European Trip: Flying to Heathrow

Flying to Heathrow

Barb has been planning this trip for almost a year, so the contdown has really been on in the last couple of weeks. (Tell me about it. Ed.)

Barb's friend Lindel (from Maleny) gave her an "Iwaggle" crocheted greyhound toy by the name of Isla to take on holidays as a mascot. So if you see colourful Isla's picture popping up in our photos... that's why.

Our plan was to leave Maleny at 4pm, catch a taxi down to Landsborough train station and go into Central train station in Brisbane, where we would then transfer to the Airtrain and go on to the International Airport. Simples! Barb even pre-purchased the Airtrain tickets online to save any delay at Central.

Well! If anyone else is ever planning to do this...learn from our mistake: you don't need a separate Airtrain ticket if using a Go Card. Simply touch on at Landsborough and touch off at the airport after changing to the airtrain at Eagle Junction. Duh! Two wasted tickets but we'll know for the return journey anyway.

In fact it was a really easy way to travel (provided you're not in a train packed with commuters) and avoids traffic delays on the Bruce Higway and the need to pay for parking at the airport. We'll be away for six weeks, so what we save by doing this will pay for our car hire in Ireland.

Barb at Landsborough station.  Groovy.

We were hours early, of course. Barb likes it that way and John goes along with it to keep her quiet. (Too right!)  We were one of the first to check in and before we'd gone 20 metres away from the check-in desk John lost his passport.

Well it wasn't really lost. The nice lady at check-in had handed both back to Barb and she'd then carefully stowed them in her zipped purse pocket without realising she had two. It did cause some moments of confusion. The airport guard looked at us in a way that said "Are you two safe to be let out alone?" (Probably not. Barb was keen to give me a hard time until the passport turned up in her posssession.)

Isla at check-in, contemporaneous with
Barb hiding John's passport

John waiting before check in. 
You did want to see this?

Barb looking reasonably
innocent of passport theft

The first leg of the journey went well, despite the horribly cramped conditions in "cattle class" at the back of the plane. Because we'd left so late at night we both fell into an exhausted sleep for a couple of hours. We had a three hour layover at Changi Airport, giving ample time for coffee, muffin and use of the very well appointed loos. We had a wander round looking at the amazing array of high end shops there. (Why are people so keen to pay dubiously cheap prices to a shop they can't return to if there's a problem?) We didn't actually buy anything in these shops.....they're for looking in from the outside only.

You're meant to see all the up themselves market stores, not
only Barb

Ditto John

Isla, seemingly bored with the big screen

Illuminated balls, Barb amd Vuitton

Ditto

It's Jaguar. At Changi. Right.

It's OUR aeroplane. At Changi. Right.

Quite a pleasant departure gate lounge

Someone else's plane. At Changi. Right.

The next leg of the journey was around thirteen and a half hours of torture. The plane was a little larger and perhaps there was a centimeter or two more leg-room, but it was pretty uncomfortable all the same.

Barb binge-watched a full season of the mini-series of "Victoria" commandeering the use of John's new Bose noise-cancelling headphones in the process. They were a God-send and worth every cent. (What she means is the aircraft noise was virtually eliminated and she fell asleep). John had to make do with the old ones which don't cut out the noise as effectively but are a step up from the free ear-phones they give you on the plane.

We arrived at Heathrow and caught a black cab to the airport hotel (from touch down to emerging from customs - 65 minutes. Not as good as John's Heathrow record of 45 minutes but not bad), Park Inn on Radisson. It's so close we could almost have walked here - from the third floor you can see planes landing at the airport. It's very quiet, though inside. After a long hot shower it was off  to the coffee bar for a bite to eat, then crash out in our lovely comfortable spacious bed. Sweet sleep!

To sleep, perchance to dream ... 

John's diabetic and had lentil soup.
Barb isn't and had chips (oh, and a burger)