Assuming you do know me then, you probably know that I've been living in Bondi Beach, Sydney, Australia. I lived there for about four months- I was originally planning on staying longer, but everything wasn't quite as I'd hoped it would be, and I couldn't find a decent job so I decided to move on. I will miss being so close to the beach and my daily walks along the gorgeous cliff walk with Millie, one of the two house dogs. I'll also miss looking at the Bondi Beach boys, who were generally crappy, but so pretty. I'll have to get someone to take a picture of me because I think I'm more tanned than I've ever been in my life even with wearing sunscreen, but what can you expect when you live in a country with a hole in the ozone over it and SPF15 is considered "high protection"?
I'm currently on my flight from Sydney to Singapore. I stopped over in Darwin, in the Northern Territory- the part of Australia that's closer to the stereotypical image we have than Sydney or Melbourne. To be perfectly honest, though, I'm quite amazed I caught my flight at all because I'm an idiot and do really stupid things. Since I only have carry-on luggage (my backpack and a purse) I planned on printing out my boarding pass, so I knew I'd have lots of time. My flight was at 2, so I left at 11:30 to go to a internet cafe near me to print out the pass. I was feeling pretty anxious anyways, because I haven't really done any detailed planning for this trip and I still have crap in the U.S. that I need to take care of.
Anyway, I went to print the boarding pass and it said I couldn't. I don't know why- on the confirmation it had said I could do online check in up to an hour before the flight left. This was the first problem, the second problem was that I had assumed the easiest way to get to the airport was to take a bus to Bondi Junction, and then take a train to the airport from there. I almost never take the trains here so I don't really know the routes at all, so when the Sydney Bus Trip Planner told me to take the bus all the way into the CBD (Central Business District) and then take the train from there to the airport, I trusted them. BUT it was almost noon and their guide said it would take 40 minutes, which left me with 20 minutes before the international departure cut off time. This made me a bit nervous, but then the bus came earlier than expected so I figured I'd be fine, though I was still feeling anxious. I changed and got on the train without any further problems and got off at the international terminal. I ran up the escalators, with my heavy backpack jiggling around. In the terminal, I didn't immediately see the check in counter for my airline, so I asked an airport guide. I told him I was going to Singapore on Jetstar. He told me that Jetstar doesn't fly to Singapore. I showed him my ticket and he said "Oh, you're flying to Darwin." Whatever, and pointed me in the direction of the Jetstar counter. A nearby clock said 1:02. I was screwed, no way around it. I ran as much as I could to the counter, told the woman I was late and handed her my ticket, just hoping it might work.
"This is a domestic flight," she said.
"What?"
"Yeah, you have to go to the domestic terminal." The domestic terminal, which was the previous stop on the train. I asked if she could check me in there and then I could go over to the other terminal but she couldn't, so she called ahead for me, and told me the fastest way over was to get a cab. She also said that I'd be fine, however, because for domestic check in, you only have to be there 30 minutes before the flight. So I caught a cab over, tried to do self check in but it wouldn't work, but they had an express lane for people on my flight, so I only had to wait a few minutes. I thought it was all over and the worst part now would be that I might have to pay extra for my luggage because it was so large and heavy. Then the woman at the counter told me I had to have proof I was leaving Singapore to enter the country. Thinking back, I think I did actually read that previously but it obviously didn't stick. I clearly didn't have time to make a bus or train booking right then, so I asked if I could do it through them. She said yes and sent me to another desk. Naturally, I got the guy who was still training, so it took longer, but I got a flight to Kuala Lumpur for Thursday so I could get into Singapore. I was however, pretty excited that the ticket only cost me $52 AUD.
From then on, I wasn't too worried, even though the security line was a little longer than it should've been (and incidentally, not very good- I forgot I had a water bottle there and it went right through) and the gate was about as far away as it could be in the airport. I was fast walking when they called out my name on the intercom. "Laura Fayeh hee" and by the time they finished calling out all the names, I was at the gate. And then we sat on the tarmac for an hour because someone had some problem with their luggage. I had an aisle seat, so that was okay, but it was a long flight, about five hours, and I would've liked to see the scenery. The stopover in Darwin was fairly uneventful, but because we were late, I just had time to grab a quick bite at the little cafe. It turns out that Darwin has a tiny airport; they didn't even have any fast food! I wanted to use the WiFi and recharge my netbook (which I love by the way) and um, book a place to stay tonight. I may have accidentally lied to my mother when I said I already had- I kept meaning to, I just was busy. Anyway, I just didn't have time at the airport, so when I get to Singapore in a few hours, I'll just catch a shuttle and try a place- it's Monday, so I don't think I'll have too much trouble finding a place to stay.
On this flight, I was actually assigned a window seat, and it's only about a third of the way full, so I have my whole aisle to myself so I'm totally spread out. It was nice to see Darwin on the way out. The earth really is red, red, red and the trees are all gray green forests of eucalyptus. Oddly, even with all the different colors, they're very low contrast, even the ocean was a sort of dusty blue (again, remember, I've been living in Bondi). The humidity level felt so high, I think it should have been raining.
So now, my only complaints are my cold (which I think is actually being helped by the dry airplane air) and the obese man in front of me- his seat is somehow half an inch further back than his wifes, and he's sitting by the window, and I don't want to move from my window. So, first stops are Singapore and Kuala Lumpur. Any recommendations for must-sees/dos? Or suggestions of where I should go to next?
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