What I Did Over the Weekend

I'm writing this whilst travelling at some 540 miles per hour at 38,000 feet over the Australian desert, approaching Alice Springs. From this height Uluru is nowhere near as impressive as it is up close.

Inspired by mr_orgue's travel commmentaries of Israel and Ireland, and possessed by an urge to capture and share my feelings, and finally just to give myself practice at writing, I have decided to type a few words about my experiences on this trip.

If nothing else it can act as a record of one of my trips for when I grow older and can no longer remembeer anything.Unlike the excitment of mr_orgue's trips, I am going to relatively boring places and doing relatively boring things, and more to the point I am doing it in the comfort of Business Class, or Golden Club as Malaysian Airlines calls it.

The name makes me think of expensive weapons, perhaps used for ritual sacrifice. Because of this you will not get any "life from the trenches" reports or descriptions of beautiful scenery, you will have to put up with my observations and attempts at wittiness instead.

But it will just sound like the angsty whinings of a spoilt brat to those of you who do their travelling the hard way.

Note that these posts will be back dated on LJ, as I don't have access from the plane!

First Leg - Wellington To Auckland

Saturday the 31st October did not begin well. I awoke at around 4.30.am and did not manage to get back to sleep after that. Then I got up as if it were a normal day, breakfasted and packed a few final things, and put this machine in it's case after a final mail check.

Eleonore got up and drove me to the airport, where I ran into the first snag.

Supposedly, Malaysian immigation has some odd requirement that people's passports can't just not be expired, but it can't exspire in the next six months! What's the point of that?

Still, after a bit of dicsussion the counter staff decided that as I was only passing through it should be alright. They also then made a mistake which I didn't know about at the time.

The discussion and research of the counter staff turned what had been an "arriving with lots of time to spare" into a "getting to the gate just as they were boarding", so I missed out on a few quiet moments with Eleonore I might have otherwise had.

We rarely get such moments these days with me at work and doing my stuff, and her transporting the boys around the countryside and whatever else it is she does that results in her never being around for us to be able to go out together anymore.

Then it was through security. Why is it they always ask me if I still have a cellphone on me? Is it because they expect all air travellers to carry one theses days? Or is it that I look like I should be carrying one?

I waved goodbye to Eleonore through the glass from the secuity enclosure, and I heard Spandau Ballet's Through the Barricades in my head. Then another expanse of time waiting for boarding. At this point I started to get quite depressed. Facing a long boring trip to do a boring job in a boring country, with the prospect of more trouble to come around my not-yet-expired passport.

By the time I was getting on the plane, and found myself seated by the middle emergency exit, the joy of additional leg room in that seat was tempered by the feeling that I would almost certainly need to know how to open that exit. I studied the three-frame cartoon intently.

Luckily I had bought several copies of F&SF (Fantasy & Science Fiction) from Peter Friend at the last Phoenix Society meeting, and had packed them in my carry-on. I'm certain that having an evie_fae in my carry-on would have been much more exciting, but as it was Robert Reed's story of the native American shaman Raven engrossed me thoroughly enough that, as is often the case with a good read, by the time I reached Auckland I had perked up considerably.

The little girls in the pink jackets wearing skirts so short they wouldnt have looked out of place in shoujen, who handed out boiled sweets, helped too.

Second Leg - Auckland to Kuala Lumpur

I got off the plane feeling bouncy again, and sauntered over the international terminal as if I owned Auckland, looking cool in my leather coat and new grey Trekkers, taking shortcuts because I could, being the seasoned traveller that I am.I had noticed earlier that the departure tax sticker had not been added to the ticket stub for me this time by the travel agents, so I went to the BNZ office to purchase one, and was momentarily amazed at the size of the queue. Just as I joined up and resigned myself to another long wait, I noticed that there was another BNZ branch about a hundred feet down the concourse. It didn't have a queue stretchng out of it's doors and down the walkway.Taking the gamble that it was open I walked down to discover it had three tellers and there were only three people queueing! Whee! I got my departure tax sticker, and headed off to the Malysian Airlines counter to check in, feeling smug. Got there, and there were no people behind the counters. Hmm... goes Frank, another obstacle to overcome. Realizing that there were no other people hanging round waiting either I went and asked one of the ladies running the Singapre Airlines counter whether she knew when the Malaysian counters would open. It is lucky that I asked, because she told me that they had moved! Aside : I am now flying over Australia's Central desert. Used to seeing the sea when flying, can't see it at all from here. Great Southern Land is right. But it's a but more turbulent than travel over sea!! I walked down the concourse and found them. Turns out they had moved because of the rennovations occurring in their normal area. Stilll no harm done, and get to the check-in counter, where we discover the mistake made earlier at check-in in Wellington. They had removed the wrong ticket stub, the one for the leg from Auckland to KL. The shift-manager is called over, who explains that he can't put me on the plane without the stub, but says he's not surprised, and that Wellington have done this twice before this week, so they'll call up and get them to send it up.I go and have a wander round the concourse while they get it sorted out and when I get back they are being very reasonable and allowing me on even though the stub won't make it before I have to board, they have been assured it is being sent up!. Kudos to the shift manager for breaking the rules to help out a customer. And at first I'd thought he'd looked like the snotty beuarcratic type who would make miss my flight rather than break rules. Anyway, having got a boarding pass I hurried to get through customs before something else could go wrong!. Customs were friendly and no hassle at all, and then it was up to the Air New Zealand Koru lounge for a bourbon and coke, some cheese and a delicious apple strudel while watching the New Zealand Breakers and Syndey Razorbacks play from the night before.An American tourist sat next me to and said he'd actually attended the game the night before.Boarded, got settled and started reading againOne more than adequate alien planet story, a review of "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" whch actually made me want to see it, and a wonderful story by Benjamin called Starting the Clock This is a story I think all those people who like playing RPG's about being little kids should read. It has a wonderful premise, great characters, fun tech, and it makes it damn obvious that this writer is one to watch out for. I won't dicsuss the story in any detail as I don't want to ruin it for people, but I wil be pimping it to people when I get back.So, then it was time for what Malaysian Airlnes describe as a "Light Meal"This started with the normal chicken and beef satays with peanut sauce and cucumber slices. I followed this with curried chicken and rice. Not a hot curry, but tasty, and several vegetables I couldn't identify, but which tasted interesting. A desert consisting of chocolate and strawberry cheesecake was followed by a tasty Kapiti Aged Cheddar which was, according to the label, "wax-enrobed", Arnots's water crackers, two shelled walnuts, a dried apricot and a pair of what were probably dessicated figs. I savoured these also, one benefit of a long aircraft flight is that there is no rush to finish your meal, and there is little else to do except enjoy the food. At that point I was only expecting coffee but I was surprised to be offered a serving of Kapiti ice-cream. These were the little individual servings in black packets you see in the supermarkets. I thought I wold be disappointed when the hostess said I had a choice of vanilla or vanilla, though an MA female hpstess making a joke like that is a bit of a surprise anyway, but when I tasted it.... well, all I can say is that it is the best vanilla ice cream I have ever eaten, with the possible exception of some hand made vanilla ice -cream I had at a restaurant in Melbourne once. It's amazimg that one has to travel overseas on a foreign airline to be introduced to something wonderful made just up the road!But the touches from home and the coincidences were just beginning! With coffe over, I decide to pull out my lap top to document some of the above. Shortly after I had done so, the guy sitting on the other side of the aisle from me, whom I had had freindly words with earlier, but as you do, had not really talked with, then pulled out his laptop and said "snap!"Same model Dell, even down to the "EDS" sticker in the corner! Turs out he wprks for EDS in Hamilton, on various Telecom projects and is flying to Cambridge because of trouble with a system provided by a company over there (I obviously can't talk details here), So we have a good chat about EDS, computers and mutual freinds and accquaintances. Funny who you meet on planes, huh?Looks reasonably certain I'll reach KL now, but it will be interesting to see what happens when i reach customs and whether I will get to my hotel. Unfortunately, the guy I met above is staying at a different hotel than I am, and he is also flying to Heathrow, whereas I'm going direct to Manchester so we will be saying goodbye at the end of this leg. I should be starting to write one of the many other things I have to write rather than procrastinating by writing LJ entries!