Checked in a 13kg backpack and carried on another 8kg of stuff that didn't fit in it. All these bags I seem to need... a backpack to carry, a duffle to give to the porters, a day pack for rest days and a bag to leave in Kathmandu.... Too much stuff I'm sure.
Hmmm... 2 weeks after the Malaysian Ailrines flight to China went missing I find myself flying on the world's most talked about airline from Melbourne to Kathmandu. Plane is almost full surprisingly, but I do overhear a few muttered comments like: "I hope they know the way.."
We're late taking off; five large Aussie men roll in late, talking loudly to cover their obvious discomfort. One of them is a wanna-be travel nerd with global ambitions not quite matching his knowledge. He keeps me half amused as he points out features of the flight, the weather and the geography in a tireless monologue: "The pilot moves those flaps up and down to make us go up and down. That's how we land." "When we land in Kuala Lumpur, the sea will be on the left side or the right side of the plane." "When we go into clouds it's bumpy because... you know, the clouds are thick and they slow us down." "We have a tail wind. Feel it make us go faster?" "See that line down there? That's the Equator, hottest spot on the planet." I must confess to straining my eyes to find the straight line that his companions were all looking at!
Uneventful flight, run of the mill for anywhere in the world. As usual I can't focus on movies and give up on three before I get through The Impossible with Ewan Macgregor about the Thailand tsunami. A true retelling of a Spanish family's ordeal... Very moving. How would I react in a sudden crisis like that? I think that was what riveted all of our attention that Boxing Day.
6 hours to kill in the airport but I find my mileage card gets me free admission to a lounge to recharge body and batteries. Bought a telephoto lens for the Sony NEX-7, a 32Gig memory card and a flash battery charger. I'm all set to take 1000's of pictures! But I also just added half a kilo to my backpack!
