Bug-Man’s Blog

So why haven’t I done this before? I’m sitting in a 777 at 40,000ft and Lindsay and I just flown over Indonesia on the way to Kuala Lumpar. I enjoy flying and being given a birds-eye-view of everything before but this is very, very different to what I’ve seen in Australia. First of all, we’ve left Australia, so we’ve been flying over the ocean for quite some time. When there’s no land to be seen it reminds you of just how infinite it really seems, but the truth is what I’m looking at is only marginal compared to the Pacific Ocean or any of the other large water masses! There is a shitload of ocean out there.

The sun is setting and as it beams across the ocean it lights up the detail and lets you see the waves rolling across the surface and while they look so calm from up here they really are big. I said to Lindsay that I’d love to see something down there in the ocean, like an il rig or something and then what do you know, two minutes later I see a huge cargo ship and then only a few minutes later another one going in the opposite direction! But these darned double-pane windows on airplanes are so awful for taking photos through because they’re so white.

I just love clouds. The cumulus nimbus (cumulo nimbus?) clouds are always so fun to look at as they take random puffy shapes. The difference between the clouds from below and above is awesome as they are so flag, like a layer of ham in a sandwich! They just hang there in the sky taking on wonderful shapes.

Flying over Indonesia was a treat in itself! The sun was beginning to go down so the visibility was a bit impaired, but from our 40,000ft altitude there was still a fair bit to be seen. Most impressive to me was the diversity in the land. Australia is so flat! This system of volcanic islands are fascinating from above. As we passed over the ranges we went right over a volcano and it really was quite beautiful. You can see all the grooves that worm their way up to the crater.

In terms of the flight it’s been fairly good although, thanks to Nick and Mark I’m quite dehydrated today and that hasn’t been helping on the flight! My lips are chapped and I am trying to keep my fluids up but ordering water on the plane is infuriating because it only comes in such a small container. What I really need is a big 600mL bottle of good old H2O!

So what sucks about flying? Well the guy in the seat next to us, across the aisle is a pig. He’s one of those big fat slobs that constantly requests booze because to him it’s value for money. While drinking on a plane can be great, I don’t see much value in overdoing it, personally! Luckily for us this guy has spent most of the flight out of his seat. Unluckily for the flight staff he’s been hanging around up the back area standing up requesting drink after drink after drink and nuts, nuts and more nuts. They must be sick of the guy by now surely. He even had the ordasity to request the bottle!

So what are the things I must remember for next time? Batteries. My GPS lasted 15 minutes before conking out. Can’t help to have one or two. Due to mostly lack of time I ended up with 2/3rds laptop power and I can’t recharge it at all until I see Justin because I have no international power adapters. I have two batteries for my camera, both charged, one is now about to run out. Annoyingly, with a 4 hour stopover in KL, there’s nothing I can do about recharging all my devices. Bring on power over air!

I wrap up my entry by watching this large cloud-mass, reminiscent of Hiroshima. It’s sitting above the higher clouds and it reaches all the way down to the next layer (or seems to.) I can’t quite be sure but I saw a large whit flash inside of it which I presume was a lightning strike (but striking to what? Lightning usually strikes from the clouds to land, not sea.) Oh can I also say — claiming back the GST on the spot for two laptops is extremely, extremely satisfying.

Things are getting nearer and nearer! Today is Monday and there is very little left in our house aside from an alarm clock, a bed, some clothes, a couple of washing baskets, coat hangers, my Xbox, two old computer games I found under my bed and some dishes.

I’ve got to try and get these last two boxes to my Dad. I told him there’d be nothing more to store but I was wrong I guess you never can tell until the last minute!

A woman is coming to pick up the bed today, which means from today Lindsay and I are staying at Mum’s house until we fly. I’ll throw out the dishes. w00t. That leaves very little that can’t just be thrown away.

We’re all packed and ready to go with my suitcase weighing in at about 21.6kg and Lindsay’s at 20.6kg. The limit is 20kg per bag and they usually allow a little bit of variance so hopefully they will let these through without charging that HEFTY USD$20 per kilo over 20! Carry on is another story — 5kg per bag plus a laptop, but we fall within the limits of that. The problem is that it’s the luggage they check the weight on mostly, and usually only the carry-on if it looks dodgily heavy!

Two things to remember — label and lock! We’re going to need to make sure we label our luggage inside and out, as well as lock the zippers. A handy travel tip from my step mum was to make copies of your passport details and leave them with a family member back home just in case either go missing. Makes sense.

The weather in London over the next few days is a ‘balmy’ 11-12 degrees, and right when we arrive it shoots its way down to a maximum of 7°C! Brr! What’s worse is that it’s a min of 5°C so it’s not going to be that much difference … or will it! We have made sure we’ve carried sorta heavy clothes in carry-on but we’re used to Aussie cold so it’s going to be very different.

It’s incredible the amount of useless junk humans accrue. What’s worse, here I am going through loads and loads of crap and I keep looking at things and thinking “I can’t part with that!” I do this about 5 or 6 times over the course of a few days before suddenly I realise… “I can part with that!” And finally it’s gone.

What I need is single-step process of elimination rather than a 5 or 6 step one!

What’s worse is it’s way hot and I have no fridge and so no cool beverages. I think I’m going to write about my fridge at least once for each post before I leave.

Damn, it’s hot. Our new uniforms (shirts) for work arrived. 65% polyester. On a 35 degree day? Give me a break! You can really tell the difference between 100% cotton and a polyester blend when the sun is radiating itself all over you.

Meanwhile it was so warm this evening that I took my bike along the Linear Park track (along the Torrens river) and it was fantastic. I haven’t ridden my bike since last summer so it was great to get back on it. Unfortunately I’m trying to sell it so I won’t have many more rides on it but if I ever come back here I’ll buy myself a new bike anyway.

Just as a side note, Lindsay and I got dinner today (a couple of Tom Yum soups) and besides the fact that they were a little too sweet I took off from the lights too quickly and they opened themselves up in the car! Luckily all spillage was retained in the plastic bag but we had to go back and get new soups. I don’t think eating the slops out of a plastic bag was really what we had in mind for dinner.

Oh well.

I think a bit of a mixup meant that Lindsay’s mum thought today was the day to collect the fridge. But there are still 18 days to go! So somehow between now and when we leave we will have to survive without it. But we will. The couches are gone, the fridge is gone, and soon the washing machine will be gone, and then there will only be a few odds and sodds left, thankfully!

The BLOG is BACK!

Perhaps I am not so good at finishing what I start, or perhaps I’m just tired of the Internet. Lindsay and I are heading to London in 18 days time. Between now and then, and when I arrive, I’ll fill this blog with all the happenings of the trip!

First things first, the flight is at 3:30PM on the 29th November, 2007. We fly via Kuala Lumpar and stop over for a few hours there. We arrive at 5:30AM at Heathrow Airport in Great Britain on the 30th!

What has been most stressful about the preparations? Probably applying for the visas. Can you believe the Working Holidaymaker program is just over $500 per person to apply and that doesn’t even guarantee you a visa. You need to show them your bank account history for at least three months in order to prove you’ve got money, and you have to show them you have enough money to sustain yourself for at least a month and that you can get home. Although they recommend you apply for the visa before you get tickets, it’s all a bit mixed up because you have to provide a date indicating the day you arrive, but how do you know that if you don’t have flights? I suppose you can guess!

The visas all went through alright and Lindsay and I have been saving like madmen in order to have plenty of money over there. I’ve sold my car, lounges, fridge, washing machine, a filing cabinet, and several other things in order to get there. My bike is still for sale. The worst thing is that there are less than 20 days to go but Lindsay and I still have all this crap around the house! Minor pieces of furniture not withstanding, there are things we still need! I still need my ironing board and iron, kitchenware… THE BED! etc, etc! Some of my things will stay at my Dad’s house, but the main trick will be getting rid of all the stuff we still need to live off of here at home with enough time to spare before actually leaving. It’ll be a BLOODY BUSY WEEK that week.