Flying

Lots of folks expressed envy over my trip, before adding that the one thing they didn't envy was the long flight. For the record Sydney-London is 10,600 miles which takes around 23 hours including time spent somewhere on the ground refuelling. Depending on the airline, that stop might be Singapore, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Dubai, or in my case, Hong Kong. That's because one of the sponsors was Cathay Pacific (thank you, thank you, thank you!) and we decided to stop over a night both going and coming home. Boy, am I glad we did! The stopover meant legs of around 9 hrs and 13 hrs split by a civil 24 hrs of sleep and sightseeing.

I didn't mind the flying. I had my PDA with eBooks. I had movies. I've grown immune to airline food. And I even managed to sleep a little on the overnight flights, although not as much as I intended because of the eBooks. What a boon to travel. No bulky, weighty books to carry, no overhead light annoying other passengers trying to sleep, and the adjustable brightness on the screen makes it most eye friendly. I am one happy reader and give the experience a hearty two-thumbs up...which I'm also giving to Cathay Pacific for their check-in service alone. I did the check-in on-line and the dedicated desk at the airport meant no lines, no waiting, the most efficient service I've encountered.

More on the sightseeing tomorrow.