Day 28 and 29 | The last day in Japan & flying back home [part2]

Apparently I was not able to finish my whole text and the photographs in the previous post so here is the final part with photographs.

Arriving to Doha, Qatar

I will not bother you much with the details of the flight there. I was pretty tired and especially when checking the time on my smartphone my brain got literally totally lost in time. I helped the Japanese couple shortly after we set off as they were searching for other languages. This time I was able to understand them and even try to explain in Japanese.

I turned on first some music from the library and hoped to fall asleep quickly as one does not have to worry about reality. It worked but for a short time. I tried again sleeping and got woken up by the crew as they started giving away lunch and dessert. I was totally confused as it was maybe "local time" 3am and we had been for less than 3 hours in the air.. but in reality might have spent already half of our time on the plane.

After lunch I went back to sleep and the window's blind rollers were still down.

In the last 2 hours before reaching Doha I turned on Hobbit and some other movie as I could not sleep any more and wanted something to get my attention, that the time passes by quicker. I didn't manage to finish it which was good.

Once we had our rolling blinds opened you could see the dawn "in the air". The sky was turning from the light purple and pink into light blue and warm colours of the sunrise. I missed the Himalayas again but okay. After approaching the Persian gulf everything just seemed to be faster and indeed it was.

We started landing to Doha while there were many clouds in the air and was a bit impossible to see anything through it. Just as we were a few hundred meters from the ground I noticed the sand and than we touched the ground. It was good to be there again. I had to switch my mobile phone to the local time in order to be able to follow the flight schedule properly.

We were actually a little bit late and what bother me was having around 20 minutes before the boarding on the plane for Zagreb started. And we just got into the first (but familiar) hall where we had to go through check-in and put our bags on the scan. I got a bit nervous as not only this had to be done and then run to the other side of this huge complex but I also had to run to the restroom, just like 200 hundred more people from just our plane. I also discovered inside the restroom the purpose of the small plastic bags I never opened. There were a toothbrush and a toothpaste and I realized it once I saw some businessman brushing his teeth quickly and having the plastic package of Qatar Airways next to him.

I was rushing now towards my gates. No time for shops and stores. The photos I took got lost unfortunately. It took me about 10 minutes to reach my gates. I had to go till the end and pass by all the bars and restaurants and then down the escalator. I found my gates to be at the very same location as where I boarded on the plane for Osaka a month ago. The hall was already filled with many passengers. I was not that much thirsty as the water from the restroom was pretty good and did not want to buy a bottle there (which costed about 2 Euros). I noticed many Croatian passports around me which made me feel much better.

The boarding started a bit before 6am and we first entered the bus. I remember by using the internet there it was already more than 40 degrees outside just at 5am! And later while getting on the plane close to 50. Crazy!

While climbing up the stairs for the plane I remember it was very hot and dry outside and many kilometers behind us you could see the skyscrapers.

6 hours till Zagreb

Upon entering the plane I heard the familiar music that is never going to leave your ears. Some Arabic melody that is now the official music theme when landing or preparing to set off with Qatar Airways. And the stewardesses were partly from Croatia. I was sitting next to the window and also got company. There were two women from Japan and Australia going to Croatia for a couple of days or weeks. I got lucky they were also pretty open so we were talking on half of our way there and the Japanese had to listen to my stories whether she wanted it or not. I recorded a few minutes of taking off so you can enjoy the view over the area before the sun's reflections of the sea's surface killed my eyes.

The flight lasted for about 6 and half hours. We were supposed to be in Zagreb at around 12. 30am (local time). I was not sure who was going to wait for me there. It was my grandpa in the end.

Once we crossed Istanbul and Bulgaria and my friends woke up I showed them my presentation of Croatia and then we were already close to home. I was getting a bit excited now and felt like coming from the other planet back to Zagreb.

Back home

We were about to land within few minutes. It was about 12. 15pm local time but my brain might have been used to Japanese 7. 15pm. The familiar landscape was now visible from our windows. However, it felt so funny when we started landing and reached the airport as Zagreb's Pleso airport is very small compared to the big world international Airports such as these in Osaka, Zurich, Doha etc. Just as I was excited telling my friends that we arrived I could not finish the sentence and we already passed the whole runway. The next a bit embarrassing or rather funny thing was when the pilot asked us for patience as "all the parking lots were taken". I was just like "There are 2 more planes on the track and the whole airport has no more space? ".

Upon listening to Qatar Airways music and "have a nice day" we went out. In contrast to Japan or Doha there is no shuttle connecting our plane with the platform to leave nor the bus ride lasts longer than a minute. As soon as we got in the bus three of us stuck with each other.

The place was a bit crowded as two planes landed about the same time so there were hundreds of passengers waiting in the line for the EU Citizens and those with the non-EU documents. I helped my colleagues to find find their way and waited for them at the luggage room after getting my passport scanned.

The luggage arrived in 5-6 minutes, it's always slow or at least takes a lot for my large suitcase to arrive. While waiting for your luggage you can see through the transparent glass (and wall) those who were waiting for the passengers. This way your friends, family or persons who will pick you up can notice you soon. My grandpa was waiting for me but was still out and I met him in 10 minutes.

Source

We left the luggage room, went through the small passage and found ourselves in the big hallway at the western entrance of the airport. Though small Zagreb Pleso is at least looking modern when talking of the interior. Small but comfortable.

We greeted each other, they signed my diary and I went to the road. Soon arrived my grandpa yelling "Konnichiwa", I put my bags in and we drove off to our apartment. Lunch and the pancakes were waiting for me prepared by my grandma. Shortly after the lunch I took all the things I brought with myself on the table and my bed so my grandparents can check it and send a photo of it to my family in Dalmatia. I love Qatar Airways and their limit of 30 kg, otherwise this would never work. What the reaction was you can only guess.

Thanks for reading and i hope you enjoyed the documentary diary about Japan!

Photo gallery