Meandering towards Sri Lanka 8th January 2013

Some Iconic London Scenes...
as I meander towards London's Heathrow Airport en-route to Sri Lanka.

Going Intercontinental 8th January 2013

Norwich - London - Kuala Lumpur

Killing a few hours in London before making the onward journey to Heathrow and ultimately Kuala Lumpur. The journey down was uneventful under leaden skies - the forecast of drizzle making my getaway to warmer climes as sweet as a meringue covered in treacle. A walk along the entire length of Tottenham Court Road, over to Charing Cross Road, into Old Compton Street and the best little restaurant in London. The Stock Pot and their  Seafood Spaghetti is a hit every time. Around 6 pounds for a plateful - a big plateful at that, before heading off to the airport and commencing the real business intercontinental travel.

Checked in on-line last night and printed my boarding passes right through to Kuala Lumpur, so all I had to do was find the Qatar Airways baggage drop counter. Formalities completed, off to the immigration channels and security check. No interrogation, nothing beeping at me and they didn't even confiscate my shampoo this time! The whole procedure was over in a little under 15 minutes - a personal best. This of course leaves me with more spare time than anticipated. Not Hungry, don't need to shop, don't even want a coffee! Ah yes, let's try out the new camera and see how it performs at night - exceeds all my expectations for what really is a low end point and shoot pocket camera.

So, for the next 6 hours I shall be cocooned in rear of this steel tube called an Airbus A340. I have an indifferent attitude to economy class - get a small seat, get fed and watered mediocre offerings and of course depending on the age of the plane, a degree of entertainment. The rest is a mixture of luck and personal planning as to how comfortable a flight on the red eye can be.

Next...The flight, delays and getting fleeced at 4am

Titles...and Subtitles

A few weeks ago I declared to the world my intention to write a book, based on my travel adventures. Before anything else, I need a nice, catchy little title. So, here a few suggestions already and you can add to the mix. Just drop me a line here at paulholmes100@gmail.com, leave a suggestion in the comments box below, or try and track me down on facebook, this link might possibly do it - 

facebook.com/paul.holmes.1654 . I also have a twitter account but I shall salute anyone who can find me - I can't even figure it out :)

If your suggestion is good, good enough to use I mean, then of course you will be well credited, perhaps rewarded :)

Titles (and subtitles) should try to encompass 12 months of travelling around Asia - from Sri Lanka to New Zealand and points inbetween.

So far then...

From Norwich - A Travellers Tale

My View on Asia

A Few Nights in Bangkok

Norfolk - Above and Beyond

Random Jottings of a Norfolk Traveller

Knights of Bangkok!

My Asean Odyssey

Random and Informal - An Asian Adventure

The Jottings of Paul Globetrotter Holmes

Bangkok Never Sleeps...

Just for the Food






 

Flight Log 2013

The Air Asia seat sale duly arrives and some bargains to be snapped up. Here is the fixed part of itinerary 2013 and as you have probably gathered by now, quite a lot of flying! Its just as-well then that I have a passion for life at 30,000 feet and above! So, counting down the days until January 8th when my 2013 travel adventure kicks-off. A second foray into South-east Asia with a little extension across to New Zealand.

 I hope once again you will be able to join me as I take in the cultures of Sri Lanka, meander around the highlands of Malaysia, cool off in New Zealand, explore western Borneo, join the surfers in Bali, catch up with friends in Cambodia and finally, Thailand. Yes, that land of smiles has be going back for more of their infectious culture!

January 8th 2013

London Heathrow QR002 2030 Dep - Doha - Kuala Lumpur QR622 Arr 2030 9th January 2013
Airbus A340, Airbus A330 Overnight TUNE HOTEL LCCT

January 10th 2013
Kuala Lumpur LCCT AK1267 1100 Dep - Colombo, Sri Lanka Arr 1200
Airbus A320

February 4th 2013
Colombo, Sri Lanka AK1268 Dep 1255 - Kuala Lumpur LCCT Arr 1910
Airbus A320

Penang - Cameron Highlands - Kuala Lumpur - Melaka

March 6th 2013
Kuala Lumpur LCCT - Singapore, Changi

March 7th 2013
Singapore, Changi EK405 Dep 0120 - Dubai - Melbourne - Auckland EK406 Arr 1345 March 8th 2013 Boeing 777-300, Airbus A380-800

Aukland - Wellington

April 19th 2013
Auckland EK413 Dep 1800 - Melbourne - Dubai - Colombo - Singapore, Changi EK348 Arr 2115 April 20th 2013 Airbus A380-800, Boeing 777-300

April 23rd 2013
Jahor Bahru AK5414 Dep 1230 - Kuching Arr 1355
Airbus A320

May 8th 2013
Kuching AK5209 Dep 1505 - Kuala Lumpur (LCCT) Arr 1645
Kuala Lumpur QZ8396 Dep 2025 - Denpasar, Bali Arr 2325

May 22nd 2013
Denpasar, Bali QZ8391 Dep 0600 - Kuala Lumpur Arr 0900
Kuala Lumpur AK1474 Dep 1500 - Phnom Penh Arr 1555

June 22nd 2013
Phnom Penh FD2777 Dep 1720 - Bangkok Arr 1830

July 1st 2013
Bangkok QR611 Dep 0240 - Doha - London Heathrow QR011 Arr 1315
Boeing 777-300, Boeing 777W




 

Welcome to London June 18th 2012

Over Eastern Europe, Central Europe and over the North Sea...

A short crossing over the Black Sea before getting a birds eye view Bulgaria and a patchwork of lush green fields. The view is becoming  increasingly hazy with the first sight of extensive cloud cover approaching Belgium, but London is getting ever closer, just another 2 hours.

From the top: Route map, Romanian agriculture, skirting the Austrian Alps, leaving Belgium at Ostende, would have been a view of the Olympic stadium, Twickenham Stadium, on British soil.

On British soil at last and familiar sights as the plane docks at the gate. This is one time when being British is useful - the immigration queue was non-existent and passport control took just a couple of minutes. The queues for non EEC passengers however was huge, about a couple of hours huge!

I'm not done travelling just yet.......