The scale of this journey beats anything I have previously experienced. With each new stage of the journey and each new time zone I was struck by the magnificent size of this round ball we call our planet, and felt a surprising growing excitement at heading to a new corner. Having said that, I slept almost the entire journey, only waking fully for the airport stopovers, my dosing intermingling with dreams of shark gods and strange visions of conflict-filled islands lying ahead.
Flight 0010; 5am UK time; I awake to find a peacefully sleeping plane flying over wee peaceful Kabul, 5,000 miles to Singapore
Flight 0010; 8am UK time; Awake again over the Bay of Bengal, 2,000 miles to Singapore
Singapore airport: My first hint of the east, having never previously travelled East of Jordan. All kinds of cheap eateries, so wandered through sampling sushi, chocolate soya drinks and watching young Yankee men head to McDs with a determination that made me shiver. Was torn for a moment between the free massage chairs and the rooftop pool, but the latter won and was a treat to swim and Jacuzzi for an hour or so in the muggy heat, shaking out the deep vein thrombosis from my tired legs, with jets taking off over-head.
Flight 0052; god-knows what time in UK; Awake flying over Alice Springs, sun rising over the mighty flat pancake of hazy earth and heat that is Australia, 2,500 miles from Singapore and still 1,500 miles till Brisbane.
Brisbane airport: Slightly alarmed at Brisbane airport when they refused to let me on the flight as I didn’t have an onward ticket. Buying a ticket all the way back to London from Honiara was the only option (cheap at less than 3,000 quids I thought), though there’ll be a nervous wait till I get my refund.
Landed in Honiara 2pm local time, 36 hours after leaving and 11 time zones East.
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