Sunday, October 05, 2008

Rotterdam, Netherlands Oct. 2008: Arriving in Heathrow from Rotterdam

05OCT08 Heathrow International , London England (LHR)

By 9:15a, we arrived at the gate. I collected my bag that I had gate checked from one of the rows in the plane as the flight attendant had stored it there.
I then made my way out of the plane walking on the ground then up to the terminal. This was actually quite cool. The weather was overcast and slight rain, but did not feel as cold as Rotterdam.

In no time, I was in the Immigration Hall. I tried using the Iris machine, but twice it failed to recognize me. I think I will have to re-do my biometrics. I then went to the regular line and waited for a about 10 minutes to be processed.

After all that was over, I made my way to Customs and then out to the arrivals hall. As I had not listed for my return flight just yet, I did so at the kiosk and collected my boarding pass for tomorrow. Now I don’t have to worry about it tomorrow. I then headed for the Underground, where I topped up my Oyster card and boarded the waiting train to the city. In an hour or so, I’ll arrive at my destination.

Rotterdam, Netherlands Oct. 2008: Arriving in Rotterdam International, Rotterdam Netherlands (RTM)

05OCT08 Rotterdam International, Rotterdam Netherlands (RTM)

It was 7:30a when I exited the #12 bus at Rotterdam airport. It was still dark out and raining. There was one guy boarding the bus heading back to the city.

I made my way into the empty terminal; I was the only passenger in the entire check-in lobby. I approached the agent, greeted her, presented my credentials and got checked in. Window or aisle she asked; I chose a window. As I finished up, three persons queued up behind me for the same flight.

I then took a few pictures before I entered the secure area. This was a painless process as I was the only one in the queue. Inside the waiting area, there were actually a few other passengers waiting for the flight.

After a while, I took out my computer and it was then that I noticed a sign saying that T-Mobile was offering complimentary WiFi. Sweet! I connected, sent some blog updates and checked e-mail.

At 8:01a, an announcement was made that we should clear Immigration and then wait the boarding of the flight. I logged off, then did as was requested. I was able to log on again just before we started boarding promptly at 8:10a.
We all boarded a bus and headed out to the waiting Fokker F50 as it continued to rain..