I'm home!
And Wellington put on a tropical cyclone just for me. The weather was so hot I wore a skirt.
Because of train times, we got into Charles de Gaulle airport about four hours before our flight. We checked in (with a touch of trepidation as to the weight of our suitcases... It turned out that mine weighed a whopping 30kg, only just short of the limit to what airlines can carry) and were asked if we wanted to get on an earlier flight to Frankfurt, as ours was running late. We asked how late, and if we'd still be able to make our connecting flight, and were told that there shouldn't be a problem. So we stuck with the later flight, as I still had some shopping I wanted to do in France and the earlier flight was already boarding. Plus we wanted to have lunch.
So that didn't turn out to be such a great idea. Our plane was more than an hour late and we missed out plane by ten minutes. Ten minutes. Of course, the plane couldn't wait that long for us so off to the Transfers desk we went.
We stood at the transfers desk for at least an hour. Seems like not many people fly to New Zealand form Frankfurt. The next flight we could take was one to Hong Kong the next afternoon, which meant an unscheduled stay in Germany at Lufthansa's expense.
What pissed me off most about the flight to Hong Kong is that it was delayed for ten-fifteen minutes to wait for some "passengers from abroad". What, you mean someone whose connecting flight was late? With the aid of an airport cart, this is how long our plane would have had to wait for us.
The solution to this conundrum that I've reached is that these people, unlike us, were travelling Business Class. We were stuck in Economy, with our knees pushing against the seats in front and no television in the backs of the seats. Lufthansa really likes to make sure that Business Class is preferable to Economy.
I don't like Lufthansa any more.
I do, however, like Hong Kong airport. It was lovely and spacious and full of natural light.
The flight from Hong Kong was on Cathay Pacific, and it was seriously like going back five or ten years in time. The airplane obviously hadn't been refitted in quite a while and we were served peanuts of the flight. Peanuts.
The few extra inches of space we had on this flight compared to the Lufthansa one were very, very welcomed.
Got into Auckland and met the first real customs on our entire journey. As the explanatory video on the plane said, New Zealand has some of the tightest border security in the world, and our bio security is second to none. I declared the French lollies and German chocolate I had in my bag happily. It doesn't seem right to enter a country with next to no customs.
Auckland Airport was, however, the first time we got taxed for our phenomenally overweight luggage. I did manage to pass of my 8kg backpack, bag of magazines and newspapers, Supre bag full of useful stuff, Kathmandu jumper and winter coat as one piece of 7kg carry-on luggage, thank God.
The descent into Wellington was a bumpy one on account of the cyclone. But it was the descent into Wellington, so I enjoyed it. It was nice to be greeted by my family, Nicola and Caryl, and to eat normal tomato sauce.
I really love Wellington. There isn't a place like it in the world, although San Fransisco is similar. My bedroom is covered in streamers and letters (lots from Otago Uni... Whoops I forgot to sign the enrolment form :look) and I'm just glad to be home. Went to bed at 5.00 last night, and added to the three hours of sleep I'd managed to have since waking up in Frankfurt. I do not like travelling.
I'm just about to upload all my photos, and will make a post when I'm done.
Because of train times, we got into Charles de Gaulle airport about four hours before our flight. We checked in (with a touch of trepidation as to the weight of our suitcases... It turned out that mine weighed a whopping 30kg, only just short of the limit to what airlines can carry) and were asked if we wanted to get on an earlier flight to Frankfurt, as ours was running late. We asked how late, and if we'd still be able to make our connecting flight, and were told that there shouldn't be a problem. So we stuck with the later flight, as I still had some shopping I wanted to do in France and the earlier flight was already boarding. Plus we wanted to have lunch.
So that didn't turn out to be such a great idea. Our plane was more than an hour late and we missed out plane by ten minutes. Ten minutes. Of course, the plane couldn't wait that long for us so off to the Transfers desk we went.
We stood at the transfers desk for at least an hour. Seems like not many people fly to New Zealand form Frankfurt. The next flight we could take was one to Hong Kong the next afternoon, which meant an unscheduled stay in Germany at Lufthansa's expense.
What pissed me off most about the flight to Hong Kong is that it was delayed for ten-fifteen minutes to wait for some "passengers from abroad". What, you mean someone whose connecting flight was late? With the aid of an airport cart, this is how long our plane would have had to wait for us.
The solution to this conundrum that I've reached is that these people, unlike us, were travelling Business Class. We were stuck in Economy, with our knees pushing against the seats in front and no television in the backs of the seats. Lufthansa really likes to make sure that Business Class is preferable to Economy.
I don't like Lufthansa any more.
I do, however, like Hong Kong airport. It was lovely and spacious and full of natural light.
The flight from Hong Kong was on Cathay Pacific, and it was seriously like going back five or ten years in time. The airplane obviously hadn't been refitted in quite a while and we were served peanuts of the flight. Peanuts.
The few extra inches of space we had on this flight compared to the Lufthansa one were very, very welcomed.
Got into Auckland and met the first real customs on our entire journey. As the explanatory video on the plane said, New Zealand has some of the tightest border security in the world, and our bio security is second to none. I declared the French lollies and German chocolate I had in my bag happily. It doesn't seem right to enter a country with next to no customs.
Auckland Airport was, however, the first time we got taxed for our phenomenally overweight luggage. I did manage to pass of my 8kg backpack, bag of magazines and newspapers, Supre bag full of useful stuff, Kathmandu jumper and winter coat as one piece of 7kg carry-on luggage, thank God.
The descent into Wellington was a bumpy one on account of the cyclone. But it was the descent into Wellington, so I enjoyed it. It was nice to be greeted by my family, Nicola and Caryl, and to eat normal tomato sauce.
I really love Wellington. There isn't a place like it in the world, although San Fransisco is similar. My bedroom is covered in streamers and letters (lots from Otago Uni... Whoops I forgot to sign the enrolment form :look) and I'm just glad to be home. Went to bed at 5.00 last night, and added to the three hours of sleep I'd managed to have since waking up in Frankfurt. I do not like travelling.
I'm just about to upload all my photos, and will make a post when I'm done.