Leaving on a Jet Plane

It's time to sing this song again. My favourite theme song for airport.

Long long time ago, I used to record every flight I've taken - the airlines, destinations and length of the journey... That mission has been abandoned, probably flying isn't too uncommon after a while. If I'm not trained to be a doctor, I'd probably be a pilot or a cabin crew, because I love & hate airports as much as I love & hate hospitals.

I hate airport...
Travelling to an airport is a nightmare. Getting to KLIA from my hometown is a 2.5 hrs journey. It's not any better from KL - 1hr on the cab, or more if I were to catch the LRT and the airport bus. What's more - the heavy luggages that I have to drag along the way. I always have the tendency to over-pack. A good (or bad) practice I learned from scouting times - Always be prepared, that's what Uncle Baden Powell taught us. Hence, all the unnecessary stuffs (eg: sunblock and sunglasses for a journey to UK in the winter) are all packed in... just in case. And this 'just in case' cost a fortune if the ground staffs don't buy my near-perfect negotiation skills. The queue is always mad, and it's not just one off - you queue for N'th times to complete your journey. Queue to check-in, queue for security checks, queue for baggage scanning, queue to board, queue to disembark, queue at the immigration counters (2x) etc etc. During the peak seasons in a busy airport such as London Heathrow or Dubai International, queuing alone can shorten your lifespan by decades!

I love airport as much as I hate it...
Besides all the hassles, traveling to the airport always comes with an ultimate reward - to see the landmarks I've been dying to see for years, to visit family and friends, to participate in a special event, to get spoilt in a new vacation spot etc. There's always something to look forward to after the hassles and long haul journeys. Having the nomad blood in me, there's nothing better to hop from one place to another, the further the better. I love the feeling when the aircraft takes off from the ground. You feel as if the ground is trying to hold you back, with all its strength to stop you from getting away, your ears gone blurish, and you try to swallow your saliva to equalise the pressure on both side of the eardrums. As the aircraft gone stable, you're free to walk about, sleep, watch video, eat and drink on a whole new horizon few hundreds feet off the ground, traveling parallel to the cars, trains, boat and all the living creatures down below.

I have a whole lot more to write about airport and flying, but it's time for boarding. Right, time to sing the theme song again...
Journey number xxx,
Date: 3rd June 2009
Route: KL to London
Purpose: Graduation, picnic in the sun with friends, strawberries, tea and scones, fish and chips, leisure stroll down historical path of England, summer sales, alcohol binging, saying hello to working life...


Sing along with me:

All my bags are packed I'm ready to go
I'm standin' here outside your door
I hate to wake you up to say goodbye
But the dawn is breakin' it's early morn
The taxi's waitin' he's blowin' his horn
Already I'm so lonesome I could die

So kiss me and smile for me
Tell me that you'll wait for me
Hold me like you'll never let me go
Cause I'm leavin' on a jet plane
Don't know when I'll be back again
Oh babe, I hate to go

There's so many times I've let you down
So many times I've played around
I tell you now, they don't mean a thing
Every place I go, I'll think of you
Every song I sing, I'll sing for you
When I come back, I'll bring your wedding ring

So kiss me and smile for me
Tell me that you'll wait for me
Hold me like you'll never let me go
Cause I'm leavin' on a jet plane
Don't know when I'll be back again
Oh babe, I hate to go

Now the time has come to leave you
One more time let me kiss you
Close your eyes I'll be on my way
Dream about the days to come
When I won't have to leave alone
About the times, I won't have to say

So kiss me and smile for me
Tell me that you'll wait for me
Hold me like you'll never let me go
Cause I'm leavin' on a jet plane
Don't know when I'll be back again
Oh babe, I hate to go

Cause I'm leavin' on a jet plane
Don't know when I'll be back again
Oh babe, I hate to go


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