Flying out I got to Auckland airport around 2h30 before my 0955 flight to Tokyo.  Kiosk check-in was not available for this flight, so I had to join the long queue which fortunately moved quite quickly.  There were 10 counters for four flights. I was given a boarding pass straight away by the check-in agent […]

It didn’t feel like I had slept after my inflight dinner but because time didn’t drag on, I must have dozed slightly.  My slight sinus and cough from the previous days appear to have eased but the dry cabin air had given me a sore throat. I appear to have come a full circle as […]

Leaving Kuching Today I leave Kuching for the journey back to Auckland, with a self-connect at Singapore.  My brother dropped me off at Kuching airport around 0800 after a slow drive during rush hour. With no food outlets in the international section of the airport (apart from a sandwich stand, I later learnt), I ate […]

Killing time Despite not having napped yesterday afternoon in order to encourage a good night sleep, it didn’t work.  I’m not so good flying eastbound.  Retiring at 2115 last night, I woke up about 3h later. After about an hour, I took a half-strength sleeping pill which didn’t quite work so well.  I didn’t feel […]

We landed in Singapore 20 mins late at 0920 for my nightstop.  Immigration was a dream using the kiosks and baggage came soon after.  To top it off, there were no queues for the taxi at Terminal 1. We got to the Hotel 81 Gold at 1030 while their official check-in time was 1500.  The […]

Above: Mdina soon after take-off. Getting to Istanbul Today we begin our big trip back after over five weeks of summer.  I’m bound for hometown Kuching whereas Kim will plunge into the depths of winter in Auckland. We set the alarm for 0600 but I had woken at 0500 anyway.  Getting a rideshare to the […]

Getting to Incheon airport Today, the plan is to fly to Istanbul on staff standby tickets.  There are three flights during the day with one to two hours between each one of them and a final and fourth flight at night. We chose to try Asiana Airlines at 1025 as it would be silly not […]

Another odd itinerary Kim and I depart again today on another of my odd itineraries.  It evolved from a couple of requirements: Using Korean Air expiring points which were best used for a flight from Okinawa to Seoul, and Using a leftover Emirates ticket from nearly 3 years ago from Larnaca to Malta. That hop […]