Our boarding passes stated that we’ll be sitting at 38H and 38K. I was anxious about this as I wanted us to sit together (but of course!). Logically H doesn’t sit beside K, but I was hoping that they have a unique (funny?) way of sorting alphabets.

Turns out, they DO! Imagine my relief when the stewardess told me at the door (after inspecting our boarding passes) that Shahril’s seat is next to mine, before showing the way to us. So yey!

I have no idea whether it was Boeing ke Airbus ke. I just don’t digest that kind of information, hehe. The seat arrangement was 2-4-2 and it felt spacious, so no complaints there. Apparently A sits beside C, H sits beside K.. Yang 4 kat tengah tu ada E ada F.. lagi 2 I’m not sure. Hehe

One thing that really stood out for me is that, before the plane took off, after the usual safety video, there was a do’a recital. I thought this was a nice touch. Little thing that differentiate one from another. It would be nice if MAS can do the same, kan?

Just before we took off, the head stewardess announced (announcements were made both in Arabic & English) that the they have among the crew who can speak Arabic, English, Malay, Hungarian and also Chinese. I remember thinking: I didn’t know Hungarian is THAT common. :).  That’s kinda nice too, I think. But this is probably more common than the do’a recital. :)

Eventhough by then I realized that it was really happening, that we were really going for Umrah, I was still as nervous as before, if not more. So nervous, I didn’t even bother to check what movies were available for example. Banyak nasihat2 yang saya baca pun bagitau yang we should utilize the time to do zikir etc, preparing our minds basically. I tried reading the do’a book provided by the TA but I couldn’t seem to focus either. Rasa macam last2 minute before exam, try baca buku tapi tak masuk apa2 kan.. haaa macam tu la lebih kurang. (Nampak sgt biasa buat last2 minute baru nak baca buku untuk exam. Muahaha)

There were a few strong turbulences along the way as warned by the pilot, but other than that it was OK. Dinner was yummy (we chose chicken curry with rice ) and despite rasa kematu ponggong (ni baru 7-hour flight!), we managed to get some sleep. Next thing we knew, we were about to land in Abu Dhabi.

* Pictures are either from Mr Google or Etihad’s website.

*Next: From Abu Dhabi to Jeddah