Final Goodbyes

The past few weeks have been a round of meeting up with friends for the last time before heading out to Oz.  It's been great fun, but also highlighted the fact that we shouldn't leave it until we're about to leave before making the effort to spend time with those who are important to us.

The last week in the UK has been a logistical nightmare... helping my mum move into her new place, negotiating the oddities of trying to close off utilities (must provide 7 days notice, but can't submit the online form without a final meter reading!! HOW?!) and trying to make sure my suitcases weighed 40kg or less (ha, ha!).  In the end, I sent a 9kg box of stuff that I really can't do without via airmail (£70), only to be told when I got to the airport that I could have flown with 48kg!  It seems they have a built in margin of error, so when they say you have a 20kg luggage allowance, you actually have 24kg... please note, this is Singapore airlines, I can't speak for other carriers, but may be worth asking.

Finally the day dawned... my birthday and my leaving day!  I had a few bits & pieces to sort out in the morning, but then my mum & I spent the day at RHS Wisley, a place I frequently visit and which had an Orchid festival on, quite appropriate given where I'm off to!  We had a late lunch down the road at The Anchor pub on the Wey Navigations, then cracked open a bottle of champagne (given to me by my lovely work colleagues, along with a beautiful necklace) and toasted the future!  I can definitely recommend Didier's macaroons (from Waitrose) to accompany a really fruity champagne.

Then it was on to Heathrow, where my mum got to wheel round my massive new 4-wheeled suitcase, while I worked out a way to balance my wheelie cabin case on top of my other not-quite-so-massive suitcase, so I can manage all of them when I get to Singapore!  I got fast-tracked through the Business Class check-in, but unfortunately that didn't mean I got an upgrade, which Singapore Airlines don't offer (apparently only a few airlines do still offer upgrades, so check out which before you book).  Then it was time to relax with a coffee before saying goodbye and heading through security.  The goodbyes weren't as bad as I thought they might be... in fact it felt no different to when I headed off travelling for a year and in reality it isn't that different as I'm sure we're likely to see each other at least once a year anyway.

Security was hectic and by the time I'd emptied my hand luggage of electronic devices and taken off my jacket and shoes I started to wonder why we bother to pack anything into bags anyway!  I still managed to set off the alarm (don't know how as the screws used in my knee were biodegradable, not metal!), so got the spread eagle full body search (unfortunately from a squat but friendly lady, rather than a tall, dark, handsome hunk!) which elicited nothing, so I re-packed and headed on my way.

After a quick browse around, I headed off to the gate, where it was beautifully hushed and I phoned a friend I'd been meaning to catch up with all week.  It wasn't long until we started boarding and I was soon settled into my window seat on the upper deck of the A380.  Now, I know a lot of people like aisle seats on long-haul flights, but I can't stress enough how great a window seat on the upper deck is on this aircraft.  Not only can you stuff your cabin bag in the overhead locker, but you also have a locker alongside your seat between you and the window, which fitted my (large) handbag, a pair of tracky bums for sleeping in, my book, iPad, jacket, neck pillow, etc with plenty of space remaining!  The fact that the locker exists means there is space (probably about 40cm) between your seat and the side of plane, so you don't have that usual window seat sensation of feeling hemmed in. Because the configuration on this plane is 2-4-2, it also means you only have one person next to you who needs to move to let you out... or if you're reasonably nimble, you can climb over them using the arm rests while they're fast asleep and they'll be none the wiser!!  So before you book a long-haul flight, check out www.seatguru.com where you can check out which actual aircraft is used for the flight you are planning on the particular date you are planning to fly.  I used is to ensure I only booked on the Singapore Airlines flights that were on the A380 and which had the configuration with an economy class cabin at the back of the upper deck (their other configuration is all business class upstairs).

Finally, just after 8.35pm we started taxi-ing and at 9pm we hurtled down the runway towards my new life down under!