Thirty hours and 3 flights later, one of which was delayed for 2 hours at the Chicago O'hare International Airport (apparently, it was the norm as Savannah was so out of town and the airlines needed to make sure there were enough passengers to justify the trip!!), Don and Poh touched down at Savannah International Airport. It was almost 11pm, and still 31 May 06. A good twelve hours had been lost in the air as they crossed the international dateline. SCAD (Savannah College of Art and Design) was supposed to have a representative at the airport to pick them up. Poh prayed that whoever it was had not left them in the lurch since there had been a delay in their flights.
There were no customs to clear in Savannah. Turned out that the airport was so small and unfrequented that there was absolutely no one seen working at all. Don and Poh simply followed the other passengers to a small baggage travelator where they hauled their suitcases off as they came by. But where was Tibby? The couple looked around the arrival hall. Good grief, where was everyone? Don't they have at least, one customs officer?
Their trunk was too many to lug aroung, so Poh offered to run upstairs to take a look whilst Don stood guard. Gosh, the airport was really like a ghost hall. Shops were closed, their signs not lit, and there was strange silence in the air. No one upstairs except a uniformed man behind a counter for Northwest Airlines. Poh prayed he would be helpful. He was not. And Poh did not blame him -- it was almost midnight, and he was waiting to serve the last of a few stragglers from his airlines with a spaced-out look. Poh looked at the adjacent counter for United Airlines. There was no one behind the dark, and obviously non-operative, counter. This was sad.
Poh raced downstairs quickly. Oh, the man from SCAD had waited for them after all! Don stood with the African-American man, amidst a mountain of suitcases and bags.
"I'm so sorry, but we have a cat, and I have to find her. Please wait for a while longer," Poh pleaded. Without waiting for his answer, she took off as fast as she could, frantically searching for relevant signs or personnel. Her hunt somehow brought her back to the baggage area (which was no surprise as it was such a small airport...) and just as she scanned the room doors surrounding the conveyor belt, a lady stepped out from one of the rooms and holding in her right hand, was Tibby in her cage! What a relief! Poh took the cat from the lady, thanked her, and practically ran back to the waiting porter and Don with a triumphant grin on her face! Yes! They have managed to arrive in Savannah altogether, cat and all!
Now that the first hurdle was out of the way, Poh prayed that the inn that they made reservations was a real one and that their money wired across beforehand would prove worthy. With so many internet scams, you just never know. The man she spoke to from Singapore asking her for half a month's deposit might have been totally bogus and the carriage house they were to check in might not exist. If they had been bilked on their reservations, they would have no place to stay for the night.
"This is it," the driver said after travelling for about half an hour. Poh got out and told them to wait whilst she followed the inn keeper's email instructions on how to reach the carriage house. Past a small trail on the left of the innkeeper's house, to the back and up a flight of stairs. Voila! The carriage house had French doors and their blinds had been opened to reveal a most comfortable and cosy interior. The sight of the lights, fan and air-conditioning being left on made Poh sigh with content. It showed that the innkeepers had been thoughtful enough on that. The key to the unit was also hanging behind the door as they said it would.
Poh went back to the front to confirm that they were in the right place. The driver helped them get their bags off the van, but told them he had to leave almost immediately as it was really late. Don and Poh gratefully tried to tip him, but he declined as he said that was not allowed for SCAD employees. After he left, the couple looked at each other, tired but somewhat excited at the thought that they had really made it. Though they had so much to carry up the stairs to the place they would call home for the next month, the thought of their promising lives ahead after that first step of leaving Singapore left them unfazed by their present, and only temporary, physical burdens.
There was so much to thank God for that first night. The trip spanning 3 flights had been without a glitch. Tibby had proved to be a trump card in front of all customs officers, not just the Singaporean ones. Even at Chicago airport, where everyone had their bags opened and searched thoroughly on the green lane supposedly for people with nothing to declare, Don and Poh had taken Tibby to the red lane to confess their import of their pet. As a result, the customs officer took one look at Tibby and softened his approach immediately. He ended up chatting with the couple about Singapore, the cat's antics, her usual foods and everything as trivial as the weather. And not once, did he ask to see their bags. The couple ended up going through customs faster than anyone else on the green lane. Before leaving the checking area, they last saw a whole string of people being stripped of their items as uniformed personnel combed their baggage. They looked like they would be stuck for a good hour or two.
Praise the Lord, indeed! God was with them all the way!
Tuesday, October 10, 2006
Monday, October 09, 2006
Chapter Three: At The Airport
Finally, the long-awaited departure date came. On 31 May 06, after 10 years of working in Singapore, Don and Poh packed their lives up into four over-sized luggage and two hand carries, and struggled to get Tibby, their cat prepared for the journey. She was too big to fit into a cat cage, and the original one Poh bought had to be returned and exchanged for a dog cage that would house her. Even the pet shop owner shook her head in disbelief. Don and Poh long knew that Tibby was overweight, confirmed with every veterinarian visit. So, the months leading up to the departure had seen Poh trying to get Tibby to lose weight in the hope that her air-ticket might cost less. Apparently, some airlines went by the weight of the pet and every kilogramme meant an extra $100!
Tibby wailed daily in protest at the reduced food portions. That was, until Poh decided to purchase their tickets from United Airlines which did not charge according to the weight of the animal. She would simply fly as a piece of excess baggage -- which was a flat rate of US$100. Poh had wanted to keep her on the flight with them, but again, her size was not small enough to fit under the seat, which was the regulations from United Airlines. In any case, Don and Poh were only glad that she would not be too costly to fly with them.
It was 4a.m. by the time the family of three arrived at the check-in counter of Changi Airport. In the distant background, the couple's family members and close friends, Edmund and Stephanie, stood with hopeful eyes, praying that they would clear the customs uneventfully.
The couple and cat stood with palpitating hearts before the customs officer. The former were afraid that their luggage, oversized and overweight, would be charged with exorbitant amounts of excess baggage; the latter was undoubtedly terrified of the unfamiliar surroundings. In all other circumstances, Don and Poh believed they would have been fined for pushing their luck with their suitcases. The dour-faced customs officer was already announcing to them the irrefutable fact that their luggage was overweight. Then as if by some magical fairy dust in the air, the tensed atmosphere cleared when the customs officer heard that they had a cat in tow. Her dour face softened and her ramrod neck and back replaced with a softened, relaxed pose. She stepped out of the counter to look at Tibby in the cage and broke into an amused smile. Just a while ago, she was scrutinising the couple with disapproval, but Tibby seemed to have found great favour before her eyes. She called for the porter, almost laughing on the line, whilst she issued Tibby her very own air ticket. The apprehensive couple did not know quite what had happened, only that within minutes, their trunk had all been hauled down the conveyor belt and they had not been asked to pay a fine. Tibby had also been escorted away to the cargo area by a porter, amidst excited chatters amongst adjacent customs officers.
The couple heaved a sigh of relief, and praised the Lord under their breaths. So far, so good. It was a divine decision then, to bring the cat along despite being frowned upon by their parents. Both of their family members had just had the opportunity to witness the customs clearance and realised, to their chagrin, that some things were just not as bad as they thought they would be.
Tibby wailed daily in protest at the reduced food portions. That was, until Poh decided to purchase their tickets from United Airlines which did not charge according to the weight of the animal. She would simply fly as a piece of excess baggage -- which was a flat rate of US$100. Poh had wanted to keep her on the flight with them, but again, her size was not small enough to fit under the seat, which was the regulations from United Airlines. In any case, Don and Poh were only glad that she would not be too costly to fly with them.
It was 4a.m. by the time the family of three arrived at the check-in counter of Changi Airport. In the distant background, the couple's family members and close friends, Edmund and Stephanie, stood with hopeful eyes, praying that they would clear the customs uneventfully.
The couple and cat stood with palpitating hearts before the customs officer. The former were afraid that their luggage, oversized and overweight, would be charged with exorbitant amounts of excess baggage; the latter was undoubtedly terrified of the unfamiliar surroundings. In all other circumstances, Don and Poh believed they would have been fined for pushing their luck with their suitcases. The dour-faced customs officer was already announcing to them the irrefutable fact that their luggage was overweight. Then as if by some magical fairy dust in the air, the tensed atmosphere cleared when the customs officer heard that they had a cat in tow. Her dour face softened and her ramrod neck and back replaced with a softened, relaxed pose. She stepped out of the counter to look at Tibby in the cage and broke into an amused smile. Just a while ago, she was scrutinising the couple with disapproval, but Tibby seemed to have found great favour before her eyes. She called for the porter, almost laughing on the line, whilst she issued Tibby her very own air ticket. The apprehensive couple did not know quite what had happened, only that within minutes, their trunk had all been hauled down the conveyor belt and they had not been asked to pay a fine. Tibby had also been escorted away to the cargo area by a porter, amidst excited chatters amongst adjacent customs officers.
The couple heaved a sigh of relief, and praised the Lord under their breaths. So far, so good. It was a divine decision then, to bring the cat along despite being frowned upon by their parents. Both of their family members had just had the opportunity to witness the customs clearance and realised, to their chagrin, that some things were just not as bad as they thought they would be.
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