SIN-FRA

Flight was at 11.40pm. I spent the whole morning packing and I deliberated a lot on what clothes to pack. I felt kind of rusty (and I did forget some things too but everything can be bought). I took almost 4 hours to pack which was my longest record ever but I did manage to fit more clothes than I'd expected into my 40L and 30L backpack. Syai came down and gave me raya cookies and we videocalled Emma too. So sweet. I also recevied text messages from my knitting teacher asking if I wanted a lift and a friend from there who bid my farewell. I was surprised that they even remembered my flight date. At this point, I was feeling loved but at the same time, it made it seem like I was never gonna come back... 

So I spent the rest of the day chilling. Then after dinner, I made my last preparations and my mum sent me down and helped me with my bags below my block. Fadhly stayed up and texted me all the way before I boarded the plane. We already had a teary goodbye yesterday but nothing amplifies it more (at least for me) when at the airport. The only time I don't have fucks to give about crying in front of other people. (Okay maybe when I'm drunk too but that's different). Airports are just very emotional places for me. I took sleeping pills while on the flight and it helped with the 13 hours of backache.

Then I landed in Frankfurt, feeling emotional and grateful to be able to do this. I'd met three people on my 14-hour layover in Frankfurt:

1. A 61 year-old retiree. He didn't really confirm any meeting plans until I was on the plane at Changi and I told him, send me the location of your house and I will find you when I land. I wasn't gonna buy some overpriced sim card in Germany so I may not be contactable then. I travelled by train from the airport to his home (thankfully not far) in Erchescheim. Found the exact house and knocked on the door and gate to no avail. Had to ask a stranger to call his number and he came down, insisting that the gate was already unlocked (it wasn't). 

So I stepped into his house and had a rude shock at the amount of junk he had laying about the house. There was clutter everywhere. I was rather horrified but I'm also polite. Immediately I felt a lot less grimy from my flight. He invited me to sit in his living room which was filled with so many stacks of books. I could see some bugs crawling on them. I asked him if he has read them all. He said no.

As I had mentioned that I wanted to take a shower, he kindly told me I could use his bathroom. Which also had a stovetop with pots and pans, cutlery in the sink, a half-opened jar of jam, and a mini fridge. I checked the fridge to make sure there were no dead body parts there. It was empty. I wasn't quite sure if the shower would make me cleaner but I mostly went with logic and so I did. The shower did not drain at all and I was standing ankle-deep in my own filthy water so I had to wash my feet in the sink after. Was a good way to stretch my hamstrings. 

I went downstairs and then told him we should take a walk. So we did. He cut up some carrots to feed capybaras at the nearby river. There were quite a few of them bu they were a bit slow as they are half-blind. He seemed like he was in a rush to send me to the train station though I mentioned that I had already set aside an hour to spend with him. When we walked to the station, he told me that it was so different from what it had looked like before. He was surprised. I asked why and he said he did not take the train for about 2 years as he is unvaccinated (Germany was strict about not allowing unvaxxed people taking public transport). That was the last thing we talked about and then I went on my way to the main train station.

I wandered about the train station an hour or so. It didn't feel great. There were tons of druggies around and it just felt quite unsafe. But there wifi. It's actually easier to travel now that there is wifi is much more accessible in most cities.

2. Katrin, a German primary school teacher. We had fries and we walked around town for about 2 hours and she showed me the nicer side of Frankfurt. The picturesque houses that are very pretty but also very touristy. She also had quit teaching and backpacked a few years ago. She ended up travelling for 2 years and she had convinced me that I will need to take Spanish classes at some point.

3. Kay, a Lebansese guy who had just moved to Frankfurt only 2 days ago. We share a lot of chemistry and he was really easy to talk to. We spent 4 hours together, had a negroni and dinner and it was a lot of fun. I never once felt like I had to think of a topic to discuss with him-- everything came naturally. Lots of banter but also deep conversations. He was saying that he would want to meet up with me again at some point in time. I don't know if that's gonna happen but he's been texting me everyday since and it seems like he's a little in love with me. Don't really know what to do about that because I'm only thinking of Fadhly.