So here I am, in Australia, currently getting ready to sleep off 24 hours of non stop travelling (with a few hours in between travelling waiting to start travelling again). I did make a few notes throughout my journey from one end of the globe to the other, these notes were made whenever I got a chance so they are a bit short, however as I am doing this to keep a diary of events I will not add to them as it may damage their integrity. The photos were taken with my lappy's on board webcam so images are the lowest quality except for the two I found on Google just now (only the best for my readers).
 |
| Me at 9am GMT |
Written 27-06-11 08:55
So here I am in Heathrow airport, sitting and waiting for another 90 minutes until I can trot along to my gate to board my plane. All very dull. I have never really understood the selection of shops in airport lounges, as I have never been to Heathrow before I was a little surprised to see a Harrods, Tiffany and Co. As well as a Burberry shop. If you were going to buy things from those shops wouldn’t you have bought them in London? At what point do people travelling say ‘What I need is a £20,000 watch, right now!’
Anyway, I would have updated this live as I wrote it but to use the internet at Heathrow you need £12 on your credit card, which is a purchase I am not willing to make, I mean I just spent 7 Euros on a bagel and £720 on a flight, surely they can survive without that extra £12.
Quite an odd feeling being in an airport. So many different people all going to different places although it seems most people are asleep (something I wouldn’t do if I wanted to seeing as everybody around me has seen my laptop) there are also quite a few people arguing, but that must be from the stress of travelling (even though there were no queues at check in or security, so where they found any stress is beyond me). So next stop Changi Airport! I may add to this during the flight. My Mum told me that Singapore Airlines won’t let their stewardesses fly if they have even one blemish on their skin. Whether or not that is actually true I don’t know, but I will be making a note if I see one zit on the flight crew’s faces! Sadly I’m not allowed to take photos on board the plane so you’ll just have to Google ‘Singapore Airlines Stewardess’ to see them for yourself.
 |
| Hydraulics optional. |
10.30 GMT
Just got through the gate after using the walking power-up conveyor belts to feel like a super hero for all of 60 seconds. Now sitting by a window looking out on a mass of steel and aluminium that are the planes, lorries and those mobile staircase things. It is mostly a huge expanse of tarmac with the occasional patch of grass and the odd plane running through the landscape.
Only an hour left until we start boarding and then it’s to the skies with all of the luxury economy class has to offer...
 |
| I'm not waiting on a lady, I'm just waiting for a plane... |
14:15 GMT
Currently cruising at 35,000 feet at a ground speed of 567MPH with a tail wind of 30MPH. The plane is quite a nice place to be, each seat has its own screen with a choice of hundreds of movies and albums (I just watched Paul for the first time, good film. I think I might watch some Family Guy and then a Singapore action movie!)
Just flying over Bucharest with around 10 hours still to go until Singapore (looks like we'll be flying over Afghanistan too). Jolly good.
00:35 GMT 7:30ish Local time
Flight 317 has landed in the rather pretty little place called Singapore. Well, from the sky it looks quite pretty, with few lights in the early morning blighting the green fields and scattered islands. From ground level it is very misty and humid with an overcast sky. The story of the stewardesses seemed to be true, lots of pretty Eastern ladies, which was very nice, plus Iron Maiden on the music selection along with 2 and a Half Men, The Good Guys and so many other things.
I liked how they didn’t employ too many handsome men, thus boosting my ego by giving me the feeling that if they weren’t at work those lovely ladies would’ve still been happy to serve me because I'm not the worst looking guy on the plane!
 |
Even the burning wreckage
couldn't stop her smiling. |
So that’s the first leg of the journey out of the way. I’m feel I’m missing out on something special as my next flight leaves from the same terminal so I won’t be able to ride the Sky Train. Any mode of transport with a name like that has got to be amazing!
PS. Changi airport (Terminal 3) has something that Heathrow (Terminal 3) doesn’t... A Starbucks! (Slightly ironic, I know). Also I’m sure there is a crazy calculation to be made using my flight numbers (317, 211) and the terminal numbers (3, 3), but I have neither the energy nor skills to try and make them add up to something significant.
PPS. I walked around a bit and there was not only a TV playing Hawaii 5-0, but also a TV showing West Ham vs. Blackburn Rovers. I’m not sure if I’m actually in Singapore or if this is some kind of Truman show scenario.
 |
| Sampling the local cuisine... |
PPPS The workers at Starbucks here are really nice and speak better English than the miserable lot at Basildon's branch. One guy even said I had a ‘nice tuxedo’, I haven’t spoken to many people from Singapore, but it’s nice to know they get sarcasm. I will definitely make a note to visit this country properly on the way back from Oz.
28/06/11 9:00PM (Whatever time zone this is) 11am GMT
Here I am at Sydney. It was pitch black when I landed at around 7:30pm local time, but I did see the harbour bridge and opera house from the plane window. (A plane which happened to have all of Celtic FC on board, which felt a little odd as I walked through first class to the back of the plane with the rest of the non-professional footballers)
The take off felt like the runway was paved with cobbles and the plane was made from cardboard, which was rather unsettling, and turbulence continued to blight the journey continuously. Luckily those lovely air hostesses were around to hand me a couple of beers, which calmed me down enough to get 2 hours sleep before being woken by turbulence.
Baggage claim was easy, no trouble at customs, a guy at the x-ray machine asked me if I'd brought a tent or any other camping gear (because I ticked a box saying I had been near a farm in the past 30 days), I said "I only have a sleeping bag", he said "OK on you go... By the way I like your T-Shirt mate!" Which is probably the nicest thing any security personnel has ever said to me, so not a bad start to MY AWESOME AUSTRALIAN ADVENTURE! Now time to sleep...
