It is late spring in New Zealand and the weather is a mix of cold and warm days. It’s not so bad that I’d want to go away for a month. I had booked this trip a year ago when November was horrid.
I really wish I wasn’t going. Nagaland seemed like a good idea after last year’s exploration of India’s North East. Right now I couldn’t face the long bus rides, damp weather and lack of worldly comforts.
AirAsia X had changed their departure time from Auckland. At the end of my trip, they have a shift from Melbourne Tullamarine to Avalon. They offered me a full refund for both tickets but I’d still lose a bundle on the short hops in SE Asia and India. So, grin and bear it … I know I’ll come out the other end having had a good time.
I got dropped off at the airport a little more than 3h before my 1855 departure for Gold Coast and continuing to Kuala Lumpur. Check-in wasn’t officially open but all counters were already operational. Despite a home-printed boarding pass, the duty manager asked me to have my boarding pass reprinted so that they could check my documents at the same time.
Going airside, departure cards are no longer required. It is a very recent change. I managed to spend about 90 minutes in the Strata Lounge courtesy of my Diners Club card, which will soon be history in New Zealand when they pull out from the country. This card has been a great travel privilege over the last two decades and more with free lounge access.
The full-ish flight left a few minutes early . The transit in Gold Coast was painless despite the security screening. I was in the departure area for about 20 minutes before we were allowed to go outside to reboard. There must have been fewer passengers continuing to Kuala Lumpur today as security screening was all done by the time we reboarded whereas on previous flights, there was still a queue.
Well, the cabin crew on this flight were superb. They were cheerful and making an effort to be their best with the customers. It made the crew on the previous flight look disinterested or just doing their job … but you couldn’t say that they were bad though.
I managed to get a row of three seats, and using my pack as a pillow slept for nearly 4h followed by dozing for another 3h. That only left about 30 minutes before we landed. The magic of a sleeping pill!