The Wayfaring Path

It’s been about six years since my last long-haul, and those six years have included a few health challenges, so I was definitely worried about the big trip. I spent many hours perfecting my carry-on luggage, obsessing over seats, and talking myself out of partaking in the free alcohol once onboard.

Finally the day arrived! It was a pretty stressful few weeks getting everything organised to be away for 7 months, but when Dad and Gail arrived to pick me up I was actually totally sorted and ready to go. Excitement had started building from when I started checking in online for my flights, but I had a sneaking suspicion that everything would keep going wrong so it wasn’t until I was through security at Auckland that I really started to get bouncy.

I had a 7 hour layover in Auckland and a friend picked me up and we went for a walk by a lake, and then for a cheeky pint. It was lovely, but basically exactly like my recurring anxiety dream that I have before a work presentation or whatever, where I’m due to fly and I’m off somewhere doing stuff and kind of forget to go to the airport until it’s too late. It felt SO MUCH like that that I was struggling to concentrate on conversation, so I opted to head to the airport and just get going.

After the plane doors closed I was delighted to see that the middle seat was still unoccupied, and I had a lovely seat mate – a quick intro and chat and then both with headphones on and relaxing. I had a minor panic when I realised the floor was wet – the galley had sprung a leak – but it was no drama and I scored a pair of first class slippers to keep me dry! My seat mate is a ballet dancer and tiny to boot, and once dinner had been served she flipped her legs up the wall of the plane and slept most of the 17 hour flight! I wasn’t quite so lucky but definitely got some good shut-eye in between the (excellent) meals.

I was sitting pretty close to the galley, which was fascinating to watch – kind of like throwing a huge boozy dinner party and then having to clean up immediately afterwards. I didn’t envy them at all. But once it was all done and we were all full and sleepy I saw one of the stewards padding around in her pyjamas – they have a secret sleeping area above us and they totally deserved a rest.

There were babies near but they were super chill, plus I had noise-cancelling headphones, which are the BEST thing for flying. I also recommend taking a few Hydralite tablets in your water (bring your own bottle) as I reckon they helped avoid dehydration. I also slathered myself in moisturiser constantly and did lots of walking and stretching, just as I was supposed to. And it helped for sure!

My first big flight was 30 years ago, back when I was a committed smoker and drinker, and when you could still smoke on aeroplanes! But at that stage, only in the northern hemisphere – so as soon as we crossed the equator, all us grotty smokers went charging to the back of the plane to spark up. So gross! I even managed to talk my way off the plane at a refulling stop in Bangladesh, where I stood around with the ground crew on the tarmac, smoking and talking about Richard Hadlee (the only topic we had in common). Right next to the massive petrol tankers! Madness!

At Dubai I thanked my lucky stars that my smoking days are behind me when I saw the state of the smoking/vaping room in the terminal. Grim. But it’s a strong addiction so everyone in there was very glad of it I reckon.

It was early morning and the light coming through the MASSIVE windows was beautiful. It was hazy outside, and very much a desert as we flew away from the airport and the city. Before leaving Auckland I found a small plastic ram on the ground, and as I’m an Aries (and the ram is my symbol) I took it as an auspicious sign and picked him up. I named him Ramses and am trying to remember to take pictures of him every day. You can see them on Bluesky, and I don’t think you need an account, you can just click on this link: https://bsky.app/profile/lindaholman.bsky.social

I was DESPERATE for a shower after 17 hours in the air. I’d managed to have a (free!) shower at Auckland airport, but at Dubai it was NZ$60 for a ten minute shower, so I made do with a sink wash. Just 2.5 hours at the airport, time enough to wander around the terminal to stretch my legs, have a bubble tea with Ramses, and then we were boarding.

I was pretty gutted to see there was someone in the middle seat (I booked the same seat on both flights) and the plane was packed – it felt totally different to the previous flight and I counted my lucky stars this was only 7 hours, not 17! There was a really loud screaming baby over the other side of the plane and within minutes of me thinking ‘thank god it’s not near me’ they moved it to the seat right in front! This demon spawn didn’t let up the whole time and if I hadn’t had noise cancelling headphones I’d have been beside myself. But as it turned out my seatmates were lovely, we had some good chats, the food was great, and it wasn’t long before we landed at Heathrow.

I had a bus to catch and saw a sign saying “follow the signs to the Central Bus Station” but couldn’t actually see any other signs! I wandered about a bit, looking like a moron, until a very lovely person took pity on me and walked me there! People can be so kind. I had a few hours to kill so stored my big bag and went back to Heathrow to find a sink to take another wash in – no showers there either. There’s a really cool sculpture outside T2 that’s a representation of a jet stream – I love it! (you’ll see it in the video I posted above).

On the bus and once we were past the M25 the traffic eased and everything was green and lush. It’s early summer here and the new growth on the trees is just lovely. Regan met me at the bus stop in Stroud and we had pizza and cider at “Fat Toni’s”, and it was just lovely to be with him again, in a new place, and not actually feeling too diabolical! Taxi to the cottage, WHICH IS GORGEOUS, and an early night.

So all up it was pretty good. I am very pleased I don’t have to do it again for a while, and I’m loving being in the Cotswolds with Regan. I think this gorgeous old stone cottage on a quiet lane, with horses and deer and squirrels around is ruining me for living anywhere else! But all that is to come in the next episode 🙂