22 April 2014

Sydney - Abu Dhabi

Here we are at 34000 feet, cruising at 950 Km/Hr, somwhere over the Java Sea, north of Indonesia. It's 9:30 Pm, Brisbane time. The plane left at 2:50 PM, so both of us have been sitting in our seats for nearly 7 hours; with the "trip computer" indicating arrival in 8 hours and six minutes. Even though trhe map shows us that the plane is over sea, I have been looking down at lights for about half an hour. There appear to be sizeable towns down there, but of course I can't see any land or water. There is a thunderstorm over to the right, probably above Borneo. Thankfully its nowhere near us.

The plane is an Airbus 340-600, so we have about 300 fellow passengers. The plane is almost full.

We woke up in Sydney, in the Seasons Harbour Plaza Sydney hotel. Then we went for breakfast on Darling Harbour itself. Actually, Darling Harbour is only a small inlet, but it is lined with restaurants, cafes, and bars. The place is entirely man made with hardly so much as a tree in sight. It draws people like a magnet, but I could get sick of it fairly quickly. There are several apartment blocks which have cafes etc below, on the promenade level. I guess the apartments would start at something around 3/4 of a million dollars.

Anyway, breakfast was very nice, in the warm sunshine, watching the seagulls walkers, joggers, cyclists, and fellow diners. After eating, we walked across the Pyrmont bridge, and then up towards the Sydney Harbour Bridge. This was to see the place, use up some time, and pump some blood through our legs. The stroll was probably about 4 kilometres by the time we arrived bock at the "Seasons". There was time for a cup of tea before packing our bags and checking out down at reception.

Yesterday, Robyn had bought tickets on the shuttle bus to the airport ($14 each, a bargain). The shuttle bus was really a sardine tin with wheels, but it got us there. We walked through the doors and straight into the Etihad checkin line. After about ten minutes Dino (well that's what his name badge said- maybe he stole it off a dog) had our bags and us booked in.

The next step was duty free alcohol!. A big bottle of Bundaberg rum cost me $32.99. I must remember to buy some more when we come back to Australia. They have a funny system though- I couldn't collect it until I'd been through security etc. After getting the bottle, I discovered three more duty free shops inside the departure area all selling the same stuff! Still it's a better airport than Brisbane for food and shopping.

We bought some lunch; expensive (as it usually is, but pretty good). Robyn sent one final Email before we walked to the departure lounge for Gate 51 (it's a big airport). Soon enough we were called to board, and found our seats in row 46 (its a big plane, 7 seats wide).

We've had a drink, dinner, a drink with dinner, and a Weiss Bar! Everybody is quiet, watching movies (I've watched two) or trying to sleep. It is a bit cold in here though; my jacket and blanket are just enough to keep me warm. Outside is worse though -45 degrees ! Only 7 hours 20 minutes to go.

The hosties came around three more times during the night to offer more food, and drinks (water, juice), In between all this activity, we got light, fitful some sleep. I loked out the window a lot. Flying over India was strange - there were little groups of lights (villages) all over the ground, as far as I could see. They only stopped when we crossed the coast.

The plane finally landed after an eternity, and taxied to the terminal for another eternity (several minutes). Through the usual stages we went- customs, immigration, baggage collection; and then found a taxi. The taxi driver took us to our hotel without saying more than 3 words. I think he must charge extra for conversation. I also think his English was no better than our Emirati. The trip cost 45 Dirham (about $20 AUD).

Thankfully, the receptionist at the Centro Yas Island Hotel was wide awake (midnight local time, 6:00 AM Emerald time). She did what had to be done in about 10 minutes.

A nice soft bed at last !