| From: "Kate McMullin" <kate@brong.net> Date: Thu, 11 Jul 2002 10:47:44 +1000 (EST) |
We're currently at Sydney airport, using a free internet terminal (may we find many of these on our trip), waiting for the flight that will take us to Osaka. The Sydney airport is a bit of a maze, with inadequate signage for the particular transfer desk we were after (Qantas to JAL). If we'd had only a short time, like originally planned, we would have been very stuck. We've only done a little bit of duty free shopping, as prices seem to be quite expensive - $6.95 for a double pack of timtams was impressive. However we did buy a huge pack of film - 20 rolls of 36 film, which should last us the journey! So even if we run out of money in wherever, we'll still be able to take great pics. So prepare to be bored by them all when we get home (eventually, once they're developed!). We'll try and write again as soon as possible, when something exciting has happened! BTW, no problems so far getting my nail clippers through for my needlework. Hope it continues. |
| From: "Bron Gondwana" <brong@brong.net> Date: Thu, 11 Jul 2002 11:00:27 +1000 (EST) |
Yay for being in Australia and still being able to send diary entries. We probably won't be quite so prolific in future. Finished getting everything organised after midnight last night, and had to get up at 4am. Grr. Didn't quite fall asleep in the car on the way here (I've been transferring all the phone numbers from my old SIM card by the very painful method of putting it in Kate's phone and transcribing one by one. One way to waste a couple of hours I guess), but it was close at times! Qantas flight to Sydney was nice enough - bit bumpy in places, but nothing like the time on the way to Tassie where one of the football players in front of me had his beer jump out of his glass and splash all over the roof! Will sleep well on the JAL flight no doubt. Too late now to pick up anything we've forgotten. Flight leaves in about 30 minutes. Spent almost all of our $AU. As Kate said, Duty Free is the biggest scam. Spirits are cheaper, of course, because the tax is so high - but just about everything else is actually cheaper outside. In here, stores aren't competing much at all, because they have a captive audience - and because everything is a little cheaper than normal, they don't discount _AT ALL_. Scumbags. Must make a tidy little profit. Of course, everyone is thinking that it's so cheap here that they buy up big anyway. Guess the film was worth while. Ok, we're off to the checkin lounge. Next note we'll have something to talk about other than more old Aussie stuff, mate. |
| From: brong@zebkrahn.brong.net (Bron Gondwana) Date: Tue, 16 Jul 2002 08:49:12 +1000 |
Writing this a couple of days late, but that's life when you're not in front of the computer 24 hours a day any more! Unlike Kate, I'd never left the country before, and wasn't over the whole long distance plane thing. Nothing too exciting about the flight - saw 'The Big Liar', which was amusing enough in a childish way. Also saw 'A Beutiful Mind' - again. I listened to the soundtrack in Japanese just for fun, and because it would be less distracting while I settled down and read Starship Troopers (one of the few Heinlens I hadn't already read, and much better than the movie). We arrived in Osaka, and after stumbling about to find the hotel, we collapsed in the airconditioning for a while, showered away the sweat of the long flight, then wandered out to check out the airport. Everything was closed of course, but we did get to admire the tiny DVD players and other techno toys through the glass. Saw lots of Sony Clie's too. Want want geek toy ;) Slept fairly well, nice big bed (they put us in a twin share - I guess it's safer to assume that way if you're an airline) and airconditioning. |
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