so, how did i get here…quite obvious if you think about it…by plane. well, yesterday afternoon made my way to yvr (vancouver international airport) to board an air canada direct flight to london. nine hours and some change…and i should step foot in london just before noon. well…sounds rather simple..well as you by now know…it pretty much never is. at yvr, looking for the air canada counters…(while i doubt this is just my imagination), but it was the longest line-up by far from any of the other counters…regardless…it’s not as if i had a choice, so i line up. moves pretty fast, check my luggage…and make my way to pass through the security zone. by now, if you fly you know the rather tedious and boring security checks.
as i’m sitting in line, make it the bins and start placing my belongings in the bins. this old lady behind me…keeps pointing at her watch…at which point i ask what’s going on. she was late for the plane…so i move aside and let her pass by me. then i suggest she goes up to the front and ask if she can move on faster…given she was about 10 minutes prior to her plane taking off. of course…the security lady…decides 10 minutes is plenty of time so she sends the old lady back to her place. the two persons (a guy and a younger woman) decide to ignore and essentially make the old lady go behind them. well at least she ‘won’ one spot. so, what do i get for my troubles? nobody before me was asked to take their shoes off…as i reach the metal detector…i’m asked to take my shoes off. well, i’ve been to the states…it’s normal there…but it feels quite odd when you’re singled out and asked to take them off. nobody before me and after me were asked to take them off. i guess i look rather ‘odd’…i was wearing a canucks shirts…and had a canadian passport…but i guess i was a risk..
anyhow…moving on, given getting stuck on such a detail was probably not worth it given i had a nine hour flight waiting for me. make my way to the gate…and decide to take my laptop off…and thumbs up to yvr for the free wireless. i only used it for a few minutes…but helped check emails prior to take-off. making my way on a boieng 777, which by the way looks quite amazing, i wasn’t expecting up-too part service (given what i heard about air canada). anyhow, the plane itself…well that’s boeing, but the features are worth to mention. plugs (north american and european…not british – wait for it for a bit) at almost all seats, so if you want to use your laptop you don’t have to carry 3 extra batteries. the entertainment system was quite good…had control over the movies and quite a few options..too bad more than half of the options were ‘unavailable at this time’ for the entire flight (those would be…sports, news, games, etc.). anyhow, at least movies were available and i could play/pause and stop at any time. so, first movie i saw was twilight (a movie i pretty much bashed prior to seeing it…but i can honeslty say i was pleasantly surprised by it)…it’s not everyday you get to see a vampire with morals, let alone a whole bunch of them. actions wise…was kind of boring…love story wise…either not cheesy enough or too cheesy to make it good…can’t quite pick. anyhow…worth watching. other than that, nothing worth mentioning….except perhaps ‘easy virtue’…quite a bit of british humor in it, and quite good given i haven’t heard of it prior to boarding the plane (this, i would recommend on a friday evening). anyhow…on the plane, i meet this lovely british couple, the wife quite chatty…the husband more interested in sleeping. both quite nice..so that made for a nicer flight.
as far as air canada is concerned, they had some high points and some very low ones. the captain had the worst timing to share his ‘thoughts’ on various matters…and everytime he did it..the whole plane would yank their head-phones out of their ears. the volume for the announcements was almost at maximum…i guess they didn’t quite figure that would cause an annoyance among the passangers…anyhow…ears are fine, for now. the other part…service was quite acceptable…however at some point i was asked to put my chair back up (so the guy behind me can eat)…but the lady in front of me wasn’t asked the same…i guess the flight attendant did not realize all the passangers in front had their chairs lean-ed back…or…(i’ll leave it at that). the breakfast food was horrible, the muffin to sweet…the coffee was one of the worst i had. however…the meal was good, good desert (not too sweet), and i had the impresison you could drink as much as you’d like (alcohol that is). overall…nice experience…with minor issues…but looking forward to flying with them again.
anyhow…make it to london…and my first experience was the regular passport check-up. usually i pass through them, not many questions asked. however…for some reason today i get told ‘i ask the questions, not you, you answer’…by the fool at the passport checkpoint. perhaps if he spoke more clearly…i would have answered accordinly. i understood ‘when did you arrive in london’…he apparently asked ‘how long are you staying in london’…anyhow…after i tell him my life story…with names…well just names…he ‘lets’ me go. get to the train station (after i picked up my baggage) and tell the guy at the desk (ps: i haven’t seen a ruder information person…guess it’s the british way) for a ticket for wherever i was going. i hand over 20 pounds for a 9.10 ticket and get back 0.90 pounds…i tell him…and he denies it….eventually a supervisor shows up…and i end up getting a pass for the train for next time…which pretty much compensates for the change i didn’t get. anyhow…welcome to london (ps: i had a similar experience like this in copenhagen on the first night when i bought a few sandwishes…i guess it’s the right of passage in a new city when it comes to my travels…getting bad change during my first few transactions).
make it to where i’m supposed to go…lots of green scenery…and try to find the hotel. eventually i find it…and i see lots of restaurants and patios (can’t wait to visit them). plans already running through my head…but get to the hotel…get the key..and end up in a room. quite smaller than i imagined..but at this point…beggars can’t be choosers. anyhow…the biggest surprise was the plugs. for some reason i was expecting the plugs to have the same shape as the rest of europe…not even close…i guess the british do take the prize for ‘doing it their own way’…afterall they do drive on the right…and the plug thing only supports the opinion…anyhow…i did find an adapter…eventually.
did see a bit of the surroundings after about an hour and a half nap…went got some food, to make sure i don’t starve at night…and headed back to the hotel. i really must be fitting in quite well…given i was asked twice about directions…the first one…was quite ease…where’s the ‘tube’?…the second…some guy asks me about the neighbourhood…to his surprise i think i was more lost than he was…
Loading ...