Day 1 Flying to the other side of the world...

A bus trip to Perth, courtesy of Mum and Dad in the Frankland River bus, coffee with Sally for her 21st birthday, dinner out with Kev, Marilyn, Angela, Claire and Chloe, and then some sleep (which eventuated for some, and not for others), it was then time (2am), to get up and organised to get to the airport. We arrived at the airport at 3.30am, for our departure at 6am.  A quick coffee with Mum and Dad, and it was time to say our goodbyes. Definitely a few nerves, and all very anxious, we waved goodbye and headed into departures, to go through security. Thinking we were pretty organised, we grabbed our trays to put our hand luggage through the security screen, this is when Kyle held up a pair of scissors, and promptly asked Grant, 'what do I do with these?' You should have seen Grants and my faces, we both couldn't believe it, especially after Mum and I had told him several times to make sure the scissors were in his suitcase, not his carry on luggage!! We all had a laugh, threw them in the bin, and through security we went! 

Marni by this stage was not feeling so good, blaming it on the squid she ate the night before... Good try Marnz! We found our seats, and prepared for takeoff. The flight was about 30 minutes late leaving, but once we were in the air it was movies and breakfast for all of us, and we settled in for our 11 hour flight to Dubai. 

This photo courtesy of Emirates EK425 was taken 6 hours into the flight from Perth to Dubai, at 38000 feet.

Due to our flight leaving late from Perth, our 1 1/2 hour stop over, turned into a race to get to the other side of the Terminal to our departure gate, which was already boarding. The Dubai Airport is huge, and luckily for us we arrived and left at the same terminal, however another flight along with ours had just arrived too, and as we made our way quickly to go through transfers, we were greeted by about 600 other passengers doing the exact same thing!! Fortunately the Dubai airport is very well organised, and we made it through security very quickly, with only one small hiccup, which was Ashleigh beeping through security, and having to go back through without her earrings on, she took them off and put them down on the conveyor, which unfortunately they didn't make it through, and now sit at the bottom of the machine in the Dubai airport! 

We made our way to the departure lounge, found our gate, with 10 minutes to spare. Enough time for a quick loo break, and to grab Marni a sandwich and a bottle of water, so she could take a travel calm tablet, before the next take off, we were not risking a repeat of the take off in Perth. 

Leaving for Manchester on time and preparing ourselves for the 7 hours and 40minute flight ahead of us, Marni's tablet worked a treat, and she was asleep before we even took off! Everyone slept a lot during that flight, which was needed, and before we knew it, we were making our decent into Manchester. 

Through security and customs, with no problems, grabbed our luggage and out to find Gary (my brother) & Katie (soon to be SIL) waiting for us!! A few tears, and lots of hugs, we were into the cars and on the M6 making our way home to Penkridge, Staffordshire, an hours drive from Manchester.

A quick tour of our base for the next five weeks, and we were checking to make sure our cargo arrived safely, which it did! If anyone needs to know how to pack 2 bottles of Yellow Champagne, 12 stubbies of Carlton Dry, 1 large jar of Vegemite, 2 boxes of Arrnotts Sensation shapes, 2 packets of Tim Tams, and 2 containers of Chicken Salt, so they arrive with no breakages, I'm your girl!! ;)

Tips and highlights...

* when travelling as a family of six, put a sticker on the back of each passport, so you can find everyone's passport quickly (thanks Annette, it was the best bit of advice!!)

* Marni threw up in that tiny little toilet at 38000 feet! ;)

* Nathan never got up out of his seat once! Except for when he got off the plane. He literally sat for 18 hours and 40 minutes without moving!!

* Kyle took several sneaky photos of us all sleeping at various times with mouths wide open catching flies! It was pretty funny!

* Ashleigh's Entertainment monitor did not work for 6 of the 11 hours flight from Perth to Dubai, and she never complained once - which means she did not get to watch the much anticipated Hobbit Movie!!

* I watched the movie Diana, and snivelled my way through it at the end, I know I'm such a sook, I'm sure the two young English guys sitting across from me, who made their way through 8 gin and tonics each, thought it was pretty hilarious!

* Grant being the rock that he is, made it through the 18 hour flight with only one lot of neurofen for his dodgy diggers back!

Lots of love,

Chrissie x