london  

    .: 20-21 March 2003

Hong Kong Airport:

I think I have the Hong Kong flu. I don’t want to sneeze, sniff or blow in case everyone vacates my immediate area and I am put into quarantine. Everyone here is wearing facemasks. Some have even colour coordinated them to match what they are wearing.

Ok, back to the beginning. I was fashionably late for check in at Perth Airport but it was not a problem. Bought some duty free alc, some bottle of Mozart chocolate liqueur, only $22, and a bottle of Southern Comfort, hey it was only $5.

In the departure lounge I was going through my bag and I missed half of the boarding call for certain seats to go through. I decided to line up anyway. I tried to subtly check other people’s tickets to see what seats they had. I figured that if I had checked in late then I’d probably have a seat up the back. The flight attendant didn’t say anything but I ended up sitting on the wing of the plane with a whole block of passengers behind me.  I had this guy sit next to me who looked around my age but he seemed a bit too business like and mysterious for me to bother talking to him. A Flight Attendant came up and said “Thank you blah blah………..” didn’t catch the rest, but I was intrigued as to why she was thanking him. In the end no conversation was had, but we seemed to always be flicking over to the same channels on the personal TV screens.

The meal was pretty good. I don’t know why people say that airline food is crap. I think its great. You get all these little packets to open and everything is neatly organised. I don’t even drink tea or coffee but I still open the little tub of milk and drink it. The food isn’t bad either. Seeing as Cathay Pacific is a Chinese airline there is always an Asian option which is great.

For lunch I had penne pasta with mushrooms and a chicken Caesar salad. Then 2 hours before we landed we were served refreshments. I got a lamb and pumpkin strudel that was pretty tasty. I tried to take advantage of the free alcohol and ordered a Screwdriver but it was so strong that in the end I skolled it simply so they would take the cup away.

I took a stocktake of things to steal. The blankets were cosy, would have to get them on the way back. They had also given out these little night packs with socks, eye masks and toothbrushes that looked like mini dildos. I took a few of those for the free socks.

By the end of the flight my nose had started running and every so often I’d have to sneeze. I only had one napkin to use and it got so soggy that in the end I think it decoupaged itself to the floor when I dropped it. After that I secretly used the inside of my top when no one was looking. I’m sure everyone thought I had SARS. 

Finally after 7 ½ hours I got to Hong Kong. I didn’t really know where I was supposed to go but the screens on the plane said to go to Gate 16 if connecting to London Heathrow. I came off the plane and next to the gate was a departures sign pointing into what looked like a waiting area. There was one solitary security guy in there. I asked him if he knew where I was supposed to go. I don’t think he spoke English so I decided to find my own way. Had 3 hours before my next flight left. I started a 10km trek around the airport taking a few detours on the way at the duty free shops, or as they are known in Hong Kong ‘Free-Duty’ shops. Eventually I came across an area that had people in it. I had found the departures lounge. I couldn’t even see the end of the hall it was so big. Luckily they had travelators. I decided to go on them and see where they took me. Along the way every second person was wearing the facemasks. I knew that if the security guards who were brandishing huge machine guns (seriously it was like Yakuza City), if they saw me sneeze once, that they’d lock me away. Thankfully I think the fresh air, compared to the recycled air on the plane, stopped my SARS like symptoms.

Eventually I found Gate 16. It was a British Airways flight and it was going to Heathrow, I decided to wait around anyway. When the gate opened I asked the girl if I was at the right one, she said no and that I had to go to Gate 29. So another hike back and finally got there with an hour to spare. Least there were some good-looking guys there. I wanted to try and get some sleep but the design of the seats was not compatible. There were 3 chairs in a row but the last one had armrests on each side. I eventually figured out that if you lay down with your knees bent over and then twist into some yoga position, that it was actually quite comfortable. It also helped that the backs of the seats were curved for maximum comfort.

Finally boarded just before midnight. The plane was packed so there was no chance of me getting a few seats to sleep on. I surprisingly did get a bit of shut eye though. In the end I would say I was only awake for half the time. I had two Finnish chicks sit next to me who were nice. I think they were Finnish anyway, that was my educated guess.

After a hot Perth to HK flight, the HK to London was pretty cold. I made use of the blankets and devised a way of stealing them on the way home. I’m thinking if I put them right at the bottom of my bag then with all the crap that is in there anyway they’ll never get down to the bottom.

Good food again on the flight. Sweet and Sour Pork Stirfry and then for breakfast a nice omelette with bacon, hashbrowns, mushies and tomatoes.

Heathrow Airport:

It is now 6am. I’m killing time writing in this journal. I think my check in is 11am at the hotel so I have a lot of time to waste. Immigration was quick, just a few usual questions then the chick saw my Contiki pack and waved me through. Decided to try my luck and go in the No-Declare section of Customs. I must have the most innocent face in the world. They chose to search some old Asian woman over me. Fine. I only had alcohol anyway. I was counting on Immigration and Customs to waste time. My only complaint is that they broke the zip on my big backpack. Hopefully I can fix it but luckily I had it strapped on tight.

God I am so bored. It is apparently 5 degrees outside. I have my beanie and scarf at the ready. Might head out soon. I have so much to carry.

I am watching a Muslim couple that are sitting across from me. I like the henna tattoos on the girls hands. I’m assuming they are newlyweds and the henna tattoos are to show her family how much work he makes her do which they judge by how fast the tattoos fade. They’ve just wandered off leaving their huge bags at the seats. They look pretty heavy. What was it that they said in the terrorist pack? Explosives are heavy so look out for bulging luggage. I decided to make a quick exit. On my way out I saw them at one of the public phones so I guess they weren’t terrorists after all.

Ok, now I am on the London Tube. I think I missed the disclaimer sign that said “No Compensation for Whiplash”. This is one of the greatest underground forms of public transport?? I feel like I am on a rollercoaster ride.

First impression of London? Everything looks the same. Same brown brick, white mortar, white window boxed houses all in a row going for miles. It’s not as cold as I thought it would be but I think once I start walking outside I’ll get a bit of frostbite.

I was right! It is so cold here!!! I walked down the street and spotted the Royal National. Went inside to find out that I could only check in at 2pm! So I left my big backpack and my duty free stuff in their luggage room and went for a little walk.

Had a wander and eventually found the British Museum. It didn’t have the face sculpture out the front that I’ve always identified as being part of that museum but the building was big and impressive all the same. Unfortunately it was closed and did not open till 10am. Made my way back to Russell Square and decided to sit in the park for a while. Even though it was cold and misty it was actually quite pretty. I took a few photos and said a few words to the video camera whilst no one was looking. I had previously SMS’d Narelle who I had been emailing after she posted a message on the Contiki site. I asked if she wanted to go sightseeing and she said she’d meet me at the Contiki basement. I headed there and wasted some time on the Internet writing emails, paying bills and talking to Kirsty on MSN. Narelle's train had broken down so she was a bit late but at least I got more time on the net.

Our first port of call was a hurried rush to Buckingham Palace to see the Changing of the Guard. There weren’t as many people as I thought there would be but still enough to make it impossible to get a good view. People were facing both the Palace and also the road outside. I started asking people where this Changing of the Guard was supposed to happen but they did not know. One guy we started talking to looked very much like this guy I had seen the previous night at Hong Kong airport. He said he had come in from Japan the day before so it was very likely that it was the same guy. It didn’t click till afterwards so I never got to ask him.

Eventually it started. Just a lot of marching around and bands playing music. We kept on running around trying to get a better viewing position but each time we did the action would then go to where we had just been. It finally ended and I took a few pics of all the interesting details of the place. Really I thought Buckingham Palace would have been a lot bigger. Its comparatively tiny.

In the distance we could see Big Ben so we decided to walk in that general direction in the hope of finding our way there.

We stopped to get some lunch on the way at some little café run by a bunch of Italians that I’m sure suffered from ADD. They kept of going on about how good the pasta was but in the end I ordered a burger and chips which I think offended them. The waiter was so sleazy and just plain weird. The waitress was on speed and so fast that the hot chocolate we ordered was on the table in no less than a minute.

I realised that Downing Street was just up the road so we went and had a quick look. Nothing interesting but at least we can say we’ve seen it. Took some photos all the same. Next stop back to Big Ben. Just as we got a good view the sun came out and lit it up. Honestly, it wasn’t as tall as I thought it would be.

Some hippies had set up camp across the road protesting about the war. Some guy was yelling out something on his megaphone but you couldn’t make out what he was saying.

The actual House of Parliament was huge and absolutely gorgeous, so much detail. Across the road I spotted the rear of a church. I thought to myself “That’s quite pretty, lets go have a look.” Two seconds later I realised it was Westminster Abbey! Slaps for Shelley. We took the long way around that went through Westminster College so we were surrounded by all these school kids in their rich ass uniforms.

Inside the actual Abbey it was big! Lots of tombs and memorial plaques to famous people and some not so famous people everywhere. In fact, so many that even the floor was covered in them. Took awhile to get used to the fact you were walking across dead people. I saw the main three tombs that I wanted to see. Mary-Queen of Scots, William Shakespeare and Elizabeth I, who in a moment of stupidness I called the Queen Mum hehe but then I quickly remembered. Unfortunately you could not take any photos inside which was a shame as it was absolutely beautiful.

Next stop was to have a look on the other side of the Thames. We walked along the bridge and stopped to take some photos of the London Eye that was on the other side. Unfortunately one side of the bridge was undergoing maintenance so you could not get any good shots of Big Ben from the bridge. We had to walk all the way around and down to the boardwalk directly across from Big Ben. Because it was a hazy day the photos did not turn out as well. We went back and had a look on the other side of the embankment. Narelle bought a few souvenirs. I opted to get them when I come back so I don’t have to lug them around Europe. Next to the London Eye was a huge old building that housed the London Aquarium, a Salvador Dali museum and a McDonalds. You could only tell that it was a McDonalds from one tiny sign that was out the front. The building also housed the Marriott Hotel which was accessible from the other side.

By this time we were pretty buggered so we took the Tube home. Narelle was going to somewhere near Shepherds Bush and I had to hop lines at South Kensington to catch the Piccadilly line back to Russell Square (I’m a pro at the London Tube now).

Back at the hotel I gathered my luggage and went down to the Contiki basement to check in. Carrying it back up the stairs was the hard part. I went and collected my key and finally got to my room. I was sharing a triple but it seemed I was the first one there, so I took the bed by the window and flaked out for awhile. I then had a shower that was soooo good and at last got to brush my teeth. First time since leaving home, eww.

Saved the best till last. I got to have some real sleep. In a real bed!!

.: 22 March 2003