Pennine Way minus 2.

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It’s Pennine Way day. Well really it’s Pennine Way day minus two.

Thanks Bun for getting me to the airport and for the nice goodbye kiss. Something to remember.

Julie wasn’t far behind and despite having checked in electronically the same inching queue was our fate. No drama just frustrating. And the matches I so carefully took from my hand luggage and stowed in my luggage needed to be retrieved. Walkers need to carry matches (compass, whistle and the like) to make them feel like real walkers. No longer is a T-shirt proclaiming ‘I walked the Coast to Coast’ good enough.



From Melbourne and as of now 12 hours towards Doha. In flight data has informed us that in just over 2 hours we should arrive in the sunny capital of Qatar where the expected temperature is 39 degrees, and they are real degrees not those old Fahrenheit ones. Julie and I are comfortable, well feed and watered and having a ball and if you believe that I’ve got a bridge in Sydney for sale at a great price just for you. Closer to the truth is that several hundred of my new closest friends have squeezed on board an Airbus 380, watched 3 movies, had a meal and several snacks, tried to sleep in conditions that are certainly not conducive to sleeping and now we are attempting to look and feel human again prior to being served us breakfast and landing. I don’t know if it’s the size of the screen and/or the quality of the headphones or what but is there any such thing as a good in flight movie? There must be more than 100 to choose from yet none seems to hit the mark. Apart from the first 30 minutes or so nothing has been visible out the window. In fact we fly past Geelong although you may not have seen me waving. After that it was along the GAB (little geography test) towards Perth and the Indian Ocean. Consequently mostly ocean and little to see and no one to wave at. Close to breakfast time and with now 1 hour and 45 minutes to go that’s a good excuse for a break.



We’re here. No not there, only sort of half way there but we’re here in Doha. And surprise, surprise it’s a big, modern airport. Despite (or maybe because of) Doha being the little, little sister of the UAE triplets the airport has become quite a showcase. Marble and glass everywhere, a gleaming monorail that snakes right through the terminal and runs every 2 minutes and some bizarre wooden sculpture that there to terrify young travellers. It appears to be from some electronic game as it has big crosses on its hands, feet and eyes but as it’s not Mario or Luigi I have no idea who it is or who it’s meant to be. I’m half guessing it’s Pinocchio, based primarily on his nose but why Pinocchio would feature so prominently here in Doha is beyond me. Unless he’s the patron saint of souk traders. I went walking and found another bizarre sort of sculpture that doubled as a kids playground so it seems there are a few around.

The airport has free wifi but only if you can log on with a mobile phone (see Bun I miss you already) so emails and reading the Age are but faint and fading hopes. I’ve reset the sudoku puzzle a couple of times already so even that is becoming old hat. Air Qatar flies to over 150 destinations from here and the place is filling up with tourists going here there and all over. It’s 6 o’clock in the morning but the place is certainly coming to life, just as it’s being drained from us! We have a couple of hours here (to type) and stretch our legs which is easy as it appears the terminal is one long, long arc. We couldn’t even see the end as we entered the transit lounge. If it gets any soggier, foggier, smokier or whatever we may not see anything. Not sure what it is but visibility is restricted and we can see nothing much at all.

Julie SMSed (I’m sure that now a real word) Lee and Lee asked about the airport. It functions well and the signage is very good. Courtesy golf cart things abound and it appears that anyone can simply flag one down and ride around. The standard security protocols exist which now are just expected although still a bit annoying. You’ll have no trouble here Bun assuming you have at least an hour between flights. It is though one of those airports that buses you to the plane, as such be prepared for that hot, diesel fumed escapade which seems such an anachronism at this modern terminals. The fact that the temperature was 35 at 7 o’clock did t help.



We fly to Manchester, again with Air Qatar (not air guitar but I can’t not think that) and then hop a train into Manchester proper then out on a branch line to Edale where our first 2 nights accommodation awaits. The flight is approximately 7 hours so there may be some more musings but it’s time to see if the airport here does end.



Currently over Kuwait and heading towards Basra so again we’re in the air. This time it’s an Airbus 350 which is the 380’s little brother. No upper deck configuration for first class. We’re directly over the wing which partially obscures the view but at row 18 only 3 rows back from business so it’s pretty good. I’m not complaining about wings either! Even from 11000 m some significant landmarks are evident so I hope the weather stays good and the views in view. It must be breakfast time again soon. The last one was surprisingly poor so I’m not optimistic about the quality but it should have some fruit and some yogurt that last time were OK. Hoping wasn’t enough, we are now above thick cloud and I can’t see anything.





Now we are really here. Here is Edale the start of the Pennine Way. Big day so I’ll try and send this and then find time to re blog sometime.

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