Above:  Asiana Airlines’ bibimbap “as served” but one is supposed to mix it all up with the condiments provided.   Train to Incheon Airport I have a train to Seoul at 0810 this morning.  My brain refused to let me fall into deep sleep all night even though the wake-up time isn’t any earlier than previous […]

Stressful lead-up It had been a stressful few weeks before my departure today.  Due to recent reopening of borders after (?) the Covid-19 pandemic, flights to Singapore were fully booked for about 2 months.  It would be risky for me to use airline staff standby tickets to get there and onwards to Malaysia. There weren’t […]

Leaving my hometown Having witnessed (but not personally endured) horror queues for domestic bag drop at airports a couple of times in recent weeks, I arrived at Kuching International Airport a little under 3h before my 1420 departure to Kuala Lumpur where I would self-connect to Singapore and then Christchurch. The AirAsia bagdrop area had […]

Above:  Scenery as we descend. I’m guessing this is near Sekinchan in northern Selangor, or somewhere in southern Perak. A very light flight Walking through the departure area to the gate, there were no water fountains available anywhere airside (but I saw one landside) to refill my empty bottle for the long flight.  Our PCR […]

On edge at check-in A week after making my bookings, the time has come for me to depart. This is very unlike the old style of travel when I may have made bookings up to 14 months in advance on AirAsia. The 1810 departure on Emirates meant that I had time to fit in a […]

Above:  Long wait for the caterers to enter the aircraft. Today I travel internationally for pleasure for the first time in about 17 months, with travel being difficult due to Covid-19.  I had spent the last few days monitoring the situation in Australia, with outbreaks in Melbourne and Sydney that have led to partial suspension […]

Above:  Masks must be worn on board at all times. Check-in My Malaysia Airlines flight to Kuala Lumpur departs at 0105 and I got to the airport a about 3h20 prior to departure. A queue had formed already and opened more or less as soon as I joined it, before the usual 3h opening. It […]

Landing at Sydney around 0740, it was fairly painless going through security to the departure area. I grabbed a meal with my Priority Pass card.  A bacon and egg roll, coffee, pastry and a fruit salad took up most of my AUD36 allowance.  I kept the fruit salad for onboard consumption, which was just as well […]