It’s Dear & my first time flying Northwest & we thoroughly enjoy every bit of it - service is very good, the seats comfortable, the staffs most friendly, & the food’s most wonderful - And we’ve both been napping pretty non-stop, besides watching some movies, since flying from our hometown in Singapore, stopping in Tokyo, then Minnesota, & now into our final flight of another 3 hours to our final destination - Orlando, Florida - as the sun’s setting & the blue sky’s turning dark………….

And we have our first sight of the American Sunshine State glittering in darkness way down below us - “Haha heheh we’re finally here in orlando!!” Dear expressing himself as though he’s still in a pretty unclear state of mind that he’s really in America :

Now see my first Video of our flight landing at Orlando International Airport, located in the Major City in Central Florida on the East Coast of USA.

Video of Northwest Flight Landing at Orlando International Airport - Florida :

Praise the Lord!! Praise the Lord!!! The US time now is 7.40pm (which is 13 hours behind Singapore), & Dear & I are finally at Orlando, Florida - safe & sound!!! Well, safe but not quite sound actually since we’re extremely exhausted after flying & stopping-in-between to arrive here - all in all - 26 hours in total!!

And YES we’ve got our 2 checked-in luggages with us - in good shape too!! Dear & I had been pretty worried that they’re go missing considering we’ve got 3 Transits throughout our long flights from Singapore, but thank god they’ve safely landed here with us - Good Service to Northwest Airlines!!

“WOW it’s so beautiful it’s an Airport Hotel!!!” shouting to each other as Dear & I walk happily & excitedly out of the US Immigration Checkpoint - Dear & I always feel something joyous in our hearts bump whenever we see Hyatt Hotels around the world cos we both had our Chinese Customary Wedding Dinner at Grand Hyatt Singapore some 7 years ago :

Dear standing infront of the most lovely Hyatt Regency Hotel surrounding tall lively Palm Trees - & hey the Trees are not fake at all!!!

I’d actually called up the Town & Country Transportation in Orlando, from Singapore before our trip, to make a reservation on our Airport Transfer to our Olando Hotel - Quality Inn International - & we’re supposed to be met by the Transportation Company guy upon our arrival at the Airport. However, he’s nowhere to be found so Dear & I decided to use the alternative 24-hour Mears Motor Shuttle which we see right upon stepping into the Basement.

Below shows Dear queuing at the Mears Motor Shuttle on the Basement of Orlando International Airport :

Dear holding our Mears Hotel Shuttle (Round Trip) Receipts & Boarding Passes - which cost US$29 per Round Trip per person which is equivalent to $44 Singapore dollar. Wow that’s really very expensive considering Quality Inn International is but only about 10 mins drive away. But we’re told that taking a cab will cost even more here in Florida!!

Anyway, we need to submit our Shuttle Receipts & Boarding Passes (one way) at the below Mears Hotel Shuttle Counter which is directly oppsite the Mears Motor Shuttle purchase counter :

And in return, we’re given the below Black Pager which will sound off when the Transportation guy informs us of our Hotel Shuttle’s arrival - everything’s so convenient & orderly!!

And in about 15 mins time, our Pager starts beeping - our Hotel Shuttle is here now,

Below’s our Mears Hotel Shuttle - & though it feels a little cold out here at 10 degrees celcius outside the Airport now, Dear & I love it & we’re feeling so Happy!!

And just to let you know, you’ve to mention very precisely the exact name of the Hotel that you’ll be staying when purchasing the Airport Transfer, & to double confirm when boarding the Shuttle, & best to mention its address-Postal Code cos there’re more than just one Hotel with the name Quality Inn - eg. Quality Inn Plaza, Quality Inn, Quality Inn & Suites etc. In this case of ours it’s Quality Inn International 7600, which is how the Floridians state it to distinguish the Hotel, by its 4-digit Postal Code.

Dear & I are the last 2 (among 11 passengers onboard) to get off our Hotel Shuttle at the Quality Inn International 7600. And as our Hotel Shuttle approaches the Hotel, Dear & I are filled with wonders & delights to see that there’re many tourist shops & eateries - even the World’s Largest Mcdonald’s (which I’ve read about online) is right at the Hotel’s door-step (5 mins away)!! And I keep telling Dear “Heheh see we’ve made the right choice - so lucky lucky!!”

Dear & I had initially wanted to stay at another Hotel located in Kissimme in Orlando’s suburb, & just only a couple of days before our departure, we decided that we should stay at the Quality Inn International instead & so, I’d called up the Hotel to reserve a Room facing the pond & courtyard garden, as I’ve read the Hotel reviews on the Internet that that’s where the Hotel has got the best view with no noise, unlike its other 2 Tower blocks which get much noise from the 2 Hotel pools & nearby highway.

We soon check into the Quality Inn International & as requested, Dear & I are given a Room facing the Hotel pond & garden located in the courtyard, on the 2nd level of one of two 2-storey Chalet blocks. 

Ist Chalet Block- Quality Inn International :

And then we realise the blocks have only staircases & no elevators at all!! And it’s almost 9pm now & we see no Hotel porters around so Dear & I carry our 2 big heavy Luggages up the stairs - managing pretty well though, & we arrive at our Room 1402  :

“WOW WOW what a spacious huge Room - & so clean & cosy too!!” Dear & I can’t help repeating to each other upon entering our Room, & we both like the Room’s warm colors very much too!! We’re overjoyed!!

And the Room comes with full amenities - Refridgerator, Coffee Maker, In-Room Safe (though it’s way too small & big enough for only documents & small items), Hairdryer (which is the most important to me!!), Alarm Clock (though we won’t need it cos Dear always bring his whenever we travel), & even a Microwave, Ironing Board & Iron!!

However upon Dear’s routine check around our Room, he discovers that the Bathroom’s light is not working!! Haha!! So I dial up the Hotel Housekeeping looking for a Technician to fix the lights - & about 15 mins later, he appears………

The Technician tries fixing the lights but he can’t get it fixed & soon leaves our Room saying he needs to go grab something to replace the light’s fixture etc - & so we wait & 20 mins later he’s still not returned!! So we figure the light can’t be fixed at all so I make another phone call to the Hotel Recept to ask for a Room change.

Then we realise that our 2nd Room is also located on the 2nd level directly across our 1st Room in the 2nd Chalet block - Alamak!! Now we’ve still got to carry our bags down the 1st block & then up the 2nd block!!

2nd Chalet Block- Quality Inn International :

Having no choice - Dear & I start bringing our huge pretty heavy Bags down from our 1st Room, & while walking towards the opposite 2nd block, we’re very lucky to meet a Hotel White security guard who’s very friendly to help us carry our bags up the 2nd level in the 2nd block - I mention White cos so far we’d only seen all Black employees from the Hotel Receptionists to the Technician, just like what we saw in Minneapolis-St Paul International Airport in our earlier Transit Stop where 70% of its workers are Blacks.

Anyway, here we are - Dear’s standing outside our replacement Room 1406 :

See our new lovely Room from outside the long corridor : 

Dear beaming with smiles inside our Room, & Me happily about to unpack our Bags soon…………

But not when Dear soon finds out that the Room’s Air-conditioner (hearter + cooler) isn’t working!!! Errrrrrrr so stupid stupid!!! So again, I call up the Hotel Recept looking for the Technician again - this time to fix the Air-con!!

And so again we wait………& wait………….already feeling very tired from our long flights from Singapore…………..& about another 20 mins or so later, I give up & start calling the Hotel Recept again for another change of Room, cos again I think that Technician has long gone to bed!!! Hahah!! Dear & I both wana cry in laughters by now!!!! It’s just so unbelievably insane for our very 1st night in Orlando!!!

Soon I start walking to the Hotel Recept again (just like I did for our 2nd Room) to take the 3rd Room Key, though I was often told that our Keys will be sent to us they often never appear infront of us soon enough at all………or rather cos I’m just too tired of waiting & waiting for them to come forever……………..

And well, I finally get our new Key to our 3rd Room 1422 :

And you’d think that our story ends here ha?!?! Well, guess what?!? You’re wrong cos Dear soon discovers yet another 2 issues with that 3rd Room as I send him checking it out first while I rest in the 2nd Room, & we also wana find out the exact location of that 3rd Room before we start carrying our bags down & up & everywhere searching for it & looking like 2 idiots!!

And well, at least the 3rd Room is located on the 2nd level of the same 2nd Block as 2nd Room 1422, which means we need not carry our Bags down & up again!! But like I mentioned earlier, there’re 2 issues with the 3rd Room- the bedside Lamp can’t switch on though that’s pretty fine with us………..but more worse - its Door Lock is faulty & can’t securely lock!!! Hahahahah!!! What a great great JOKE of the NEW year!!! And I’m begining to think that may be we’re bewitched or something!?!?!! Oh my god oh my god!!!

By now, Dear & I are thinking may be we should just stick with the 2nd or 3rd room cos we’re simply just so tired - thinking No Air-con or Heater in the 2nd Room is ok since nights are cold here in Orlando, yet not too cold that we’ll need Heater…………but then on second thoughts, we still feel that it’ll be too stuffy in there without an Air-con - besides we can’t open the windows as we wish cos the Rooms all face the public corridors!!

As for the 3rd Room - we innitially think that the faulty Lock won’t be too bad since there’s another internal lock to the door…………however after earnest thinking, Dear thinks it’s still not safe for us, especially when I’ll be all alone when he’s away in his Conference………..

Then we even think of changing to a Room in either one of the other 2 Tower blocks……………but then we feel that’ll be a pretty far distance away from the Hotel Recept & Lobby where there’s everything we need - a mini Convenience Store, Bar with music, Video Arcade Room, Gift Shop & best of all - a Tour Desk. Besides, the Tower Rooms get noise from the Hotel pools & nearby highway (day & night) which Dear & I are most concerned.

And just as Dear & I are contemplating over the 2 Rooms……..the Hotel Receptionist calls me up in our 2nd Room to inform us of our 4th Room, as I’d been smarter enough (when I collected the Key to our 3rd Room earlier) to actually request her to check on a possible 4th Room for us, just in case the 3rd doesn’t work either!! And I was right on spot!!!

And well, the Hotel girl who’s been serving us is pretty helpful, very friendly & very apologetic upon knowing how tired Dear & I are from our long flights, plus all the waiting & walking & waiting & walking & still NO Technicain appearing & NO Room available in good shape at all!!! And I even aks if she’s only just been joking with us & teasing us throughout the night!! And she & I actually laugh quite pretty often together over the whole weird Room ordeal!! Hahah YES you’re right I can still laugh cos I need to keep myself sane haha!!!

Anyway, Dear then starts walking to the Hotel Recept again to collect the Key to our 4th Room - & this time we pray very very hard that it’ll be the last ONE Room to end all our miseries & agonies…………but not quite the happy ending for us yet, cos it seems forever for Dear’s return……….

And just as I’m losing all hope & almost confined to fate ………..both Dear & the Technician (that same Black Technician from the 1st Room) appear from 2 different directions infront of me at almost the same timing (how funny is that ha!??!?) - Well, Dear returning from the Recept empty-handed of course, which I soon find out, as the Key to the 4th Room is all along with the Technician whom Dear has been waiting for at the Recept!!! Yet again of course the Technician chooses never to appear at the Recept but comes straight to the Room instead!!! How ridiculous!!! And just how much nonsense can one get all within a night!! My goodness!!

And still, I remain calm & remark to the Technician that I thought he’d retired for the night & he leisurely says that he can’t help it as he’s the only one to handle the entire Hotel’s technical issues……….well well, seems that Dear & I are not the only ones having so many problems all at once in a row with 3 Rooms on the same night ha?!?! How absurd is that haha!!!!

Anyway, the Technician soon checks out our 2nd & 3rd Room, & well, he kinda denies anything is wrong with either rooms cos he says that the Air-con in the 2nd Room is not faulty at all but just very slow cos it takes time to cool or heat up………….& for the Broken Down Lock to the door in the 3rd Room he thinks it’s still pretty ok & for a seconds we nearly wana take it up & just fall flat on the bed to sleep………….but not after what he adds on - telling us it’s not too safe to have a non-secured lock, cos it happens often that people from the outside public just walk into the Hotel & vandalise the Rooms etc, which shock us a bit but then we’re not too entirely surprised considering the areas & compound in the entire Hotel is so vast, & hey this is America where anything’s possible!!

Anyway, the Technician soon opens the door to our 4th Room 1426 & he & Dear run a quick check on the Toilet’s lights, Air-Con & of course all the Door Locks!! & Whoa-la!! Whoa-la!! Thank God our 4th Room gets to be our final all-working-well Room!! And FINALLY FINALLY after more than an hour of sufferings……….Dear & I get to settle down……………..peacefully & comfortably in our newest 4th Room 1426.

Our Air-con is GREAT with good heating & cooling air - a new system which the Technician earlier said though Dear thinks it’s the same but may be just better……….all our Door Locks CAN lock very securely & very safely too………….all our Room’s lights seem the most energetic as our whole Room looks so much brighter & prettier……….& unlike what we saw earlier in the 1st Room - our Bathroom is the cleanest with no black stain on its walls, & the Bathtub is especially cleanest too!!! Guess the long waiting & utmost understanding & patience on our parts pay off as it turns out we’ve got the most beautiful & best Room now which we so deserve!!!

Below are the Bart Simpsons Envelopes containing our Room Card Keys - showing the new Simpsons Ride at Universal Orlando Resort - heheh this’s a place of visit in Dear & My holiday plan here :))

Dear & I are very pleased with our Room, & it’s very important that we’ve got a good one to start the night with in Orlando, cos we’ll be staying here for the next 8 nights!!

And for those who’d been scared out of the hell reading our whole Room ordeal of tonight - I’d say do not be put off by the side of my story here cos I’d say that the Hotel Recept staffs are really very pleasant & accommodating, & the Technician is pretty ok too though he always never appears on time………….or may be like what he said - he was really very busy with other fixing problems in the Hotel since he’s the only guy around - & that he’s really all stressed out, or may be it’s just that he’s plain lazy & ildling around…………but somehow after all the rubbish with our Rooms the entire night, Dear & especially I still don feel very mad at all, guess the feeling of being in America is just simply great!! And may be I’ve always had a soft spot for the Blacks!!

Besides, may be it’s just that Dear & I are really very unlucky to start with - tell you something, upon my unpacking of my Toiletries, I discover that my MIRROR is BROKEN - YES a BROKEN MIRROR!! Not that I’m superstitious or anything, but to Chinese, Broken Mirrors mean Bad Luck - a Superstition or just an Old Man’s Tale I’ve never known & never bother to pursue………..And well, I do hope that Dear & I will not continue to have Bad Luck throughout our entire Trip cos in a new land of total strangers without friends & family by our sides, we both do need lots of extra care & love & good luck especially!!

A Broken Mirror during my travelling…………well, it’s never happened in all my past travelling, & such a night’s weird & strange happenings in the Hotel has never happened to Dear & I ever before too, so may be it’s after all not an auspicious thing to break a Mirror ha?!!

But then that was a plain on its own, & very thin piece of Mirror with no protection cover whatsever, besides I never wrap it with any paper or cloth to protect it, but just chuck it into my Toiletry bag in the very last minute before we left home…………..& that’s something which I’d never done before during any of my travelling, cos all the time I’ll have my cosmetic mirror in my handbag…………….

But then my Toiletry Bag carrying the Mirror was not completely filled up but still rather spacious so may be the Mirror got loose & moved around, then got knocked & broke, cos it was packed in my checked-in Travelling Luggage……….so may be it’s all just only a coincidence after all…………..

What I’m trying to say here is that, may be, bad luck won’t happen if one’s Mirror is accidentally broken by other factors other than one’s own - in this case my Mirror was broken due to movements in the Aiport or plane - but then I was the one to put the Mirror into my Toiletry Bag in the 1st place ha………errrr it’s all sounding a little frightening to me right now!!!

What do you personally think?! To tell you the truth, I’m clueless on my part………..but after I chance upon this Article which I later find on the Internet (after this Trip) that even the Romans, Greek, Africans & Indians have such belief just like the Chinese, & their Reasonings Behind A Broken Mirror  - really, it feels so eerie & gives me the creeps throughout my whole body!!!

Now back to our new Room 1426 in Orlando - Haha as I’m telling Dear at least our Room No has got a ”6″ which in Chinese dialet Hokkien means “Good Luck” - No 1 means “Unity”, & though “4″ is considered “Unlucky” by most Chinese, it actually means “Good Fortune or Happiness” in some local Chinese dialets, & “2″ also means “Easy or Good Things Come in Pairs” - so actually in total, our Room No 1426 can be considered a very Good & Lucky No ha!!! Besides it’s the 4th Room that we’re staying in right now!! Which means Dear & I will have a really good time here in Orlando heheh!! We really hope so we really hope so!!!

Well, here’re our 3 looking-tired Babies settling down on our most comfortable huge bed - with their Travelling Bag containing their change of clothes for the Holiday with Ma Ma & Pa Pa in the Sunshine State - it feels so good to finally be able to cuddle them in safeness now after such a long weary night……………

Sportie, Smartie & Cutie :

But guess NOT all the things work very well in our new Room cos when Dear & I are about to bathe, we realise that the Water Heater’s not doing pretty good!! It only gets slightly warm & we’ve to switch on the Room Heater at full power & wash up quickly cos it’s pretty freezing - not forgetting that the temperature outside now is less than 10 degrees celsious!!!

Now, Dear & I feel like eating something cos we’re feeling hungry though we’d been eating kinda non-stop throughout our 26-hour journey from Singapore, guess it must be the Cold weather……….

Actually Dear & I had planned to check into our Hotel Room first, then walk to the outside World’s Largest Mcdonald’s for food when we first arrived here. But then who’d thought that we had to go through so much & so long to settle down in our Room haha!!! And by the time we’re done unpacking & washing up, the time’s past 11pm & we’re already dead tired!!

And though our Hotel Room does provide local Pizza delivery - we figure the best quickest most convenient way is to have Instant Noodles in the comforts of our warm cosy Room with our Babies!!!

So it’s really lucky that I’d been very thoughtful enough to pack along these MANY Korean Instant Cup Noodles all the way from home………..we heard from my nephew Daniel (from his recent USA Trip) that everything in America is very costly (cos there’re still extra Taxes) from just a can of Coke to a meal……….he too brought in some Noodles & canned Luncheon meat ………….& so I thought it’d be a great idea too for us to bring some just in case Dear & I get hungry for food during the cold nights- or when we run out of money here hahah!!!

And I also brought 2 Canned Tulip Hot Dogs to go with our Noodles :

Well, here’s a very COOL pic I found on the Internet - which I call “True Live Hot Dogs”!! Heheh ain’t they so ADORABLE!! And so yummy yummy too!!! I mean the Long Buns with the Chili & Mustard Sauce!!!

True Live Hot Dogs :

And haha I even brought along some Pineapple Tarts from our recent Chinese Lunar New Year celebration!! Well, you know the Singlish terms which are Singaporean-developed words - ”Kiasu” & “Kiasi”?! Well, in Chinese Dialet Hokkien - “Kia” means “Afraid” & “Su” means “Lose Out”, so “Kiasu” means “Afriad to Lose Out”. And ”Si” means “Die” so “Kiasi” means “Afraid to Die”!!!

But well actually cos they’re Dear’s favourite Festive cookies & I so love him dearly that’s why I brought la!!

Chinese Lunar New Year Festive Pineapple Tarts :

And well, it so happens that I’m a true born-Singaporean & so I brought along my Festive favoruites too - Mini Pork Floss, & Dried Shrimp & Chili Rolls - actually the former’s also Dear’s favourite too la!!

Chinese Lunar New Year Festive Mini Pork Floss, & Dried Shrimp & Chili Rolls :

And if you notice my Paddington Bear Containers - our Babies Smartie, Sportie & Cutie especially like them cos they love taking planes & come travelling with Ma Ma & Pa Pa, & cos it also reminds them of the London Tower Bridge pics of Ma Ma & Pa Pa during their Honeymoon heheh!!

Anyway, remember I said earlier that not all things work too well in our Room?! Well, it takes us forever to boil a small kettle of Water in our Room cos it never gets boiled even after half long hour!! So Dear walks to the Hotel Convenience Store to ask for Hot Water for our Instant Noodles - & the Storekeeper is very nice to lend Dear a Black tray to hold his 2 big bowls of Noodles, with complimentary Plastic Forks too :

At the same time, Dear bought a huge bottle of Zephyrhills Natural Spring Water - which to me tastes slightly funny & different but Dear insists it’s the best from the Store!! And he’s right cos it’s considered “Pure Water from a Pure Place” coming from the deepest water sources in Florida near the Town of Zephyrhills, known as the City of Pure Water!! WHOA!!!

Our 2 Big Bowls of Korean Instant Noodles of Spicy & Non-spicy types - Time to TUCK IN now!!! We’re starving!!!

And to our joy, the Hot Water from the Hotel Convenience Store is so steaming HOT & our Noodles taste extremely superb!!

Sipping the Hot Steaming Soup & enjoying our Springy Noodles in the WARM comforts away from the outside freezing COLD in our most comfortable Room - it seems that sometimes the simplest things in life can be just that plain heavenly & beautiful!!!

After our supper - it’s time to go through our BIG PLAN for our next day in Orlando :))) And I forgot to mention earlier that the Hotel also comes with an In-Room Computer & Tourist Information Guides :

And we’ve got tons of Orlando Tourist Guides & Pamplets from the Hotel Lobby which we took upon check-in which are really wonderful & helpful for us - now here’re some of them :

Dear & I spend some time going through our itinerary for our BIG DAY tomorrow & then it’s time to tune in cos we’re both drop dead tired!! Good Night & Sweet Dreams………..

The following’s my Travelling Slideshow of all Photos taken from our Flight to Orlando, Florida till our check-in into the Quality Inn International, inclusive of a very interesting Cartoonised Video of the Song ”Sunshine State of Mind”.

Remember do not be too bothered by any Broken Mirror - cos life’s still got to move on………so might as well let’s all have a Sunshine State of Mind & be Merry & Cheery!! Remember there’s always Sunshine tomorrow……………..God bless America & All!!