I'm in Australia!
My flight from Hong Kong to Sydney - not too bad. I changed my watch from English time (early morning) to Aussie time (late evening) while in HK airport, so I was able to adjust. After somehow traversing the vast length and breath of HK Airport (which included me taking the most unnecessary train journey ever), I got to my gate. On my way, knowing how thirsty I'd been on the first leg of my trip, I cleverly bought three big bottles of water for me to take on the plane. After parting with 30 Hong Kong dollars (don't really know how much that is), I took the three bottles with me, and joined the back of the queue.
When I got to the front of the queue, about 5 minutes later, my water was confiscated for being a "dangerous liquid". Despite my protestations that I'd purchased said liquid from a shop which was still in view, the somewhat over officious guard took my water and put it into a large bin. I told him that it was an "effing disgrace", but quite quietly, because he was armed with a rather large gun.
Anyway, with the memories of my hard earned 30 HK dollars literally being poured down the drain, I got on the plane, and fell asleep. On my first leg, as nice as the bloke I got chatting to was, he was a person who sat in the seat next to me. On this second leg, there was nobody there. Result. I got 9 hours of lolling (not laughing out loud) across two seats, with two pillows and two blankets. The guy on the other side looked quite annoyed that I dared use unused bedding, but as he only spoke French, decided not to tell me off. (Malgre le fait que je parle francais parfaitement) < If I got that bit wrong, let me know!
I managed to sleep for a large proportion of the journey, before filling in the remaining couple of hours by playing Football Manager on the laptop. (Won the league with Derby). At this point, I must congratulate Cathay Airways for installing plugs in the back of the chairs in front. This allowed me to keep laptop, phone and other various electronic devices nicely topped up. Thanks.
After a lovely breakfast of omelette, bacon and sausages (seriously, it was nice for plane food), flight CX101 arrived in Sydney. All the way through I'd been a bit worried that I wouldn't be allowed into Australia, for a variety of reasons. My passport only has a few months left. My visa only arrived yesterday. And just general paranoia. So imagine my surprise when I sailed through customs, quarantine and all other measures of control, to find my bag waiting for me. Nothing to worry about! I got the taxi to Balmain (suburb of Sydney), where I'm writing this now.
Time difference is weird; am not really sure what time it is anywhere around the world. The clock in the corner of the screen says 3.39 PM, but I don't know if my body feels like it is. As it's New Years Eve, there are plans for fireworks and all sorts later (plus a traditional Aussie meal of a barbie), so whether I hold out until then or not I don't know. Anyway, that'll be it from me today - will try and take some pictures of later (if I'm still awake!)
Will x
Friday 31 December 2010
Thursday 30 December 2010
A Flavour of Hong Kong
Right, I promised you another post about Hong Kong airport. So here's my impressions of it.
It's quite big. It's got some really long bits which would be easy to get lost in if you weren't paying attention. It's all quite clean. Bit of a funny smell though. Quite a few security guards with guns. Instead of passport control, I had to go through something called "temperature control" (which I didn't really understand).
So there you are. Hong Kong Airport. Here are some pictures (because I've been really tired and am struggling to write coherently)
A handy place to sit
An especially long part of the terminal
Somewhere to eat
An expensive shop
More expensive shops
A nice view
Another view from the airport window
For some reason, Justin Rose
Again, Justin Rose
It's quite big. It's got some really long bits which would be easy to get lost in if you weren't paying attention. It's all quite clean. Bit of a funny smell though. Quite a few security guards with guns. Instead of passport control, I had to go through something called "temperature control" (which I didn't really understand).
So there you are. Hong Kong Airport. Here are some pictures (because I've been really tired and am struggling to write coherently)
A handy place to sit
An especially long part of the terminal
Somewhere to eat
An expensive shop
More expensive shops
A nice view
Another view from the airport window
For some reason, Justin Rose
Again, Justin Rose
Incepting The Plane To Hong Kong
Halfway (ish) there. Just got through an 11 hour flight, and am typing this from Hong Kong airport! I wanted to blog from Heathrow, but WiFi there costs, whereas it's all free here. (I think).
So my flight. Not too bad.
It helps when there are nice people that you have to sit next to. Where you sit / who you sit next to is always a bit of a lottery, so it was great to sit next to someone who recognised my English cricket shirt (I'm representing) and started to chat about the Ashes. He was very impressed that I was going. He was himself flying from Hong Kong to Perth, where he's going surfing. Nice bloke. I never caught his name.
I just about managed to pass the time without any incident. I read my book (Michael McIntyre's "Life and Laughing" - recommended), played Football Manager on my laptop and watched a few films. Since doing a film based podcast with Jeremy (which incidentally we need to record a new episode of at some point) I've gone to see some films when they were new out in the cinema, which I didn't use to. While that was fun, it meant I'd seen pretty much all of the selection that Cathay Airways had to offer.
Except one.
For one reason of another, I hadn't got around to seeing Inception. I was scared of it - I'd heard how difficult, complex and multi-layered it was and I didn't think I would get it or enjoy it. And before it started, I literally had no idea what it was about. I don't want to spoil it for anyone, but seriously, if you haven't watched it, watch it. It is a brilliant film. After the ending (which is superb), I really wanted someone to talk about it with. Luckily for me, my surfer friend had seen it before, so we had a little chat about it.
Sleep and other diversions got me through the rest of the 9 hours, and I've now arrived in Hong Kong. I didn't really know what to expect. Ignorantly I thought Facebook and Google would be blocked (because this is China) but it isn't. Or maybe it's just me. Sadly while I've got through 11 hours, I now have a 7 hour wait in transit in Hong Kong, and then another 12 hours on to Sydney. So now I need to pass some time in an airport departures lounge. I've already had a lovely bag of salt and vinegar crisps (smuggled in from Heathrow) and I've now got my eyes on a McFlurry. Keep your eyes out for a picture diary of HK Airport, as boredom dictates that more blogs are very likely.
TTFN for now! Will x
So my flight. Not too bad.
It helps when there are nice people that you have to sit next to. Where you sit / who you sit next to is always a bit of a lottery, so it was great to sit next to someone who recognised my English cricket shirt (I'm representing) and started to chat about the Ashes. He was very impressed that I was going. He was himself flying from Hong Kong to Perth, where he's going surfing. Nice bloke. I never caught his name.
I just about managed to pass the time without any incident. I read my book (Michael McIntyre's "Life and Laughing" - recommended), played Football Manager on my laptop and watched a few films. Since doing a film based podcast with Jeremy (which incidentally we need to record a new episode of at some point) I've gone to see some films when they were new out in the cinema, which I didn't use to. While that was fun, it meant I'd seen pretty much all of the selection that Cathay Airways had to offer.
Except one.
For one reason of another, I hadn't got around to seeing Inception. I was scared of it - I'd heard how difficult, complex and multi-layered it was and I didn't think I would get it or enjoy it. And before it started, I literally had no idea what it was about. I don't want to spoil it for anyone, but seriously, if you haven't watched it, watch it. It is a brilliant film. After the ending (which is superb), I really wanted someone to talk about it with. Luckily for me, my surfer friend had seen it before, so we had a little chat about it.
Sleep and other diversions got me through the rest of the 9 hours, and I've now arrived in Hong Kong. I didn't really know what to expect. Ignorantly I thought Facebook and Google would be blocked (because this is China) but it isn't. Or maybe it's just me. Sadly while I've got through 11 hours, I now have a 7 hour wait in transit in Hong Kong, and then another 12 hours on to Sydney. So now I need to pass some time in an airport departures lounge. I've already had a lovely bag of salt and vinegar crisps (smuggled in from Heathrow) and I've now got my eyes on a McFlurry. Keep your eyes out for a picture diary of HK Airport, as boredom dictates that more blogs are very likely.
TTFN for now! Will x
Wednesday 29 December 2010
Packing Up
I'm still in England. For those of you who hoped I'd be somewhere more exciting, I'm not. Yet.
Whenever people have spoken about my impending trip over the past few weeks, they've asked me how my packing's going. Starting out jokily a fortnight ago ("Done your packing yet?" *wink*), it has turned into a more serious question. The other night, when asked "Are you ready? Finished your packing" it was not so much a joke as a relevant issue about how prepared I am.
Sadly my answer yesterday, as it was a few weeks ago was "Not yet!". While at the beginning this answer fitted in well with the ever-so-hilarious joke, but when I told some people this yesterday, it was met with a stunned silence. He hasn't packed yet. He is clearly underprepared. He won't have time to agonise over everything, tick off every possibility. He's bound to forget something.
Well relax, I've packed. Just finished a few minutes ago. About two hours before I leave for the airport.
Packing for a holiday, or a longer trip like this can take some time. You've got to work out how much of each item (whether that's shirts, shorts, hoodies or whatever), and then decide which of those items that you own should make the plane. There are a series of complex issues surrounding which clothes should make the plane. How nice or good that item is is obviously important, but there are other issues. Long standing service - should it be rewarded or punished? New Christmas presents; do they deserve to go after only being in my possession for the past two days? Football shirts - how many is enough / too many? How many pairs of jeans will I need? How many pairs of shorts? Is it appropriate to bring goalie gloves with me? (For the record, yes). One way or another, while there will be a fully packed briefcase with many happy clothes that are going away, there will also be a miserable pile of rejected garments who weren't deemed good enough to see the world. For every Stephen Warnock there's a Theo Walcott.
Anyway, what's done is done. My bag is packed and I'm not changing it now. I have a tendency to horrendously overpack, and I've probably done that here again. But now it's just a case of making sure everything has a charger, squeezing it all into place, and going to the airport!
Not making the plane
Anyway, that's the last blog from home. Next time you read this I'll be in another country! (Unless I do a blog from Heathrow)
Whenever people have spoken about my impending trip over the past few weeks, they've asked me how my packing's going. Starting out jokily a fortnight ago ("Done your packing yet?" *wink*), it has turned into a more serious question. The other night, when asked "Are you ready? Finished your packing" it was not so much a joke as a relevant issue about how prepared I am.
Sadly my answer yesterday, as it was a few weeks ago was "Not yet!". While at the beginning this answer fitted in well with the ever-so-hilarious joke, but when I told some people this yesterday, it was met with a stunned silence. He hasn't packed yet. He is clearly underprepared. He won't have time to agonise over everything, tick off every possibility. He's bound to forget something.
Well relax, I've packed. Just finished a few minutes ago. About two hours before I leave for the airport.
Packing for a holiday, or a longer trip like this can take some time. You've got to work out how much of each item (whether that's shirts, shorts, hoodies or whatever), and then decide which of those items that you own should make the plane. There are a series of complex issues surrounding which clothes should make the plane. How nice or good that item is is obviously important, but there are other issues. Long standing service - should it be rewarded or punished? New Christmas presents; do they deserve to go after only being in my possession for the past two days? Football shirts - how many is enough / too many? How many pairs of jeans will I need? How many pairs of shorts? Is it appropriate to bring goalie gloves with me? (For the record, yes). One way or another, while there will be a fully packed briefcase with many happy clothes that are going away, there will also be a miserable pile of rejected garments who weren't deemed good enough to see the world. For every Stephen Warnock there's a Theo Walcott.
Anyway, what's done is done. My bag is packed and I'm not changing it now. I have a tendency to horrendously overpack, and I've probably done that here again. But now it's just a case of making sure everything has a charger, squeezing it all into place, and going to the airport!
Not making the plane
Anyway, that's the last blog from home. Next time you read this I'll be in another country! (Unless I do a blog from Heathrow)
Tuesday 28 December 2010
Will's Gap Year
Hello - welcome!
For those of you who don't know, I am on a gap year at the moment. For the first five months of this supposedly life-changing experience, I've stayed at home in Lingfield, and done some bits and pieces of work. However, when people talk about their gap years, they talk of the rich and diverse things they do around the world; the interesting people they meet and the wonders that they see. They don't talk about working three shifts a month in the Effingham Park hotel.
So a few weeks ago (and buoyed by England's success in the Ashes) I went onto lastminute.com and booked a flight to Sydney, as well as some tickets to the 5th Ashes test. I then also got a ticket to go to Tasmania, where I'll stay with my second-cousin Colette. Part of my gap year plans have always been to go to South Africa to stay with Godfather Tom, so after I'm finished in Aus I'll probably pop over there for a while.
That's all well and good, I hear you say; but why am I writing this blog? Well, for a few reasons. One is to keep family and friends updated with where I am, and what I'm up to. And another is to act as a sort of diary for my travels, so I can look back at my adventures in a few years all in one place.
I'm going to try and update this fairly regularly, so hopefully you'll enjoy it!
Will
For those of you who don't know, I am on a gap year at the moment. For the first five months of this supposedly life-changing experience, I've stayed at home in Lingfield, and done some bits and pieces of work. However, when people talk about their gap years, they talk of the rich and diverse things they do around the world; the interesting people they meet and the wonders that they see. They don't talk about working three shifts a month in the Effingham Park hotel.
So a few weeks ago (and buoyed by England's success in the Ashes) I went onto lastminute.com and booked a flight to Sydney, as well as some tickets to the 5th Ashes test. I then also got a ticket to go to Tasmania, where I'll stay with my second-cousin Colette. Part of my gap year plans have always been to go to South Africa to stay with Godfather Tom, so after I'm finished in Aus I'll probably pop over there for a while.
That's all well and good, I hear you say; but why am I writing this blog? Well, for a few reasons. One is to keep family and friends updated with where I am, and what I'm up to. And another is to act as a sort of diary for my travels, so I can look back at my adventures in a few years all in one place.
I'm going to try and update this fairly regularly, so hopefully you'll enjoy it!
Will
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