Flying to London

Got onto the plane... was all very exciting and waited until we were up in the air before reading your and Nigel’s card and crying my eyes out for the first 30 minutes. Had the tele infront of me so tried to watch Narnia and the Mighty Boosh but not with much luck because I was watching as the Australian coast slowly slipped away from me. Was amazing watching it though, it really is beautiful to see. The ocean changes colour constantly and the coast is dramatic, weaving its way through an expansive ocean.


The sun was starting to set and I knew the rest of the flight would be in darkness. We landed four or so hours later in Singapore. There were people milling everywhere, everyone had smiles on their faces and there were people from everywhere all over the world. Americans to Indians to people from the Middle East. I went off to try and call Nigel from a pay phone and a lovely Singapore girl saw that I was having some difficulty and asked if I'd like to use her mobile. She lives in Melbourne and was heading to Cork in Ireland for a friends wedding. I used her phone outside where we had a cigarette together. Chatted to Nigel who was exceptionally excited to speak to me.

Singapore is HOT and smoggy. I've never felt so sticky in my life. It’s a very strange feeling, like the heat is sticking to you, going through your jeans, onto every inch of your skin. Not nice at all and I dont think I'll be going there for a holiday I must say. I wandered off to get myself some panadol - I dont think flying really agrees with me, had the worst headache. I also got some peppermint oil that you put behind your ears and on your wrists (not anywhere near eyes or temples... it stings!!!! I may or may not have found that out! hehe) and also grabbed a cup of tea while I read a book and waited for the time I needed to go and get my next plane. The plane wasn't leaving for another hour.

Now, I must tell you about the TOILET! I know its a strange thing, but heaven forbid you see a nicer toilet in your life. The bowls were stand-alone clear glass, the taps were automatic, just bob your hands under and then the water comes out... fantastic. Then there were glass poles infront of you, just behind the hand bowls... the poles were like waves coming down from the roof, behind this were dressing areas... a seat and a mirror individually spaced with lights coming down... like in the old black and white films for movie stars. Very cool. I sat down there and tried to fix myself up a bit because I was looking rather aweful from the first part of the flight.

I had to head off to the security gate for my next flight, its about a 15 minute walk from where I walked into Singapore to where my flight was leaving and there were shops... and shops... and shops. All the special places that you would expect to see in Hollywood. Was quite amazing really. Ofcourse I didnt buy anything, but that alone was a bit of an eye opener.

I went through the security area, had to take my laptop out for it to be screened. A security guard asked me to come out of the line so that he could see if I was carrying any drugs... luckily I left my stash at home with you! hehe he tried to have a chat with me but that didn't work very well because his accent was so thick. So I nodded and laughed at appropriate intervals before heading off to find a seat and wait for boarding time.

The next plane was HUGE... I dont know how to explain the magnitude of it... the TV screen was quite big which I was excited about and decided to watch Primal Fear again with Edward Norton. I was fed and bedded down. The dinner was delicious, a perfectly cooked beef with red wine sauce and polenta (which is like a spiced mash potatoe). I tried to bed down for a few hours but found it all very unconfortable... not to mention the man snoring across the way and baby crying... so I popped on the TV and carried on watching random things for the next 22 hours... it went so quickly... really quickly. You wouldnt expect it, it really isnt as bad as you think it would be. It was a pity I was flying through night in different time zones... there was nothing to see out the window... until

Until I came to London. The plane drew in sideways and all you could see was an expanse of lights... lights through the horrizon, it was like coming into a different planet, a whole nother world. I couldnt help but smile, my hands got clammy and I was realising (slightly sleep deprived) that I was on the other side of the world.

It took some time to debark the plane, everyone waited patiently, all looking very tired. I wandered off through security (somehow beating the crowd which was marvellous) had a chat to the man who didn't want to chat to me! busy busy and all that... there were hundreds of people in the que behind me so I can understand his distaste in my attempt to converse. Then continued my journey to collect my ridiculously huge bag... but infact nothing in comparison to other people on my plane. Some people had three huge suitcases and I thanked my lucky stars that I only had one thing to carry.

I potted off to get a trolly and went to find Mark and Costa coffee where we'd agreed to meet.It took me about three lift rides to find the right floor to get to Costa coffe... T3 is rather huge with people EVERYWHERE! Mark got there and it was about 6.30amwhen he picked me up. We had a chat over a VERY large cup of tea with FOUR sugars and then headed to the tube, set with bags and me feeling as though I was very drunk when in fact it was simply not sleeping for about 28 hours...