On My Way

What a civilised way to start my journey; my friends hugging me and wishing me well, taking me to the airport and lingering long enough to see me settled with a hot chocolate. Thanks Yasmin and Muhab for your love and kindness.

On my own and strolling through the international departures it all felt so natural. No great excitement, no anxiety, just at peace with everything. This was rather unusual for me because, if you know me well, you’ll agree I’m rather a worrier, a bit intense and always full of feeling. Instead, I’ve been living in the NOW all day.

As the plane launched itself into the blue I felt no emotional connection with Auckland at all. I wasn’t leaving home, I was leaving a place where I live. Simply a fact, just an observer, mild surprise at this discovery. I’ve never taken this flight path before so it was a pleasant surprise to look down at a couple of Waitakere dams showing signs of emptying from the drought and then we skimmed over Piha and out to sea.

Right now, as I type rather awkwardly in my squashy economy seat, I’m flying at an altitude of 34,000 feet with 4 hours and 53 minutes flight time remaining until I land at Singapore. So far I’ve been in flight for 6 hours with one toilet stop, plenty of food and water but nowhere to plug my laptop in. The guy along from me is OK because he’s got a power supply that plugs into the arm rest. I tried to do the same but my plug doesn’t fit and I don’t think the volts are right so I’m on battery. I’ve also got two movies under my belt, neither really entertained me and my gaze frequently drifted out of the window. Leonardo Di Caprio in Shutter Island or watching The Tasman Sea? Denzel Washington in The Book of Eli or check out the Northern Territory of Australia? Decisions.

I can see a bush fire below me. Either it’s accidental or a controlled burn-off, hard to tell. Inland Queensland has a landscape reminiscent of Mars; expansive, desolate and red, only with a bit more water in ill-defined lakes and puddles. Outside my window right now is the Northern Territory and it’s even bleaker with a colour palette limited to muddy tan and blackish green. The straight lines that dissect the landscape are the only sign of man’s attempts to tame nature. This country really doesn’t seem to want or need people in it.

Now safely at Changi Airport and trying to work out how to use my portable technology. As you can see, I've succeeded with he internet but don't have the right adaptor to power up my laptop so if you don't hear from me for a while that's why, plus the very long flight to Paris Roissy Charles de Gaulle.