the one with LONDON
NO LJ-CUT. I APOLOGISE.
MARCH 04:
The mostly incoherent account of How I Ended Up Finally Getting To London, With Most of My Sanity Intact.
Caveat: I am writing this on two broken hours of “sleep” (I refuse to believe that dozing off a bit whilst contorting ones body into some semblance of comfort in an aeroplane seat constitutes legitimate sleep), rather little food and I dare say I’m probably dehydrated as well.
The Day, The Third of March, Or, BRB GOING TO LONDON:
After the Great Freakout of Wednesday, I was actually far calmer on Saturday than I thought I’d be. This was largely because everything had been taken care of, everything was packed, and all I had to do was sit on various planes for stupid amounts of time. So I was okay with that. Some of the time I don’t actually worry about things I can’t change. Which is very strange, I can tell you.
Anyway, escaping Grandma and Pop and Dan and Shonny without the crying was the main issue. Grandma didn’t cry! I was so proud. (She probably did after I left into Customs though, because I rather did sort of just bail. Er. It’s not like I’m not coming back). Pop got teary though because he’s slightly loony and I think perhaps he believes something bad will happen to me and it’s up to him to look after me. On one hand that’s sweet, but on the other hand it’s my problem. Eh.
So I got away into the odd land of Customs where I was tested for explosive residue and given a pat down. Ben had actually told me about this aspect which he had been given when he and Lisa went to Japan. I was not snarky to the pat-down-er as he had advised though. I did however as if I was not explosive any more when I was let go after the explosives test, which was mildly amusing to me at the time but I think stress was making words just sound rather more comedic than reality would suggest.
Sitting on the plane, I realised that I was actually far more calm than I’d been when I went to Melbourne the previous year, which was a bit crazy as at least I knew awesome folk in Melbourne and no one really in London. I had a mild teary “oh god I’m finally leaving this place, thank Christ” when we took off but got over it. It was literally a tear down the cheek. Very poetic but still kind of embarrassing.
So the leg to Singapore was okay. I had to use the rubbish airline headphones because my airplane jack that came with my noise-cancelling headphones wouldn’t fit the damn plane outlet. Still, I got to watch half of Tintin until I gave up because I couldn’t hear a damn thing they were saying clearly, then watched Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy because as if I’m going to give up a chance to watch Cucumberpatch in that suit again, and THEN The Lion King. Lol. The girl sitting next to me then watched the Hunchback of Notre-Dame. SPREADING THE KIDS MOVIE LOVE, YO. Er. The little girls sitting across the aisle from me really were intrigued by my caterpillar neck pillow. And some other toddler left her parents and came and showed me her My Little Ponies. This would be cute (I guess) but is also rather creepy. I AM NOT A CHILD MAGNET OH GOD.
Singapore airport was nice. So clean. Oh God if only Abu Dhabi was like that. Jeez. Anyway, at Singapore our previously half full plane was filled up with other travellers, 90% of which appeared to not understand that 22A means 22A and not “whatever seat I want” and were also coughing and generally smelly. It was pretty bad. I was actually really tolerant and polite and smiley still, and just resorted to copious amounts of hand sanitiser. At Abu Dhabi I sat with the girl who’d been next to me on the previous flight as neither of us knew what the balls was going on or what we had to do. Thanks to assimilating Every Travelling Story Anyone’s Ever Told Me Ever about plane travel it seems to appear to others that I’m well travelled. I had this conversation:
Me: So are you continuing on with the flight to London after this stop?
Other: Yeah, are you going home then?
Me: Uh, no, I’m just going for research. I’ve heard that Dubai is pretty dodgy for transfers.
Other: Oh really? How much have you travelled?
Me: …just…this time.
Other: But you seem to know how pretty much all of this works?
Er yes. Anyway. After three hours sitting in Dubai trying to not to need to use the facilities, I was well and truly ready for a sleep. I thought, great, last 7 hour stint, it’ll be great and pretty much put me in the right sleeping pattern for London. OH WAS I WRONG. I was sitting next to this David Beckham wannabe, infront of his wife and his DARLING LITTLE GIRL. I mean, I get it, it’s lovely that he adores his daughter. But jeez, that is going to be the most spoiled teenager ever. Christ. Anyway. I could not sleep as I could not get comfortable. Seriously, if you have the ability to be comfortable in a plane chair and sleep soundly (like one passenger managed and started snoring loudly), you have a freaking TALENT.
What saved my sanity was, however, THE ACTIVE NOISE CANCELLING HEADPHONES. Oh God I loved those things by the end of the flight. Before flying out, I was like, oh I guess it’s a good idea if nothing else at least I can still have the travel earplugs in and listen to music but by the end I wanted to marry the damn things. SO AMAZING. It was still loud with them working away but Christ it was at least two thirds quieter than without them. Mine were only $60 from JB HiFi. BUY THEM.
Basically the best things about my flights were these:
1. nothing was delayed significantly (sure, we circled freaking Heathrow three times when I just really wanted to get off the stupid plane but that was like, fifteen minutes extra flying time at worst)
2. THE HEADPHONES
3. having vegetarian meals. For serious. Like. I can’t even. The food wasn’t AMAZING. But it all tasted acceptable. Even the misc that I ate for breakfast. The best part was probably when it was just before going to Singapore, and the hostess gave me a parcel of food and it ended up being cubes of honey dew and rockmelon. So. Amazing. I was all OH GOD THIS IS THE BEST THING EVER I LOVE FRUIT. Er.
Except for five minutes of OH GOD FLAIL WHAT AM I DOING HERE that I had in Heathrow (probably understandable, it is freaking confusing) I managed to keep chipper for the entirety of the travelling. GOOD WORK ME. Tell you what though, it rather makes people think you’re a bit weird when you’re still happy at the end of a 24 hr set of flights.
AND THEN. I got the tube into Green Park Station. Essentially from the first moment that I looked out of the glass doors at Heathrow and saw the desolate dreary scene of grey skies and rain I was like, screw this I am not going back to Brisbane. And then over the course of the tube ride I was all Oh God I’m in ENGLAND AND IT’S SO PRETTY (yes I like rag tag whathaveyou things) CAN NO HAS BRISBANE NAO.
I must’ve really done my research, and remembered it, because even if my sleep deprived state (I am actively choosing not to work out how long it’s been since I’ve slept properly) I was able to navigate the tube and got to the hotel, and then to walk around Green Park and then over to Oxford Street to get myself a pre-paid SIM card. I really like just walking places by myself, because I veryvery rarely get lost. Putting London’s geography into my brain will take a while but I’m pretty sure the major parts are already there and remembered.
ANYWAY. In Green Park, I saw A SQUIRREL. You cannot understand my sheer and utter joy at this. Those things are so cute. And I also saw a husky, which is less unusual for me but still good. I observed some bits of (I think?) the palace and whatnot, but was more interested in the beautiful old trees lining the promenade and also the daffodils. Er. I literally got to see a host of daffodils dancing in the breeze. #sadWordsworthmoment
THEN when I was walking over to Oxford Street I was privy to the oddest thing I’ve seen in a while - a new Ferrari parked with bags of garbage and a prostrate bicycle next to it. Then I spotted the Bentley shop, and then Ferrari and a fancy piano store and Gordon Ramsay’s restaurant AND SPENCER HART. I may have had a bit of a moment. I mean, and this was all before I found the GIGANTIC TOPSHOP, and H&M (who have amazing black and white striped pants but only in UK12 which is admittedly a bit too big er), and Forever New. I did also get the SIM card that I was after.
There were so many people out and about at midday absolutely bundled up like it was snowing. It was not that cold. And I’ve come from 33 degree weather to 7 degree weather. Like, really. It’s half four in the afternoon here now and yes, it now is freaking freezing but that’s a cold change that’s come in the afternoon.
I bet I’m going to freak myself out when I wake up tomorrow morning and I’m in a hotel room in London. Or I’ll just be okay with it. I basically haven’t had to alter my Brisbane behaviour (which isn’t really standard Brisbane behaviour but rather just mine) at all to get by today. And yes, to confirm, people truly do dress a lot better here. Perhaps it’s just the necessity to have parts of you covered, but oh well. It’s more pleasant on the eyes regardless. This will probably change when I get out to my actual flat tomorrow and away from the very snooty part I am staying in tonight. Also! This hotel room isn’t like super great but it’s pretty good for one person. It’s huuuuuge by my standards seeings how I usually live in a closet sized space according to some people.
So. Tonight I need to try and stay up until 8pm at least, I feel, to get into a “normal” sleeping pattern as I’ll need (or will want to) get up by 8am tomorrow morning so I can get ready and go out again before having to pack up and drag everything around again. OH YES. Another thing, when I got off at Green Park, when I’d gotten to the exit they put over an announcement that we all had to leave because they’d had a security threat. Great timing, that. Oh yes, my staying away plan is watching Sherlock because I don’t really feel like anything else and cannot get the hotel room tv to do anything. AH YES TECHONOLOGY BEATS ME AGAIN.
UNTIL NEXT TIME.
MARCH 04:
The mostly incoherent account of How I Ended Up Finally Getting To London, With Most of My Sanity Intact.
Caveat: I am writing this on two broken hours of “sleep” (I refuse to believe that dozing off a bit whilst contorting ones body into some semblance of comfort in an aeroplane seat constitutes legitimate sleep), rather little food and I dare say I’m probably dehydrated as well.
The Day, The Third of March, Or, BRB GOING TO LONDON:
After the Great Freakout of Wednesday, I was actually far calmer on Saturday than I thought I’d be. This was largely because everything had been taken care of, everything was packed, and all I had to do was sit on various planes for stupid amounts of time. So I was okay with that. Some of the time I don’t actually worry about things I can’t change. Which is very strange, I can tell you.
Anyway, escaping Grandma and Pop and Dan and Shonny without the crying was the main issue. Grandma didn’t cry! I was so proud. (She probably did after I left into Customs though, because I rather did sort of just bail. Er. It’s not like I’m not coming back). Pop got teary though because he’s slightly loony and I think perhaps he believes something bad will happen to me and it’s up to him to look after me. On one hand that’s sweet, but on the other hand it’s my problem. Eh.
So I got away into the odd land of Customs where I was tested for explosive residue and given a pat down. Ben had actually told me about this aspect which he had been given when he and Lisa went to Japan. I was not snarky to the pat-down-er as he had advised though. I did however as if I was not explosive any more when I was let go after the explosives test, which was mildly amusing to me at the time but I think stress was making words just sound rather more comedic than reality would suggest.
Sitting on the plane, I realised that I was actually far more calm than I’d been when I went to Melbourne the previous year, which was a bit crazy as at least I knew awesome folk in Melbourne and no one really in London. I had a mild teary “oh god I’m finally leaving this place, thank Christ” when we took off but got over it. It was literally a tear down the cheek. Very poetic but still kind of embarrassing.
So the leg to Singapore was okay. I had to use the rubbish airline headphones because my airplane jack that came with my noise-cancelling headphones wouldn’t fit the damn plane outlet. Still, I got to watch half of Tintin until I gave up because I couldn’t hear a damn thing they were saying clearly, then watched Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy because as if I’m going to give up a chance to watch Cucumberpatch in that suit again, and THEN The Lion King. Lol. The girl sitting next to me then watched the Hunchback of Notre-Dame. SPREADING THE KIDS MOVIE LOVE, YO. Er. The little girls sitting across the aisle from me really were intrigued by my caterpillar neck pillow. And some other toddler left her parents and came and showed me her My Little Ponies. This would be cute (I guess) but is also rather creepy. I AM NOT A CHILD MAGNET OH GOD.
Singapore airport was nice. So clean. Oh God if only Abu Dhabi was like that. Jeez. Anyway, at Singapore our previously half full plane was filled up with other travellers, 90% of which appeared to not understand that 22A means 22A and not “whatever seat I want” and were also coughing and generally smelly. It was pretty bad. I was actually really tolerant and polite and smiley still, and just resorted to copious amounts of hand sanitiser. At Abu Dhabi I sat with the girl who’d been next to me on the previous flight as neither of us knew what the balls was going on or what we had to do. Thanks to assimilating Every Travelling Story Anyone’s Ever Told Me Ever about plane travel it seems to appear to others that I’m well travelled. I had this conversation:
Me: So are you continuing on with the flight to London after this stop?
Other: Yeah, are you going home then?
Me: Uh, no, I’m just going for research. I’ve heard that Dubai is pretty dodgy for transfers.
Other: Oh really? How much have you travelled?
Me: …just…this time.
Other: But you seem to know how pretty much all of this works?
Er yes. Anyway. After three hours sitting in Dubai trying to not to need to use the facilities, I was well and truly ready for a sleep. I thought, great, last 7 hour stint, it’ll be great and pretty much put me in the right sleeping pattern for London. OH WAS I WRONG. I was sitting next to this David Beckham wannabe, infront of his wife and his DARLING LITTLE GIRL. I mean, I get it, it’s lovely that he adores his daughter. But jeez, that is going to be the most spoiled teenager ever. Christ. Anyway. I could not sleep as I could not get comfortable. Seriously, if you have the ability to be comfortable in a plane chair and sleep soundly (like one passenger managed and started snoring loudly), you have a freaking TALENT.
What saved my sanity was, however, THE ACTIVE NOISE CANCELLING HEADPHONES. Oh God I loved those things by the end of the flight. Before flying out, I was like, oh I guess it’s a good idea if nothing else at least I can still have the travel earplugs in and listen to music but by the end I wanted to marry the damn things. SO AMAZING. It was still loud with them working away but Christ it was at least two thirds quieter than without them. Mine were only $60 from JB HiFi. BUY THEM.
Basically the best things about my flights were these:
1. nothing was delayed significantly (sure, we circled freaking Heathrow three times when I just really wanted to get off the stupid plane but that was like, fifteen minutes extra flying time at worst)
2. THE HEADPHONES
3. having vegetarian meals. For serious. Like. I can’t even. The food wasn’t AMAZING. But it all tasted acceptable. Even the misc that I ate for breakfast. The best part was probably when it was just before going to Singapore, and the hostess gave me a parcel of food and it ended up being cubes of honey dew and rockmelon. So. Amazing. I was all OH GOD THIS IS THE BEST THING EVER I LOVE FRUIT. Er.
Except for five minutes of OH GOD FLAIL WHAT AM I DOING HERE that I had in Heathrow (probably understandable, it is freaking confusing) I managed to keep chipper for the entirety of the travelling. GOOD WORK ME. Tell you what though, it rather makes people think you’re a bit weird when you’re still happy at the end of a 24 hr set of flights.
AND THEN. I got the tube into Green Park Station. Essentially from the first moment that I looked out of the glass doors at Heathrow and saw the desolate dreary scene of grey skies and rain I was like, screw this I am not going back to Brisbane. And then over the course of the tube ride I was all Oh God I’m in ENGLAND AND IT’S SO PRETTY (yes I like rag tag whathaveyou things) CAN NO HAS BRISBANE NAO.
I must’ve really done my research, and remembered it, because even if my sleep deprived state (I am actively choosing not to work out how long it’s been since I’ve slept properly) I was able to navigate the tube and got to the hotel, and then to walk around Green Park and then over to Oxford Street to get myself a pre-paid SIM card. I really like just walking places by myself, because I veryvery rarely get lost. Putting London’s geography into my brain will take a while but I’m pretty sure the major parts are already there and remembered.
ANYWAY. In Green Park, I saw A SQUIRREL. You cannot understand my sheer and utter joy at this. Those things are so cute. And I also saw a husky, which is less unusual for me but still good. I observed some bits of (I think?) the palace and whatnot, but was more interested in the beautiful old trees lining the promenade and also the daffodils. Er. I literally got to see a host of daffodils dancing in the breeze. #sadWordsworthmoment
THEN when I was walking over to Oxford Street I was privy to the oddest thing I’ve seen in a while - a new Ferrari parked with bags of garbage and a prostrate bicycle next to it. Then I spotted the Bentley shop, and then Ferrari and a fancy piano store and Gordon Ramsay’s restaurant AND SPENCER HART. I may have had a bit of a moment. I mean, and this was all before I found the GIGANTIC TOPSHOP, and H&M (who have amazing black and white striped pants but only in UK12 which is admittedly a bit too big er), and Forever New. I did also get the SIM card that I was after.
There were so many people out and about at midday absolutely bundled up like it was snowing. It was not that cold. And I’ve come from 33 degree weather to 7 degree weather. Like, really. It’s half four in the afternoon here now and yes, it now is freaking freezing but that’s a cold change that’s come in the afternoon.
I bet I’m going to freak myself out when I wake up tomorrow morning and I’m in a hotel room in London. Or I’ll just be okay with it. I basically haven’t had to alter my Brisbane behaviour (which isn’t really standard Brisbane behaviour but rather just mine) at all to get by today. And yes, to confirm, people truly do dress a lot better here. Perhaps it’s just the necessity to have parts of you covered, but oh well. It’s more pleasant on the eyes regardless. This will probably change when I get out to my actual flat tomorrow and away from the very snooty part I am staying in tonight. Also! This hotel room isn’t like super great but it’s pretty good for one person. It’s huuuuuge by my standards seeings how I usually live in a closet sized space according to some people.
So. Tonight I need to try and stay up until 8pm at least, I feel, to get into a “normal” sleeping pattern as I’ll need (or will want to) get up by 8am tomorrow morning so I can get ready and go out again before having to pack up and drag everything around again. OH YES. Another thing, when I got off at Green Park, when I’d gotten to the exit they put over an announcement that we all had to leave because they’d had a security threat. Great timing, that. Oh yes, my staying away plan is watching Sherlock because I don’t really feel like anything else and cannot get the hotel room tv to do anything. AH YES TECHONOLOGY BEATS ME AGAIN.
UNTIL NEXT TIME.