Back to reality - ahhh do I have to?

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17/11/05 - 19/11/05

Green express to CDG

My alarm on the mobile phone starting beeping and buzzing at 5.30am, the phone was vibrating all over the table, it took a few moments for me to realise that this meant it was time to get up and get set to depart for the airport and my flight to London then Singapore. Jean and Beatrice drove me to the airport in the green bus. On the autoroute, we passed by the turnoffs to some outer Paris suburbs which had recently become infamous due to rioting and Molotov cocktail parties (this was as close as I got to any problems they had been encountering).

Naturally, as I said “au revoir” I was filled with some mixed emotions, naturally I was excited to be going home and seeing Lorenza again (who wouldn’t be, after all she is the women I love!), but I was also sad to be saying farewell to my French family who have such a special place in my heart.

Electrical problems - what does that mean?

My brief flight to London was uneventful, a mixture of passengers going or returning to London for business, what airline hands you a paper bag of food as you board the plane? Then, a wonderful 3 hours hanging around Heathrow, I hate long stints at airports, these days who can help wondering which person with a backpack could mean a repeat of the big bang that ends it all? Depressing, but it’s a reality that slips into many peoples heads standing at Heathrow or any other airport I’m sure.

Once onboard the plane for Singapore we were delayed on the tarmac for sometime, the explanation from the flight staff was that “Sorry for the delay, our engineers are currently tracking a slight electrical fault on the plane and we should be underway very soon”. What the hell does that mean? A slight electrical problem? Yep, made me feel incredibly confident as we finally took off!

Who needs 1st or business class

I figured I was looking forward to about twelve hours of sheer boredom, crammed into economy class, on a plane with electrical problems, how good does that sound? Turned out I was actually in the economy version of the lap of luxury! The flight was virtually empty, I had four seats to myself and with the aid of numerous pillows and blankets I felt like I was traveling first class. Who could complain about being stretched out in the economy equivalent of a double bed, sleeping all the way to Singapore?

Clear the pool deck - here comes Rob

On the ground in Singapore, I arrived refreshed and ready for the 32 degrees and high humidity. My plain was to buy a cheap pair of board shorts and head direct for the pool and the nearby bar. Good plain, the cold Tiger beers went down a treat, and the pool was all mine (maybe the sight of my incredibly white body scared off all the other patrons? After all I had just been through an Aussie winter, then two months in Europe so my tan was definitely not at its peak). Floating in the pool I realized how much weight I had gained the past few months, sure a bit extra fat helps you float better but all my clothes are looking a bit 1970’s body shirt material. Mmmm, issue number one for correction back home - lose some weight.

So, my stop over consisted of the pool, the bar and then a very comfy bed. Next morning I took a cab to the airport (do they sell the Nissan Cedric anywhere else in the world or are they just produced for Singapore cab drivers?). I did some whirlwind shopping, perfume for the Missus, some shirts for me, a gift or two and then back on QF32 bound for Sydney.

A tail wind reduced our flight time to six and a half hours, a few wines and another lucky break with some spare seats made for an ok trip. As we circled Sydney we got some great views of the city and the harbor and I explained to an Indian couple what place was what as they kept firing questions at me about what they could see out the window. Most of my replies about “Where is the best designer clothes shopping” or “where are the trendiest night clubs” were solved with the same reply “Ummm, I don’t actually live in the heart of Sydney so maybe you should ask the tourist office, but that’s the Opera House mate”.

Back to reality

Great to see Lorenza again, although every time she says to me “hey, welcome back to reality, there is heaps we have to do in the next few weeks” I do wish that France was located just off the coast of Sydney!

So that's it for now

So, for now this is the last travel blog entry - had a great time and thanks to all who made our trip so much fun and such a wonderful experience - you all know who you are so I do not need to list your names individually!

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Photos

172 in the Renault
Nothing to do with this entry, I just found the pic on Lorenza's camera. Doing 172kmh on the autobahn and still made to look slow by those in the fast lane!