Au Revoir Bitches


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Published: March 14th 2014
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Friday March 14th, 3:40pm (Australian Time)



For a long while I have been anticipating my first solo adventure, and now I am well on the way. On this particular holiday I use the term 'solo' loosely as although I will travel to and from Europe and spend the weekdays alone, my nights and weekends will be filled with the familiar laughter of Kate and Emily. Solo travel on training wheels if you will, a concept that is most agreeable for my first lone voyage.

Whilst mostly all of my friends from Sydney have trekked the globe with only themselves for company, the concept has always terrified me. I am a people person and my need to experience new things with company seems infinitely more enjoyable than attempting to do so alone. I have an innate ability to embarrass myself or end up in a pickle when venturing out alone. And this trip is no exception.

Although I left home last night to drive down the coast and stay with my cousin who would later drop me to the airport, I define the beginning of this journey as the moment I got into the car to make my way to the airport. The very same moment the handle of my luggage broke off. You know the one? It's purpose is to lift and carry your luggage up stairs, down stairs and into places where the roller wheels might otherwise not be able to reach... surely there won't be much of that going on? And the Brooklin style holiday begins.

I have to admit, I had a very relaxed approach to preparation this time round, packing the night before as opposed to 4 weeks in advance. And as I wheeled my now sadly looking bag around the terminal I was similarly lax in my pre flight time killing. For the most part the things have gone smoothly, although it is now apparent that I have overlooked a few minor details.

AirAsia, in all there affordability, only accept cash for their in flight service (with the exclusion of alcohol - now that's what I call responsible service) and that includes water. So whilst I thought I was being clever by purchasing a bottle of water and chicken wrap before boarding, in my current inner deserty state I can conclude that 750ml was not quite enough for my 8 hour flight and that perhaps I should have known to carry cash prior to boarding. Considering I have flown with AirAsia before. Although inconvenient this is not altogether the worst situation I could have found myself in. After all if I get unbearable thirsty I have my card to pay for the ever rehydrating alcoholic beverages on offer. I must be starting to resemble the vacuum packed dried shrimp I feel like because I have been given some sympathy water by the hostess to tide me over.

Slightly more alarming is the small text on my itineraries which I have managed to overlook ie not bother to read. Small text but important nonetheless. Supposed "clever Brooklin" left her credit cards at home for fear of loosing them or going on a drunken night out with generosity she cannot afford. Great plan! Until 4 hours into the flight, running low on entertainment, I re-read my travel documents only to discover I need one of those very credit cards for proof of purchase in order to board the 4 other flights I'll be taking on this trip. Here's hoping the airline staff take pity on my stupidity this time round (and the preceding 3 times too please) as I was quite looking forward to actually arriving in Paris at some stage.

This whole time I've been bitching about the big Brooklin drought and possible flight refusal and I've failed to mention the extreme good fortune of being given the only seat in an entire row! I can lie down, put my feet on the seat and generally avoid being pressed up against strangers in the usual intimate seating arrangement. So oversights and sadly bags aside, between pity water and leg room, solo travel is not looking so bad after all.

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