Amsterdam

This is my second trip to Amsterdam. The first was back in 2003, while on a transit from Barcelona. I was attending a meeting in Barcelona then and flew with Royal Dutch Airlines, KLM. Back then, KLM allowed its passengers a stopover in the city at no extra cost so I extended my trip a couple of days to explore Amsterdam. This time round, I'm attending a conference in Amsterdam itself.

I left KL on Friday night, on flight MH16 which was supposed to depart at 2355. And as expected, the flight was delayed but luckily not my much, just over 30 minutes as we had to wait our turn on the runway. The reason why flights have been frequently delayed from KLIA these past few months is because one of the runways is closed for renovation, to widen it to accommodate the new Air Bus.

I conked out soon after take off, couldn't even stay awake long enough for supper to be served. I didn't sleep very well though, and kept waking up every now and then. Seven hours into the flight, I was awoken by the sound of cutleries clanking against one another. It was the Muslims passengers being served their sahur meal, as we were flying over the Middle East and it was time for sahur on the ground. As I couldn't get back to sleep, I caught two movies on the Movies on Demand entertainment channel – Shrek and Anna and the King. Old movies, but nonetheless, my first time watching them.

Breakfast was served about three hours before landing, and I opted for nasi lemak, since I'd have to be contented with Continental breakfast over the next ten over days. The plane landed at Schipol Airport, Amsterdam at about 6.30am, Sept 15, Saturday, local time.