That's Our Plane

27th November 2008 Tiverton to Heathrow Our Mature Gap Year Begins

Yeeahy we are off,

Um, well actually, not, well actually, we are, but what a stumbling start to the whole day.

First thing this morning I called the airline (Qantas) to confirm everything was alright based upon the fact our flight to Bangkok might have been a bit of a problem due to the fact planes actually have to land somewhere to let people get off! OK so Bangkok was not going to be our first port of call. Singapore it was, OK good-times.

We decided not to book a hotel due to the fact we had already paid for a hotel in Pattaya where of course we would not be for a while. But we did not want to prebook another one as the way things were going we could never be sure of where we would actually be tomorrow.

So, the final bit of house clearance was done with a quick trip to the recycling centre, charity shops and a friend to take the last few bits and bobs.

And, what’s that?

A missed call, yes the airline was trying to contact us. I called them back however the line was busy for a long time, wow I hate hold music and information systems. It seems our flight was actually cancelled and that we had to contact them if we wanted to go on their flight to Singapore – It only took about 40 minutes of waiting on the phone to get confirmation. So, finally we really were on our way, except of course we live in England where any road accident means the roads become blocked for at least half a day.

Yep the bloody motor-way was nothing more than a rolling traffic jam and a normally two hour drive took closer to four. Finally though we got to the airport and were up, up and away!

Next stop Singapore.

The first problem I have realized is with my luggage – Not my main check in baggage that’s just fine, a good size, easy to maneuver  and for somebody like me who has a bit of a luggage fetish, it looks OK.

No the problem is my hand luggage or more importantly what it contains.

The breakdown is a bit over the top; Three Magazines, Top Gear and two travel magazines.

The following books:

Next by Michael Crichton a book the size of a small house, Hey Joe by Ted Lerner, Tony Wheelers Bad Lands, May on Motors by James May, The Rough Guide to Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei, DK Eyewitness Travel Malaysia and Singapore and The Rough Guide First-Time Around the World.

That little lot weighs enough, add to that my Mac Book and a Maxtor 250GB portable drive, assorted leads and a Belkin Laptop Cooling Stand, A camera, a couple of Mp3 Players, a wind-up torch, two packs of cards (from the MGM Grand Las Vegas), Two Dice from the Flamingo Las Vegas and a Casino Chip, a spare watch, a couple of pens, A 2009 Calender from the Sunday Times Travel Magazine and all the details of our itinerary and our travel insurance policy documents.

Add in a small package for my Son who we are hopefully going to be seeing in a few days in Pattaya. The package consists of a Book – Diver by Tony Groom, (My Son is in Thailand on a Dive Internship) his i-Pod and lead, His Dive Insurance Document and a new bank card to replace the one he lost (stolen or just plain misplaced).

I am resembling a mule weighed down to excess.

My Son aged 12 is actually struggling with an even heavier bag!  We can sort his problem out though by getting him a new main luggage bag as his was full yet well within the weight allowance.

[mappress]