Getting there!

What a nice place to blog – I’m sitting at the bar in the Plaza Premium Lounge at the Kuala Lumpur Airport.  I have a really long wait, so I spent $50 for 5 hours access to the lounge.  Included in the price is dinner, one glass of wine, free beer and soft drinks and massage and a shower.  Not to mention soft comfy chairs and free wi-fi access.

Today was a fabulous day for flying.  The skies were clear so I had a great view as we took off from Adelaide.  I did wonder about the strange black object in the ocean, but when it followed us on to the land, it slowly dawned on my tired early-morning brain that it was the shadow of the plane.  Good grief!

Lucky I don’t believe in omens.  My Japanese ‘Word of the Day’ that arrives on my phone every morning was a very unfortunate choice today.  The word was ‘shinu’ which means ‘to die’.  The sample sentence was ‘He died in an accident last year’.  What a cheery word.  Hoping for a better one tomorrow.

The flight was great.  Very smooth and plenty of room to stretch out as there were 9 empty seats at the back of the plane.  I had two seats to myself – very comfortable.  I’m not sure whether I’m the only person in the world who thinks that airline food is fine.  I had a lovely curry with rice and vegetables and fresh fruit salad with yoghurt.  No complaints here!  I watched “Sherlock Holmes” and part of “The Hobbit” in Japanese, just to get in the swing of things.

I do have to question, though, why the ‘Flight Info’ screen needs to tell us that the temperature outside when we’re flying at 12000 metres is -55 degrees.  I really don’t want to know that.  In particular, I don’t want to know it when the Japanese Word of the Day is ‘shinu’.

We do live in amazing times.  I just made a Skype video call to John (he showed me the toast that he burnt) and a Skype voice call to Mum.  I’ve also translated some more potentially handy phrases using Google translate.  Modern technology aside, best of all I’ve indulged in one of my favourite holiday pastimes, which is people-watching.  The KL Airport is a showcase for outfits from all over the world – gorgeous coloured saris, colourful headscarves and brightly coloured shirts, skirts and kaftans.  I think I even saw Mahatma Gandhi.  And the Bali Bomber.  And a black tent carrying a beautiful pink handbag.

I’m just about to go off for a shower in preparation for my night on the plane.  I have Temazapam at the ready and despite previous evidence to the contrary, I hope to have a sleep on the way.  I’m so looking forward to landing in Osaka and indulging in the delights of Japan.

Sayonara!