Well, I’ve arrived in the UK. The trip was mostly uneventful, although there was a moment there when things were looking uncertain. When I checked in at Nelson airport just after 6 PM, about an hour before my flight to Auckland was scheduled to depart, the first thing the girl at reception told me was that my flight to Auckland had been canceled. Luckily I had arrived just in time; another flight to Wellington, that would connect to Auckland was about to leave… in five minutes. If I had arrived in at Nelson airport five minutes later then Air New Zealand would have had to rebook the whole journey through Hong Kong instead of Los Angeles.
So, quickly grabbing my bags and saying a hasty goodbye to my folks, I hopped on the next plane to arrive and flew to Wellington. I was greeted with a (typically) rocky landing in Wellington airport, and then had to quickly rush to the next plane as it was boarding almost as soon as the plane from Nelson had arrived. Auckland airport was straight forward, and when I’d gone through customs I attempted to pick up some free wireless hotspots, but unfortunately none were free, and I didn’t feel like paying NZ$9 just to update my Twitter status.
The flight to LA was tedious and uncomfortable as I expected, but it didn’t seem to take as long as I thought it would. I ate dinner and watched a couple of movies and before attempting to sleep in the cramped airline seats. Luckily the row in front of mine was in front of a doorway, so I was able to sit in one of the spare seats and stretch my legs out into the hallway. Going through LA airport was much easier that I thought, just a couple of identity checks and a form to fill out. It was the same plane, so there was no need to navigate my way to the other side of the airport.
I arrived in London at 11 AM this morning. I’ve had a brief look around Chiswick, and will be going into Central London tomorrow for some sightseeing. The place has an old world feel to it, yet life is more modern and fast paced than any city I’ve been to before.
More news and photos in blog entries to come.
Wow. Feels weird to be in the same country as you =P Damn lucky with your flights though. I bet you’re tired.