There and back again a not-quite Hobbits tale

[simongr]

Between yours and QF009's i am wondering what i will do with life after reading your TR's! Guess i should have a hand at writing them but lets face it - how exciting can a HBA - ADL flight get. I promise that with my next big trip i will write a big one...

The story of a journey is as interesting as you want it to be. Most of my TRs are really an opportunity to ramble about general life observations disguised as a travel story - half the time I haven't even been to these places...

 

[NM]

Having just returned from a few days in Shanghai, I found your visit most interesting ... and I could envisage the journey through PVG as you described it.

 

[simongr]

It’s all about Hartley not the Hare but the Hair

Journey – NRT-SYD
Flight no. – QF22
Class – Business
Seat – 1D

So here we are at NRT again – I have about 3 ½ hours so I plan to have a snooze as I am feeling a little tired and emotional after [redacted due to movie spoilage that would not have been appreciated by QF009]. I connect to the free wi-fi in the lounge and call mrssimongr although by the end of the call I am almost asleep. The alarm is set so as to not to be mr wearetakingyourbagsoffnow and I get an hour’s kippage.

After I wake before the alarm goes off I decide to chance the food again. As you will have memorised my prior trip reports you will know that I was slightly flummoxed by the food last time in NRT but today I stumble on the delightful curry beef thing (which I plan to sample again on my next transit in a couple of weeks).

After beef I decide to head to the QF lounge to get my FF number changed. That is done with plenty of time to spare for another play with the automated beer pouring machine The only challenge is finding somewhere to park my butt in the QP zoo

The only free seat is next to a family with a small child in tow who is being fed – could we count the number of risks we are facing here? To my great relief Hartley (see I do think about the titles of each segment – I am not just making it up as I go along) is impeccably well behaved – not just for the lack of screeching and caterwauling (man I am getting in the words today flummoxed AND caterwauling) but also for the highly nutritious meal he is eating – he is demanding (politely) additional fruit and vegetables. In retrospect maybe he is in fact one of the Children of the Damned and is only masquerading as a good child… he does need a haircut though so maybe not a damned child – maybe just another damn child

Given the heaving lounge I decide the board early as always and avoid the scramble for seats. Even on boarding the crew are a significant improvement on the prior NRT-SYD crew. PJs are handed out and I am one of the few people to get changed into them – not as subtle as the F PJs but hey – clothes I can theoretically spill soup on are better than clothes I wish to wear when I get home. One niggle is that they have give us PJs but it seems that didn’t realise that as a result we will need somewhere to hang out clothes – no hanger is forthcoming so my clothes end up in a heap at the foot of my seat…

So if we have all been following my complaint to QF thread here we have already surpassed the prior flight and horror of horrors the soup HAS been loaded and it is very nice. It has flavour for start – which is an improvement on the last flight on QF. The temperature could be enhanced – sitting somewhere between magma and lava on service and due to some stickiness on the tray a small portion lands on my newly donned PJs – a fortuitous change of clothes indeed.

The soup is followed by the same chicken as last time – but this time it is served with the Tzatziki sauce without a reminder – it would seem that we have cabin crew that actually give a damn. The downside is that the corn relish is drowning in a sea of canola oil – nice try Ponytailboy but better luck next time!

It is then that the “incident” occurs. Let me first pose a question to you – how many arms does the average person have? The answer is a little less than two. Many people have less than two but no-one has three. I perhaps should have been cognisant of that anatomical fact when trying to watch Las Vegas on the laptop (keyboard tucked under the tray table), drink a glass of wine and eat the chicken (a task that perhaps should have been avoided in retrospect) – it is only when the laws of physics realise what I am trying to do that my lack of additional arms becomes an issue, an issue for my laptop – it really is never a good sign when everything goes black and you can pour almost a full glass of wine out of the keyboard. I have to say that this little D410 has been through the wringer with me – what a trooper.

After I try a few more times to get the little fella going again I decide that discretion is the better part of valour and sleep mayhap be called for. It is not easy with the two young chaps in seats 1AC nattering like old women – even I resort to eyeshades and ear plugs to get some sleep.

Eventually I do get some sleep and wake about 90mins from landing There is the usual dire QF J long haul breakfast of a slice of MDF with some fruit salad and “tea”.

Not too much later we land over the greatest city on earth – well except for Bath and maybe Amargetti (which is I guess more of a village than a city) – and we have fantastic city of the great city, the Bridge and the Opera House and it is not quite so quick through immigration – despite the Epass but it is almost through Quarantine expect for the fact that the peeps in front of me forget to declare the MASSIVE amount of horse tackle that they have brought from the US (remembering that in NSW we were only declared Equine Flu free recently) and the chick wont get off her phone despite a few reminders of the $1,000 fine. So although I can see my one bag to collect I am still standing waiting for five minutes…

My driver is waiting for me as usual and finally I am home on a Sunday morning safe in the knowledge that soon I will be off again. All that remains is the epilogue – the chance for the players to take a bow and make sure that no-one has missed the point through inelegant prose and lack of literary skills so I will be back for one more shot – but remember the last shot is the rambler – so get that glass of wine ready, light the cigar and wait – prose needs time or it doesn’t – depending on how the muse has taken me

 

[Keith009]

I seem to be in the minority RE talkers... I hope y'all scrutinise my BA97 page to avoid those flights listed then.

 

[drron]

Keith if you are ever put down in the seat beside me I will talk to you.Its just that you will have to initiate the conversation.I'm sure though I would end up enjoying the experience.

 

[Keith009]

Keith if you are ever put down in the seat beside me I will talk to you.Its just that you will have to initiate the conversation.I'm sure though I would end up enjoying the experience.

Good to know that at least one AFFer will indulge me. I do usually initiate the convo, unless I meet an enthusiastic fellow Talker.

What's worse than not having a seat mate is having one but sitting in awkward, stony silence for the entire flight... This is when the galley, with its liberal supply of booze, usually provides a good retreat.

 

[simongr]

If you didnt catch it in the opening there was a link in the title

It’s all about Hartley not the Hare but the Hair

 

[simongr]

Alls well that ends better

So that is it. Just a simple there and back again – or so it seems now. I am writing this whilst back at the Conrad in Hong Kong my way to the US and again to Cyprus so it really does seem like it was a simple trip. But it still staggers me that this is simple to me now (repetition much?).

I know this is being written in the company of people who travel a great more than the average Joe and in reality probably a great deal more than the unaverage Joe but it is amazing what we take for granted.

Today I arrived at HKG airport and was through immigration within 10 mins of arriving – whilst some people were still fumbling for their passports. I guess it is true that on some levels for me taking a flight really is no different to getting on a bus (well in fact given my passionate dislike for travelling by bus [bab experiences as a kid] getting on a plane is a lot les stressful than getting on a bus). I reflected in my last trip report that some of the excitement of travelling might be waning but the more that I reflect and the more that I travel I think the more I enjoy some aspects of it. I am now relaxed when I travel. I don’t have to rush to the CX F lounge in HKG as I know it will be there next time I fly and no matter how short my time there – there will always be time for just one more glass of bubbles.

Well it’s not every trip I turn into a 16 page essay but I hope you enjoyed it. See you next time (which might be soon as there is a suspicion of a lost trip report that was uncovered recently hidden in the depths of a glass of Sauvignon Blanc) – this is Chocka Bloke checking out!

I did try to close as I opened but the ending of the Hobbit is a bit of a preamble into the Lord of the Rings – the ending of that book would have been much more appropriate but alas that would not have been appropriate… at this stage

 

[Keith009]

Thanks again for the entertaining read, simongr!

I especially look forward to reading about your current trip.

 

[docjames]

Great TR simongr. Thanks - very entertaining read (why is it the TRs where all doesnt go to plan are usually the most interesting!)

 

[sr81]

I like simple cold beer – So at times all I want is a ice cold bud from the bottle!!!!

Amen brother. Another one for the cold beer brigade over here!

 

[Keith009]

When I do actually drink beer - I too prefer it from the bottle.