Notes on my flight to Australia

• When buying a magazine in the UK, there are very limited options if you are not a PC gamer and you have no interest in the latest celebrity antics. I finally settled for BBC's Knowledge magazine and was adequately entertained for an hour or two. 
• I took down notes during my flight with an Expedia branded pen. It almost made me tearful, thinking that I'm not going back to all my good friends at work.
• There was an absolutely magnificent sunset over the Middle East. All pale blue and pink over a sea of cloud, with a bright waxing moon above.
• On the first leg of the flight, London to Bangkok, I tried watching the new Pirates of the Caribbean movie on a screen that only produced various shades of green. Probably the most disappointing movie experience I ever had.
• At Bangkok airport they had priority seats with the usual symbols - pregnant lady, old person, handicapped person - plus Egyptian mummies. It took me a moment to figure out that it was supposed to be a monk.
• On the second leg of the flight, Bangkok to Sydney, they served a choice of frittata or quiche for breakfast. Or at least the attendant in front of the food trolley did. The lady at my end of the very same trolley insisted I could only have the frittata, even though I could clearly hear the guy in front of her offering both. Ah well, frittata it was.
• As the sun set over Australia 1 hour and 30 minutes from Sydney, I noticed flying over the outback in the dark is odd. There are no lights in the desert.
• The runway at Kingsford Smith is built out into the sea, and in the dark it looks like the pilot lost it and is aiming straight for the ocean. Rather unnerving.

And a finally a couple of notes on my arrival:

• The airport in Sydney smells of the ocean
• The highlight of getting through immigration and customs was being checked for drugs by a happy Labrador and checked for other prohibited goods by an equally happy Beagle.
• Someone has knocked the moon over. It looks like the deranged smile of the Cheshire Cat.