Day one of our trip to Hong Kong and the lesson of the day was brought to our attention loudly and clearly. Today we were flying to Hong Kong the budget way, and instead of getting there by flying directly to HK Chep Lap Kok airport, we decided (more through the price difference than anything else) that we would fly Viva Macau to Macau and then take the 1hr ferry into Hong Kong. Everything seemed like it was set, except that Viva Macau decided to change our flights about a month before we were to leave and our departure time had now been delayed for 2 hours and we were stopping at Denpasar Airport, in Bali. A little inconvenienced, but not too worried.
When we actually boarded our aircraft, we weren’t exactly impressed by the cabin ambiance of the ageing 767 (it was purchased second hand from Mexicana, for those of you who are playing at home) and the social etiquette of fellow passengers. When budget airlines come to mind, we are spoilt by Jetstar and Virgin Blue, who like many others around the world operate on the principle of newer airlines equate to better fuel economy and lower servicing needs. Apparently Viva Macau got the aircraft for peanuts and saves money that way… Settled into our flight, we managed the first 6 hours to Bali with no issues, save the for social ineptness of fellow passengers placing their bare feet on the seat rest in front of them, and were looking forward to getting off the aircraft to get a bit of dinner and poke our heads around the airport in Bali, Denpasar.
Imagine our disappointment (putting it lightly…) when we found out that we were in fact not allowed to leave the aircraft and had to stay put while the aircraft was being refuelled – a surprising fact not lost on me, as 767s are operated on routes all over the world where flight times are about 9hours (i.e.: Sydney to Honolulu as flown by Qantas). This forced us to purchase food from the food for purchase cart, a measly $10 later for instant noodles and a can of coke. The next 4 hours were a bit more difficult to get comfortable because it was in effect the 7-11th hour that we were holed up on the plane. I should interject at this point that water, which is required to be available for free by NSW law, was also something you needed to purchase from the flight attendants. About an hour or two before landing, the smell of cigarette smoke would waft through the cabin in short bursts and came to our attention a number of times. The flight attendants also soon noticed and were soon roaming down our section of the plane (yay!) to look for the perpetrator. Turns out it was an elderly gentleman, of the Asian persuasion, who possibly like us had looked forward to Bali like us…lol. A stern talking to from the flight attendants, and continued denials by the man brought us to an impasse so all the flight attendants could do was glen 20 the cabin (again…yay!) and repeat the non-smoking announcement.
By the time we touched down in Macau, it was after 11pm Macau time (2am Australian Eastern Daylight Savings Time) and was over 11hours since our departure from Sydney. Luckily Macau airport is tiny and we breezed through immigration, baggage and customs hitting the taxi queue and racing to the ferry terminal, making it with 10mins to spare to purchase tickets for the midnight ferry to Hong Kong and passing through immigration again to board the Turbo Jet bound for Tsim Sha Tsui, HK. Exactly one hour later, we were docked at Hong Kong and greeted after immigration/customs by Ivy and Justin who dropped me off at the hotel where I was staying for 2 nights during the wedding. By the time I had showered and ready for sleep, the local time was 2am and I finally was able to get some proper rest prior to the early morning tomorrow!
No comments:
Post a Comment