Come fly with me

Come fly with me, let’s fly let’s fly away…
If you can use some exotic booze
There’s a bar in far Bombay.
Come fly with me, let’s fly, let’s fly away.

With Frank Sinatra’s classic tune ringing in my ears, I got up extra early in the morning to prepare for my noon day flight.

After 9 months of waiting, I can’t believe that the day has finally arrived.

I checked my trailer sized luggage one more time, to make sure I didn’t forget anything. Packing luggage is in itself an artform, one that I am notoriously bad out. The concept of “packing light” doesn’t seem to work for me, and I have no idea how other people manage it.

While I have some semblance of an excuse this time around, being a four week trip around the world visiting cities that are all in the middle of winter – I’ve found that it’s actually the gadgets and associated accessories I have a hard time parting with.

Laptop? Check. Plus accessories. Camera? Oh yes, a bulky digital SLR for that serious look (and to get me in trouble in airport lounges… more on that later). PDA? Yep, along with cords. Power converters? Can’t forget those. Mobile phone? Never leave home without it. And so forth and so forth.

It’s a good thing I’m allowed extra luggage allowances for this trip. I’m sure that if I watched more Mcgyver in my misspent youth, there would be enough electronics to rig up a decent doomsday device.

Anyway, one last look around the apartment – and away I go.


Come fly with me let’s float down to Peru,
In Llama land there’s a one man band,
And he’ll toot his flute for you.
Come fly with me let’s take off in the blue.

Having a Light Rail stop in front of my apartment proved to be a bonus today, as it was very easy for me to catch that to Central, then take the Airport Express train to the International Terminal. Costing about half the price of a taxi, it was definitely worthwhile, more so if you don’t have to haul a lot of baggage. The most disappointing thing was for the $13 price for the 4 stops from Central, you don’t even get a special train – just the same, slightly graffiti-decorated suburban trains, and old ones to boot. I wonder what tourists make of it?


Once I get you up there, where the air is rarified,
We’ll just glide, starry-eyed...
Once I get you up there, I’ll be holding you so near,
You may hear, all the angels cheer,
Because we’re together.

Check-in time! I did my best in the morning to look the part of a premium passenger, but by the time I arrived, I was looking a little bedraggled and unkempt. That’s what hauling 35kg of luggage on public transport will do to ya.

Thankfully, checking-in was very painless with dedicated First Class check-in counters. A few minutes of confirming my details, and a golden ticket was placed in my hands. It was like opening the winning packet that granted entry to the Willy-Wonka Chocolate factory that is the front of a 747-400 cabin. Yes, I am making an educated guess that Oompa-Loompas are hired in the first-class galley making all manner of sweet covered confectionary.


Weather-wise it’s such a lovely day,
Just say the words, and we’ll beat those birds
down to Acapulco Bay.
It’s so perfect for a flying honeymoon, they say.
So come fly with me, let’s fly, let's fly away.

After quickly perusing the Duty Free counters, I made a beeline for the Qantas First Lounge. This Lounge is supposed to be closed for renovations, but like any project, it seems it's already been delayed.

While it’s a nice place, it doesn’t look particularly different to the Business Class lounge I've visited on other occasions. Other than a slightly more expensive alcohol selection, I couldn't really tell the difference between the two. I was hoping for a nice hot breakfast, but it seems it was not to be – the only choices were cornflakes, pastries or muesli.

I made myself some of the muesli with fruit. It looked nice, but flavourwise it wasn’t really much to write about, so I won’t. After washing it down with some orange juice and a slightly coffee-flavoured warm milk (I swear I pressed "cappacino" on the expresso machine) I took the opportunity to observe the patrons in this inner sanctum.

Besides the expected elderly millionaire passengers and the senior business people, there are some interesting characters that you wouldn’t necessarily expect.

For one, there was a gentleman who looked like he’d walked off the set of a porn film. You know the type – 70’s moustache, Hawaiian shirt unbuttoned half way down, a gold medallion around his neck, a swagger in his steps. Then there were a couple who wouldn’t look out of place in a backpacker hostel, enjoying the comfortable recliners with their backpacks.

Most interesting of all was the lady in green who observed me taking a few photos of the lounge. She assumed I was taking photos of her. Rather than asking me to stop (I was only 10 metres away), she went off in search of the cleaning ladies, and asked her to ask me to stop. She went walking 20 metres, to find a cleaner, to drag her to my spot, and got her to ask me to stop taking photos. I guess she saw through my cunning first class disguise and decided I was beneath her station, so found someone more befitting my status to give me a good dressing down.

The poor cleaner, uncomfortably put on the spot, didn’t have the heart to tell me to stop what was quite well within my rights. She smiled at me, and nervously told me that some passengers are slightly nutty, so we ended up having a nice chat about her family instead. She then wished me a good trip, and offered to get me some lunch from the bar (which I declined).

My guess? The woman in green is missing her maid to boss around already, and is having an illicit affair. Possibly with the porn star. Very scandalous. ;)

Anyhow, my boarding call for the flight now beckons, so it’s time to go!


Weather-wise it’s such a lovely day,
Just say those words, and we’ll beat those birds
down to Acapulco Bay.
It’s so perfect for a flying honeymoon they say,
Come fly with me, Let's fly, let's fly...
pack up, let’s fly away!