Off to London

I sat around in the hotel lobby for about 30 mins trying to work out a cunning plan to fix my bag. Nothing came to mind so I read some of the newspapers instead and watched what was going on around me. I suppose that every hotel lobby is the same wherever you go. I was still trying to work out if I had cash and time for a coffee in the lobby bar, which was just opening, when the coach turned up early. I only had a voucher rather than a ticket which seemed to upset the driver but he took me anyway. I watched him try and move my bag without the wheels and thought I was probably going to see a lot of that

We stopped for several more pickups along the way. I was wondering if we were in the HK rush hour then it occurred to me that I probably could not tell the rush hour and the non rush hour apart. I quite like HK but I wonder what it is like to work here. As usual I became worried about whether I had left enough time to get to the airport and like usual I had plenty. I tried to take some pictures on the way but I was not satisfied with any of them.

I know that I said before that the airport at HK is big but it must have cost a fortune to build. The three approach bridges by themselves would have cost a kings ransom. Just as I was settling down to the run to the airport on the motor way we turned off. What, it's disneyland time! We are doing the hotels there. I worked out that I would not have 3 hours now, oh well nothing to do but sit and stew about how slow other people are. The hotels look nice if a bit sterile. Of course one of the groups is not ready so we sit to what seems like hours while they get their act together,but was probably 20 mins. At last everybody has their bags and we are off again. At the airport the driver fetches a trolley for me so no bag problems.

Like normal I have entered the airport at the furthest place I could from my checkin desk. Off I roll and after about 10 mins I am at my desk. Surprise there are no queues and even better they can check my bags through to London. Given what will happen at Frankfurt that's just as well, though at this point I don't know this of course. So now I have both my boarding passes (FRA and LHR)and by bags checked in. I go to return my trolley but despite not seeing anybody the trolley has gone, perhaps it dematerialised like the Tradis! I do think that compared to the 70's that the airports are getting better at this sort if thing.

Time to send some more post cards and figure out where to get lunch. I look around wondering how long will it take to find the post office and work out how to send a post card. Then I realise I am standing alongside the post office. That make a pleasant surprise, so in I go, working out how to send a card was not hard either due to it being written in English in big letters on the wall, somebody in HK post knows what he is doing. I sent some cards ( hi Clare) and it's off in search of lunch. Every thing seems to be sit down waiter service so I select wonton soup. Looks and tastes nice when it arrives, there is some chillie stuff which looks the most evil condimint that I have ever seen, I approach it like I am walking towards a land mine but it's nice and very hot. Just as I finish I realise it's time to head to the gate.

The gates are a long way away, no really they need a coach service inside the terminal. I feel like I am walking to London, its took 35 mins to walk from the lunch bar to the gate and as everybody knows I don't walk slowly. At the gate I realize that the locals don't know how to board a plane. The crew are trying to load by rows but the moment they start everybody rushes the gate. Do they think that it will leave without them?

What a old jumbo, it feels like it's out of the 70's (Flight 739, Seat 54F). No individual screens here just CRT in the isles. I can see 4 screens from where I sit but three different colours. The screens are so old that an actors jacket is red on two screens, blue on another and pink on a third. Lufthansa is also insulting us! During the flight they show us a film several times about how nice the new A380 is, ok but we are on this ancient beast! I want to be on a A380 please! Stop teasing us!

I am surrounded by asians who seem to be traveling as a group, the noise is unbelievable, I think some of the woman talked the whole flight. I have a small woman next to me, we are in a block of 4, it's not the seat that I ordered, so it looks like my seat requests have not made it.

The food is good and the crew seem to be working well together. I notice that the name tags dont show a furst name just an initial (Fraulein Shmitt is H.Schmit though she is introduced as Helena) I can't be bothered to try and watch a movie on a screen 10 feet away to me s I read my Kobo for a while and try and sleep. The Kobe works will in this environment but I must remember not to leave it in the seat pocket as it fits rather to well there. My travel buddy sees my bag and remarks that it looks like a good travel bag. Its the only exchange we have in the whole flight.

Then it's Frankfurt., another large airport and not laid out very well, certainly for xfers. I have an hour to make my xfer and I only end up with 10 mins to spare. Why do xfer pax have to go through security again. We just came off a flight. It seems that there is no xfer system here. You leave international to public then public to domestic so we all have to be scanned and checked again. What a waste of time just when most people don't have time to waste, jast as well I don't have bags to worry about!

Then it's on to a A319, talk about old to brand new (Flight 4742, Seat 16D). The German beer is good by why do they server it in cans on international flight but bottles on local? I need to know or I will be unfulfilled in life, well perhaps I exaggerate!

I must be feeling the stress, though I don't feel tired I fell asleep on take off and landing something that I have never done before. Here comes LHR but that's for the next entry.