Snap and Scribble

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That was the tenth time i’ve done the trip from Europe to Australia (i’ve done it nine times in the other direction as well) and as far as i remember it was the first time i’ve been on a flight that’s been delayed. Although it wasn’t too bad really, this was the worst one of the nineteen journeys. Previous worsts were probably the first one, when we had to run for the plane, and the first one back the other way, when i had to run for the plane again!

This journey got off to a bad start, as the trip to Heathrow airport took a lot longer than it should have because the bus from Maldon to Chelmsford was nearly half an hour late. My sister had been going to drive me to Heathrow, but she couldn’t in the end because of a severe tooth problem, so i ended up having to catch public transport. I’m pretty sure that was the first time i’ve gone to Heathrow on public transport since that first trip to Australia - 23 years ago next month.

From Liverpool Street station, i caught the underground - which took about an hour. There was an option of catching the Heathrow Express from Paddington, but i didn’t know anything about it and it seemed safer to go the way that i knew. I can’t imagine changing at Paddington onto another transport system would have saved any time overall - and, looking at their web site, i can see it would have cost me an arm and a leg anyway.

As it was, i arrived at Heathrow an hour later than i wanted to, but it was still two hours before the flight was due to leave, so that was ok.

After the usual airport routine we finally boarded the plane and it started its takeoff run down the runway. But a few seconds after starting, the engines slowed down again and the plane turned off the runway and went back over towards the gates. There was a “technical problem” and it took two hours to fix. In the end, though, we were in the air and on our way to Colombo, in Sri Lanka.

We arrived at Colombo late, of course, and my connecting flight to Singapore had already left. They gave me the option of being put up in a hotel for the night and flying on to Singapore the next day or they could get me on the Singapore Airlines flight which was due to leave in about five hours time. As much as i would have liked to get a free night in Colombo, i didn’t have the option, as i had another flight to catch from Singapore to Darwin that evening.

The flight to Singapore was good - although it was too short to get much sleep. The contrast between the Sri Lankan Airlines plane and the Singapore Airlines one was striking. Sri Lankan’s quite good as airlines go, but the Singapore plane was newer, more comfortable and a lot more spacious. When i booked it was a bit of a toss up between Sri Lankan via Colombo and Singapore direct from Heathrow - they were both about the same price. Sri Lankan won in the end because i wanted a stopover in Colombo on the way back. But i was wishing, at that point, that i’d picked the direct flight to Singapore with Singapore Airlines - for the extra comfort and speed, but also because it was a longer flight than either or the other two and i would have had more chance to sleep.

I’d expected to have about five hours to wait in Singapore and i’d intended to go into the city and spend a bit of time away from the airconditioning. But i couldn’t leave the airport at Colombo - i didn’t really have enough time anyway - and i wouldn’t have long enough at Singapore now either, so i was stuck in the aircon for the whole trip pretty much.

I did get out into the semi-fresh air outside Singapore airport though, as i had to pass through immigration control to get my bag from the Sri Lankan flight and then check in again at a different terminal for the Darwin one. But there’s nowhere really to go outside terminal one at Singapore, except for immediately outside the airport entrance - and that’s mostly occupied by people smoking, which is even worse than breathing aircon air. There was a bit of space at the far end of the pavement there, though, well away from the entrances, where there wasn’t anyone standing around smoking.

The Jetstar flight was a real comedown after the Singapore Airlines one. It was like getting onto an old bus. The seats were narrow and uncomfortable, and you had to pay if you wanted food. Of course, being an Australian airline, the aircon was set at about minus twenty, as well. I’ve never understood why Australians like having the aircon so cold - there’s something seriously wrong with them!

I didn’t get much sleep on that flight, either. It was only about four hours and the lights were on for most of it. After the lights went off, the guy immediately behind me had his light on for most of the rest of the trip, so it was no darker really. After he turned his light off finally the cabin crew spent their time stomping up and down the cabin, usually with with a torch in their hands. It was like a herd of elephants with headlights! I was feeling distinctly sleep deprived and irritable by this point!

I did manage to get at least half an hour’s sleep though, and i felt a lot better when i woke up. After i’d passed through the normal, over the top Australian customs and quarantine procedure, it was nice to be get out into the warm tropical Darwin morning.

I slept for a few hours that morning - which is something i usually try not to do, as i don’t think it helps adjust to the time difference. But i felt a lot better afterwards and i never got any jetlag effects at all.

Later that day, i went to my storage shed at Frances Bay to get my bicycle. The tyres were completely flat. That surprised me as last time i’d left it for a long period like that, they still just about had enough air in them to cycle to the nearest service station and pump them up. Luckily there was an engineering workshop nearby and they let me use their compressor to pump the tyres up again.

I did quite a lot of cycling that afternoon, which was great as i needed the exercise after sitting around in planes and airports for nearly thirty hours. Darwin’s quite hot at the moment, as it’s just about the start of the wet season, but it feels comfortable to me. I’ve just slotted back into place and i feel like i’ve never been away.

It’s funny, but i feel better than i have for months - and things feel more normal than they have for months. I guess i didn’t really realise how weird i feel in Britain. It’s a very weird country and i definitely don’t fit in. Darwin’s not exactly “normal” but i feel more comfortable here than i’ve ever felt in England.

Anyway, i’ve got a couple more days here and then it’s back out to the airport and get aboard another plane - but only for about four hours this time!

Tags: Travel and Places //