UK | Europe Spring 2023 - Day 1: Travel Day
Welcome
Yesterday I flew from Auckland, New Zealand, to Heathrow, England.
My flight out was leaving late on Monday night. Liz, Jon, and Tristan had left a day earlier and were landing at Heathrow as I was arriving at the airport. I thought about the words I had seen on the Mainfreight sign on George Bolt Memorial Drive - “Arise awake and stop not till the goal is reached”. I had 24 hours of flying ahead of me and now I was determined to stay awake until the end.
Everything was pleasantly quiet as I checked in. I was the only customer at the Air New Zealand self-check and a friendly Air New Zealand lady helped me to scan my passport and attach my bag tag. It felt strange to be traveling alone so I tried to maintain a sense of normalcy by doing all the usual things we do as a band while we move through the airport. I took a band photo on the escalator as I headed upstairs to departures.
I had a flawless run through security - not even a randomised bomb test – so I took a congratulatory band photo.
I refilled my bottle at our favourite bottle-filling spot just past security, next to the bathrooms.
Then it was through duty free with a quick stop to check the price of Sony noise cancelling headphones. None of us really need a new pair of headphones but this is one benchmark of consumer electronics pricing that we like to stay abreast of. There was a 40% off sale on all Sony audio products but the headphones had already been cleaned out, leaving not even a pricing sticker so I could index my findings.
I met a large Roomba as I entered the food court. This robot was taking advantage of the quiet evening traffic to do a really thorough clean of this normally bustling area. I watched it for a while before heading to the gate.
The main Beths had made their way to the UK via San Francisco, and as I was waiting to board, they were enjoying well-earned pint on a sunny London afternoon at their local pub.
My first flight was on an Air New Zealand Boeing 787. Ten hours to Singapore and then a two-hour layover. On the walk to my connecting flight I stopped to take a couple of band pics with the small gardens interspersed between the travelators.
The next leg was fourteen hours aboard a Singapore Airlines Airbus A-380. We rotated out of Changi Airport at 9am local time and ascended over the Singapore Strait where rows of cargo ships lay at anchor awaiting their turn to unload.
The huge amount of wing flexing on the A-380 as we take off from Changi.
Once we were leveled out at 34,000 feet and cruising northwest over Malaysia the breakfast service began. My meal was baked eggs: two well-cooked eggs served over beans in a tomato sauce, potatoes seasoned with dried herbs, and a good clump of sauteed spinach. On the side I had a pottle of strawberry yoghurt, a bread roll, and a glass of orange juice.
The flight stretched out across a very long day as we followed the sun retreating to the west. Finally at 4pm BST we descended into a beautifully summery English afternoon and the pilot executed a smooth landing on Heathrow Airport’s runway 09L, to the great relief of a very stiff and tired economy-class cabin. I disembarked into Terminal 2, The Queen’s Terminal, and enjoyed a world class passenger experience while I made my way through passport control and baggage claim.
It was a great pleasure to find Gabe waiting in the lobby of our hotel nursing quite a dreadful cup of coffee. He had arrived in the morning and was now focused on trying to stay up for the rest of the day. I joined him in this quest and we headed to the nearest pub, the Three Magpies, for a sunny drink and some dinner.
We ended our evening with a cocktail, and it was a very special drink where they burned some woodchips to put smoke into the drink. My throat still feels a bit raw today.
Writing the blog today has been a challenge. I just wanted to serve a disclaimer to everyone that the quality of writing will be somewhat diminished while I transition into my new time zone. I plan to stick to a simple linear narrative, avoiding jokes, bits, and excessive facts.
Thank you for your patience and understanding.