Day 0 & Day 1 - 20/3~21/3 - To Finland!

Other than being a lot newer compared to the other two older terminals, Terminal 3 has nothing really special. Sure, the layout is more "modern", but the shops are almost the same in the transit area of all three terminals. Nothing very interesting, really, but at least we got ourselves a couple of photos taken there.

Coincidentally, my colleague Chee Mei was actually taking the same flight as me for her Japan vacation with a tour group, so we managed to bump into each other when Reko and I strolled back to Terminal 1 to get ready for boarding. Baggage check was pretty fast as we were one of the first few who went in. (Yes, we were pretty kia-su, I know. XD)

Once up the plane, the JAL crew served us a weird-looking Japanese pie and some Japanese crackers as supper, something which Reko scoffed at because Finnair serves proper meals even at such late times (or so he said). After that, we tried hard to sleep, but there was this little kid somewhere a few rows in front of us who kept screaming his (or her?) head off throughout the whole freaking night. So yes, you guessed it right, I didn't get much sleep at all. All thanks to that screaming kid. (Side note: This is one reason why I hate kids.)

It was not supposed to be a long flight as it's only a seven hour flight, but it sure seemed long enough for me as I wanted to sleep, but can't. But oh well, at least I caught the sunrise on the plane! Something which you don't see that often. =D We caught the orange sun when we were having our (pretty forgettable) breakfast, and it was beautiful. Unfortunately my camera isn't good enough to capture the breathtaking scene.

After we reached Osaka-Kansai airport, we grabbed some food at the Starbucks counter, and got Reko's mother and sister some Japanese souveniors and candies, and got a very nice kimono-material tissue holder for myself, before boarding the connecting Finnair flight to Helsinki. Oh, it was a five hour transit, by the way, so we lingered as much as we could at Starbucks and those souvenior shops. Haha!

It was a lot easier to sleep on the Finnair plane, as there's way more leg room compared to JAL. Still, I find that sleeping on planes is a chore. You wake up with kinks and pains either on your neck or shoulder, and it'll never be a comfortable sleep unless you sit in Business class or something. Bleh.

And finally, after a gruelling ten-hour flight, we reached Helsinki-Vantaa airport! Reko's mother and sister were already waiting for us, and for the first time in my twenty-six years of life, I am finally here in Europe!

I had actually put on my winter jacket even before I stepped out of the plane, because I realised that the plane had stopped in the middle of nowhere, and we had to get to the Terminal by walking down the plane and hopping onto a bus. And so, I equipped my full gear (with some difficulty at first as it was pretty hard to wear that heavy winter jacket for the first time, ya know) - my winter jacket, beanie and gloves - before getting out of the plane. It was so cool! The weather, I mean. I could feel the wind whipping my face as I briskly walked to the bus with Reko. My face felt really cold by the time I got up the bus, but whew, the feeling was great!

After we picked up my luggage, we were ushered up a huge cab and headed back to his home. And, of course, I couldn't resist to take some photos while in the cab! I mean, this is my first time in Europe, not to mention in Helsinki!

We reached his house in about 30 minutes, and it was just like what I saw in the pictures that he used to send me couple of years ago. A nice, cosy little house standing on it's own. And I gotta stamp my feet at the porch before stepping into the house, to get the snow off the shoes and jeans. That's something I've never done before, and I don't think I'll get tired of doing it. xD It was a childish-kind of fun to stamp your feet! Okay, maybe I'm the odd one here...

My "accomodation" is actually Reko's movie room (which is the attic) that's temporarily turned into an impromptu bedroom. The sofa bed that was already in the movie room was extended to be a bed for two, complete with new pillows and comforter! Yeah, both of us shared a bed, and nothing naughty had happened, so stop wondering now! >_>;

We didn't do much on the first day, as it was the usual unpacking of stuff... giving away the souveniors and presents that we've bought for his family and relatives... and basically just resting as it had been a long flight, after all. The first thing I noticed when I was in the house... was the silence. While we sat down at the dinner table for some dinner and coffee, there were several times when none of us were really talking and we were just sitting there. And I must say that the silence was almost absolute, save for the ticking of the clock on the kitchen wall. No sounds of car engines, no sounds of crickets, no sounds of radios or any kids crying... it's as if you had gone deaf, literally. It felt so quiet and so peaceful. I love that kind of solitude. =D We retired early that night, as the next day will be a long day for shopping. =D

For more photos taken on Day 0 & Day 1, please click here.

Day 2: Shopping in Helsinki >>