And with the click of a button on the keyboard we are back dear reader. We are momentarily leaving our island home (thanks Chrissie Anu) to spend time on another. We are flying to the Cook Islands, specifically Rarotonga. Uncharacteristically we are not flying Qantas, a decision we have regretted in the past (I am looking at you China Southern), but we believe the national airline of the 7th state, New Zealand, should be OK. The clincher was the direct flight from Sydney. Whether I will regret sacrificing the status points will become apparent later in the year. However, at this stage with all the flying I do for work, the concept of a direct 6 hour flight has much appeal. (I did have a picture of the island inserted here but the dodgy wifi at the airport dropped it so you'll have to resort to Google)
Of course the other issue in being unfaithful to Qantas is that we forgo Lounge access and must spend our time with the great unwashed hoi polloi in the meandering corridors and sterile halls of the airport. Well, we will have do that, but first we need to find a place to sit, rest and ponder our forthcoming holiday over the obligatory pre-departure bottle of champagne.
The cab trip to the airport was remarkably event free for a Friday night. There was next to no queue in customs and security was passable except they had a thing for men. Every guy had to go through the body scanner and they only selected males for the explosives test. There were four of us tested for explosives - with the one tape. It's akin to using the same mouth piece to breath test four people.
Once through it was straight to the duty free to buy some alcohol to take with us. "Duty free". Bullshit. The alcohol is cheaper on the way back into the country and it is certainly cheaper at Dan Murphy's. For example, a bottle of Penfolds 389 was a bargain at $100. Mind you, it costs $70 at Dan Murphy's. We also picked up two Handpicked reds for the super price of $39.95 each. A true bargain at the Handpicked cellar door in Chippendale where they retail for $24.99 - and that is without our 25% member discount. I will NEVER purchase here again.
If you haven't been to Handpicked I highly recommend them. Excellent wine and cheese, wonderful friendly staff, it's a great way to while away a lazy Sunday afternoon. and they have wines from all over Australia as well as some other international places.
What an absolute rip off. I'm banking on the wine being pricey at Rarotonga. if not I'll have to drink more to drown my sorrows. Just think about it - if the wine is that expensive here, duty free, imagine what it will cost in a spec in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Fear not dear reader, I shall keep you well informed. The lesson however, is NOT to buy anything at duty free at the airport on your way out of Sydney - it is cheaper at the retail outlet.
Currently we are drinking a sub-standard champagne in some bar area being serenaded by someone's badly behaved screaming brat. Hopefully they will move on soon and will not be on our flight. I have become ambivalent to life in the Qantas Lounge but that is rapidly being reviewed. The crowds and the noise ... not my scene. That could have been the blog title.
So dear reader, our flight is at night. We depart on Friday at 9:15pm, if we are on time and fly across the magical International Date Line and arrive at 6:30am on the same day we left, Friday. Time travel is not so hard, just confusing. I mean if Bill and Ted can do it. Hopefully we will get a little sleep on the plane. If not, I predict snoozing by the lagoon when we arrive. Actually, I predict that anyway.
That's about all for now. I will pick the narrative tomorrow in Rarotonga and provide you with any news worthy events that occur between now and then.
Until tomorrow,
The cab trip to the airport was remarkably event free for a Friday night. There was next to no queue in customs and security was passable except they had a thing for men. Every guy had to go through the body scanner and they only selected males for the explosives test. There were four of us tested for explosives - with the one tape. It's akin to using the same mouth piece to breath test four people.
Once through it was straight to the duty free to buy some alcohol to take with us. "Duty free". Bullshit. The alcohol is cheaper on the way back into the country and it is certainly cheaper at Dan Murphy's. For example, a bottle of Penfolds 389 was a bargain at $100. Mind you, it costs $70 at Dan Murphy's. We also picked up two Handpicked reds for the super price of $39.95 each. A true bargain at the Handpicked cellar door in Chippendale where they retail for $24.99 - and that is without our 25% member discount. I will NEVER purchase here again.
If you haven't been to Handpicked I highly recommend them. Excellent wine and cheese, wonderful friendly staff, it's a great way to while away a lazy Sunday afternoon. and they have wines from all over Australia as well as some other international places.
What an absolute rip off. I'm banking on the wine being pricey at Rarotonga. if not I'll have to drink more to drown my sorrows. Just think about it - if the wine is that expensive here, duty free, imagine what it will cost in a spec in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Fear not dear reader, I shall keep you well informed. The lesson however, is NOT to buy anything at duty free at the airport on your way out of Sydney - it is cheaper at the retail outlet.
Currently we are drinking a sub-standard champagne in some bar area being serenaded by someone's badly behaved screaming brat. Hopefully they will move on soon and will not be on our flight. I have become ambivalent to life in the Qantas Lounge but that is rapidly being reviewed. The crowds and the noise ... not my scene. That could have been the blog title.
So dear reader, our flight is at night. We depart on Friday at 9:15pm, if we are on time and fly across the magical International Date Line and arrive at 6:30am on the same day we left, Friday. Time travel is not so hard, just confusing. I mean if Bill and Ted can do it. Hopefully we will get a little sleep on the plane. If not, I predict snoozing by the lagoon when we arrive. Actually, I predict that anyway.
That's about all for now. I will pick the narrative tomorrow in Rarotonga and provide you with any news worthy events that occur between now and then.
Until tomorrow,
No comments:
Post a Comment