the long haul

Now I know why they call it the long haul; all I can say is I'm mighty glad I've got little legs. The flight to Amsterdam was fine (although I'd forgotten just how fast planes have to go to take-off, jings!) Schipol airport was huge, but I had a few hours to kill to explore, and inevitably I found my way first to Burger King and then a bar, and a very nice pint of Heinekin it was too. All too soon it was time to catch the flight to Kuala Lumpur, which took a mighty twelve hours. I should say hello at this point to Arin and Marie, the South African couple who sat next to me and were going to visit their son in Sydney, I promised I'd give them a mention! The cabin crew were fantastic, couldn't do enough for you; first we got some soft drinks, then pretzels and beer. It was around about this time I distinctly remember flying over Berlin and seeing it was a complete white-out, nae luck! Dinner followed soon after as we cruised over southeast europe, I waved to Simona as we flew over Bratislava and I munched my grilled chicken with roast potatoes and courgettes, washed down with white wine and some cheese and crackers, yum! We flew over India a few hours later, which was strangely exciting for some reason, it's actually a huge place. We were given some breakfast as we hit the Indian Ocean, breakfast steak with garlic and herb butter, hash browns and mushrooms, with fresh orange. Couldn't really see much of Kuala Lumpur as we descended, too early in the morning. And it was really annoying when we got into the terminal and I found the change office was on the other side of customs, so I couldn't get any ringgits. I really fancied a pint at that Cheers bar, and Burger King...well, it was pretty weird. It was, and it wasn't, you know? The menu, what on earth is a double black pepper burger, eh? And all the little girls behind the counter with their scarfs covering their heads, it was all a bit strange. And yet it was also very familiar, that distinct, early morning, manager-doing the QSC, counter-staff setting up feel of any restaurant. Anyway, after killing three moneyless hours, I finally got on the flight for Perth, which felt like a breeze at five hours. Steak again for lunch, doused in mustard and peppercorn sauce with potatoes, carrots and courgettes, red wine this time, scrummy. Anyway, about eight years after promising my first australian I'd come visit them sometime, I caught my first glimpse of Australia's northwest coast, and boy is is desolate! After about an hour and a half (hello girls) of redness we finally hit Perth and descended into the proverbial furnace. It was a strangely touching moment when we actually touched down, it had been a long time coming. But not as long as australian customs took: about twenty minutes to get my passport and passenger arriving card checked, then five minutes for a random check with some guy who pulled me up in the corridor. Luckily my luggage was right there when I got to baggage, and getting it scanned for all the stuff I had to declare was nothing. Despite all the time it took and the checks, they were all very friendly and helpful (although the sniffer dog in the first queue was a bit too friendly for my liking!) I finally got out to my reunion with Katie, who was by now beginning to wonder if I'd actually been on the flight, and it wasn't long before I was out on the highway and thinking Australia looked like East Kilbride, but sunnier...