About a year ago, my husband and I went to New Zealand. Well it was our honeymoon. I have been working on the diary/pictures on and off since then. I now have some material I am going to post. I have hit upon a slight problem as to how I am going to organise the posts, so you’ll have to bear with me….
Introduction:
It is a two day journey from Britain, and for the first time instead of my usual rucksack I bought a small wheelie case to use as carry-on luggage. The thinking behind this was that as this was a longer journey on an aircraft naturally I was going to need more things to keep me occupied. I shouldn’t have worried. The in-flight entertainment was more than adequate for me as every seat in economy had a small screen as well as the usual newspapers and magazines if you felt like reading. We flew with Royal Brunei airlines, which, as we were warned beforehand, is a dry, Muslim airline. Flying with the airline was fascinating. The hostess wore veils, thus proving (at least to me) the veil can look flattering. Mind you I imagine the airline designed the uniform specifically with that in mind! Before the plane took off the flight was blessed. As the small screens showed intriguing and marvellous images of Muslim temples and Mecca a voice recited a prayer in Islam and for those not fortunate enough to speak that language, a translation was provided at the bottom of the screen.
Chasing the Sun
Whilst other passengers slept peacefully or watched the movies provided I looked out of the window. One of the reasons I like flying is flying through clear blue chasing the sun with a carpet of cloud underneath. The spectacular formation of clouds, each different, look almost like landscapes of their own. I confess though I am always wary of taking out my camera and snapping away at them, not because I am worried by the other passengers will think, it is mainly because I am not sure whether using a DSLR is allowed. Which I why a missed probably one of the a most beautiful scene. Before this flight I have never been on a plane flying from night into day. It is something not to be missed. The sky shades blend beautifully from black with the odd twinkle of stars to dark blue through the spectrum to orange and red as you catch the dawn of the new day.
Airports
The flight stopped at several airports on the way and when you travel a lot they do tend to start merging in with one another despite the desperate attempt by the people that own them to put an individual stamp of uniqueness on them, and usually failing. There was one airport on this journey that did stand out. Brunei Airport. Rather than the usual clean whiteness of most of the other airports I have ever been in, this was richly decorated in red’s and gold. Again there are the customary shops, but these were more like posh market stalls selling things that are associated with the country. This would fall into the category of ‘cheap tourist tat’ but in that airport you could see they had made the effort. There was the ‘cheap tat’ but also some very nice things too.
Very jealous that you were allowed to look out of the window – I got told off for having the window blinds open when other people were trying to sleep
Even trying to sneak a peak with it only a fraction open attracted the attention of the steward…