I'm Back!

Okay - I wasn't supposed to be back in NZ until Monday afternoon, but I'd seen everything in Europe I wanted and didn't have the motivation (or feet able to withstand more punishment) to go see a couple of optional extras I had thought about. My body is still on Central European time so unable to function properly during the day at the moment.

I got back home at 9pm on Thursday (Having left Vienna on Tuesday Morning) and having an eleven hour stop in Dubai International Airport. I discovered that the "Quiet Room" in Dubai is anything but - Asians go there to be able to have conversations with each other and Arabs go there to be able to hear people on their cellphones. So here's a tip - Gate 43 is unused from Midnight until 7am so you can hide away from the entire airport and have a nap there. (Of course it will probably be demolished when they finish the rest of the airport extensions - it has a temporary look to it.)

The flight from Dubai to Melbourne was the longest I've ever been on - 13 hours. Foretunatly, this flight had the Emirates ICE system, so I was able to watch "Cars", "A Bugs Life", "Good Morning Vietnam", Several episodes of "Top Gear" (including the one that's on tomorrow night in NZ where they all go camping in a carvan) and "The Simpsons", "King Kong", and "Pirates of the Carribean". (Told you it was a long flight.)

I was also confused in Melbourne as the flight times didn't make sense, until I realised that while New Zealand is on Daylight Saving Time, Australia isn't. So what looked like a 4 1/2 hour flight was actually only three and a bit hours.

Coming back early was a surprise for Chaucey as I didn't tell her and it took a second or two for her to register that it was me at the door. I saw a friend at Auckland Airport so had to swear him to secrecy until Friday Morning.