilled to start their short vacation in Taipei.

At the lobby of Sunworld Dynasty Hotel, Taipei.

The Best Baby to Travel with Award goes to...... Amirah Nadeen

* to be continued