Leaving on a jet plane. or learn to walk on water

There are, as I've said, plane flights and then there are plane flights.  Traveling as a foreigner on a national airline, you get treated as though you are never going to fly with them again, and they give you the seats SeatGuru says are the worst on the plane.

After all, someone has to sit on them.

But it's not just one airline, it's all of them.  So far we have used China Southern, and Air Canada.  You'd expect better from Air Canada but no, they are just as heartless and condescending as the rest.

However, I suspect all airlines the world over are the same, that the best seats go to their most important frequent fliers, then it goes downhill after that as they work through the frequent flyer list, then those who pay the most money, down to those who actively seek bargains but don't realise the consequences of their actions until they board.

Then the true nightmare begins.

Last to get food, last to get drinks, often no choice of meal as food cart gets to their end of the plane, if, of course, they didn't make a mistake in the number of meals they take on board.

Oh yes, then there's the overbookings and legitimate passengers dragged screaming from the plane, it does happen and all you will get is a polite apology, and that's the limit of their responsibility.

And if you're on a foreign airline, they just plead they don't speak or understand English, which is a blatant lie, but the bottom line us you can't do anything about it.

So, the reality of international travel on a budget is, you get what you pay for, so if it's a rock bottom price, prepare to sit in the worst seats on the plane, usually in the toilet rather than near it, and the possibility of not getting a meal choice or anything at all.

I've learned my lesson.  Pay more and hope like hell you get more.

Away for the holidays - Vancouver to Kamloops

This morning started with a visit to the car rental place in Vancouver.  It reinforced the notion that you can be given the address and still not find the place.  It happened in Washington where it was hiding in the back of the main railway station, and it happened again in Vancouver when it was hidden inside a hotel.

We simply walked straight past it.  Pity there wasn't a sign to let people know.

However...

We went in expecting a Grand Jeep Cherokee and walked out with a Ford Flex, suitable for three people and four large suitcases.  It actually seats 7, but forget the baggage, you'd be lucky to get two large suitcases in that configuration.

It is more than adequate for our requirements.

Things to note, it was delivered with just over a quarter of a tank of gas, and it had only done about 11,000 km, so it's relatively new.  It's reasonably spacious, and when the extra seats are folded down, there is plenty of baggage space.

So far, so good.

We finally leave the hotel about half-past ten, and it is raining.  It is a simple task to get on Highway 1, the TransCanada Highway, initially, and then onto Highway 5, the Coquihalla highway for the trip to Kamloops.

It rains all the way to the top of the mountain, progress hampered from time to time by water sprays from both vehicles and trucks.  The rain is relentless.  At the top of the mountain, the rain turns into snow and the road surface to slush.  It's 0 degrees, but being the afternoon, I was not expecting it to turn to ice very quickly.

On the other side of the mountain, closer to Kamloops, there was sleet, then rain, then nothing, the last 100kms or so, in reasonably dry conditions.

Outside Kamloops, and in the town itself, there was evidence of snow recently cleared, and slushy roads.  Cars in various places were covered in snow, indicating the most recent falls had been the night before.

We're staying at the Park Hotel, a heritage building, apparently built in the later 1920s.  In the style of the time, it is a little like a rabbit warren with passages turning off in a number of directions, and showing it is spread across a number of different buildings.

It has the original Otis elevator that can take a maximum of four passengers, and a sign on the wall that says "no horseplay inside the elevator" which is a rather interesting expression that only someone of my vintage would understand.  And, for those without a sense of humor, you definitely couldn't fit a horse in it to play with.

The thing is, how do you find a balance between keeping the old world charm with modern day expectations.  You can't.  Some hotels try valiantly to get that balance.  Here, it is simply old world charm, which I guess we should be grateful for because sooner rather than later it's going to disappear forever.

In my writer's mind, given the importance of the railways, this was probably a thriving place for travelers and once upon a time, there were a lot more hotels like this one.

Away for the holidays - Vancouver - 3

It's always a given that whatever city you stay in unless it's overnight, you go on a tour and see the sights.

Even when you're staying a short distance from the city, you ma look e the effort to catch a train or bus, then get on the hop on hop off tour.  There's always one in just about every city you visit.

Vancouver was no exception.

Except...

We arrived in the rain, went to sleep while the rain came down, woke up to the rain, and a heavy dose of jet lag or perhaps it was more than we had spent 24 and a half hours traveling from Brisbane to Vancouver vis Shanghai.

We had an excellent view out the window of our room looking towards the shopping mall, and the steady fall of rain.

 I felt sorry watching the construction workers on the building site that was the main vista we had to look at.

It could have been worst.  Endless mountains with snow on them.

What to do.  Venture out in the rain and go on the tour, on pop over to the shopping mall and pick up a few boxing day bargains, no, sorry, boxing week bargains.

We have had some experience going on ha op on hop off tours in open-top buses in the rain.  And the last time was not a pleasant experience, even though we learned a valuable lesson, not to stand in front of c as mons and yell 'fire'.  Apparently, that's how Admiral Nelson lost his arm.

But...

The shopping mall won.

We'd wait and see if the weather improved.  Hang on, isn't Vancouver near Seattle and doesn't it rain the 300 days of the year?

Not holding my breath.


I feel sorry for the construction workers again.  Still raining, still cold, and still no reason to get out of bed.

Day 2 in Vancouver turned out to be the same as day 1.

Hang on, there's a development.

We're on the 16th floor and up at those lofty heights, we can see not only the rain but intermingled with it a few flakes of snow.

Whilst we procrastinate about what we're going to do, the snowflakes increase into small flurries.

Yep, we're off to the mall again and go for a walk in the snow.

On the way back we drop into the Boston Pizza, which has a sports bar and there you can sit, drink, eat, and watch the ice hockey, or whatever sort is going at the time.

Today it's a junior ice hockey tournament, but Canada was not playing.  Just the same, a long cold beer and ice hockey?

I can now cross that off the bucket list.


Day 3, we're going on a great rail journey, well, we are going to get the train to the city and collect the rental car, on the booking form, supposedly a Jeep Grand Cherokee or similar.

Of course, 'or similar' are the words to be feared here because in truth the rental company can throw anything at you, so long as it matches the brief, three people and three large suitcases.

And, you guessed it...

The 'or similar' got us a Fort Flex

Away for the holidays - Vancouver - 2

This morning we wake up to rain.  Or so we thought.  Taking a closer look out the window of our room on the 16th floor, we notice the rain is speckled with snowflakes.  As the morning progressed the snow got harder until there were flurries.

 Later we discover this is called wet snow by the local Vancouverians, and whilst they winge a lot over the endless rain, to them rain is infinitely better than snow.

To us, by the afternoon, it was almost blizzard conditions, with lots of snow.  Then the only thing is that it does not accumulate on most of the ground so there are no drifts to play in.

Because the weather is so dismal we decided not to go into Vancouver to do some sightseeing because the clouds were down to the ground and then the snow set in.

Another interesting fact is that construction workers do not go off the job if it's raining, or worse when it is snowing.  Our room overlooks a new apartment complex under construction and the workers battled on through what seemed like appalling conditions.

At four in the afternoon, the Maple Leafs are playing the Ohio Blue Jackets, in Ohio.  It is a game we expect they will win.  Sparks is the goalkeeper, not Anderson, they're playing back to back games and Anderson's starting tomorrow.

They win, four goals to two.  

Just before darkness falls, about four thirty, the snow stops and there is a little rain, which melts the snow.

Time to go up to the executive lounge to get some snacks and coffee, then sleep because the next day we're taking on the Trans Canada highway from Vancouver to Kamloops.

The forecast is for snow, more snow, and just for a change, more snow.

Away for the holidays - Vancouver - 1

It's raining.  There should be no surprise there.  And cold.  It's late December and well into winter.

Perhaps not as cold as it could be, somewhere between three and four degrees.

We are staying at the Hilton Metrotown, at Burnaby.  Metrotown is also the largest shopping mall in British Columbia.  I agree that it is large and found it a great way to get some exercise after being in and off planes for the previous 24 hours.

The first discovery for the day was a trolley bus, something that I thought didn't exist anymore. 

The second was to discover so many global brands, but how different the products are to what we can get back in Australia.  This is particularly so for cars where we discover that GM-based vehicles and Mazdas are so much better than what is available for us.

The third was to discover it seems we are almost in the heart of Chinatown, where going out an exit on the second floor takes you to a Chinese food court, with all manner of food types, and, it seems, tea bars.  It also explained why, in one supermarket we went in, signs were in both Chinese and English.

Being still tired from the travel, we don't venture further than the mall where we have lunch, for me, the Canadian version of KFC, which seems to defeat the purpose of trying local food.  It seems most of the food that I can see in the food shops does not seem that appetizing.

Later we go out and find a Boston Pizza with a sports bar where we indulge in a 21 ounce Molton on tap, and a lime mojito, while watching the ice hockey on the big and surrounding small screens.  The ice hockey is some world junior championship (but mostly north hemisphere hockey playing nations) and seems as ferocious as the NHL.

But it does raise a question, why isn't there a female NHL?  I guess this wasn't the time to canvass opinions in the bar.

Something else we discover is that alcohol is relatively cheap, and get a case of Molten Canadian ale, Bacardi Black label, and maple flavored whiskey, for about a third of what it would cost at home.  Of course, it must be cheaper than firewood in keeping Canadians warm in the dead of winter.

We didn't try the pizza, which kind of defeated the purpose of going there.

Meanwhile back at the room, we find the local ice hockey channel, and then to make sure we get to see the Maple Leafs, plug in the computer so that we can test it.  Good to go.  

That's tomorrow, tonight we watching the Vancouver Canucks.

Away for the holidays - Brisbane to Vancouver - 3

So....

Our flight to Vancouver's departure gate is 213.  It is down on the ground floor which means we will be taking a bus to the plane.  With all the gates they have at this airport, I'm surprised they could find one for China's own airline.

But, it's back on the bus, and basically, it's a free for all at the gate then once you're off the bus.  Of course, it's still raining and there we are, forced to walk up steps with everyone crowding each other to get out of the rain and the staff aboard trying to make sure everyone has a boarding pass

It doesn't work very well when families get separated at the first person had the boarding passes.

Also...

Airlines should never let the passengers see the external state if the plane.  Whilst it might be mechanically sound, and the interior looks like it's been recently refurbished, the outside looked very dirty and unkempt, not giving a very good first impression.  The proof, of course, will be when we land safely.

However...

Taking off was not as smooth or quiet as the last plane, and there were a lot of creaks and groans through the fuselage which I tried very hard to ignore.  I suspect this plane has different engines and technology to the other, particularly when it comes to the wing tips.  This plane is definitely an older model of the A330.

The flight leaves at 23:55 so after dinner, a chicken and noodle concoction that tasted fine, and lashing of watermelon, the impression I got it was time for sleep.

It might because they turned off all the lights.

Sleeping on planes is something few people can do, particularly if you are in economy.  Seats do not recline very far and I don't think the human body was designed to sleep sitting up and relatively contorted position.

Fortunately for me, I seem to have a knack of falling asleep in my chair while writing, which doesn't say much if it's putting me to sleep, and after reclining my seat wriggling about to find a comfortable position, over the next six hours I manage to get some fitful sleep.

This flight hasn't seemed to take as long as one expects of 9 or 10 hours in the air.  It might be because we are about an hour or early due to some astonishing rail winds, up to 350kph, on the fact, the seats are relatively comfortable and the seat pitch is definitely more than the usual 31 inches.  I mean there's a good six inches between my knees and the next seat, where they are usually touching it.

Breakfast has come and gone, it may have been appealing if I'd been more hungry but I was still full from three tubs of watermelon last night, and another three this time.

Vancouver beckons.

Getting off the plane and getting through customs and immigration presented no difficulties, and then there is only one problem, no inbound duty-free, and we are told it is one of the few airports that doesn't have it.

So much for not buying it in either Brisbane or Shanghai, but perhaps the prices will be low enough to obviate that issue.

Not to worry...

Next, we exit the customs area and out into Canada, looking for the limousine to take us to the hotel.  Usually, as you exit the customs area there are a group of drivers waiting.  As our plane landed about an hour earlier than usual sometime there is a problem.  Not this time.  He's there waiting.

We walk out into the cold night air, and it's not very far.  And imagine the surprise when we discover we have a stretch limousine.  With party lights and dark windows, we didn't get to see much of Vancouver between the airport and hotel.

We are staying at the Hilton Metrotown in Burnaby, about 20 minutes from downtown as they call the city center here.  It didn't take all that long, which was probably a good thing, because we were all very tired.

Away for the Holidays - Brisbane to Vancouver - 2

Every flight is different.

Particularly when we arrive in Shanghai, the halfway point of our journey to Vancouver.

Landing, on time, and a little scary because of the rain and wet runway, the plane feels like it is slipping and sliding everywhere until we slowed down to taxi speed.

This is where it all gets a little weird.

We taxied, and taxied and taxied, all the time getting further and further away from the terminal building.  10 minutes and then a further 10, past what looked like a plane graveyard, until we reached the end of the airport.

Then we turned into a bay, the last one, and stopped.

As usual, everyone is out of their seats and emptying the overhead bins.  The same mad scuffle for positions in the aisle, making way for others in their group and making it difficult for anyone else to get their bags out of the bins.

All to no avail.

We are informed over the planes PA system that no one is going anywhere, that we should all sit down again because two passengers are apparently sick and the quarantine people need to check them before the plane is cleared for passengers to deplane.

Yep.  And for the next twenty minutes, we can all speculate whether we are all going to be locked up and miss our onward connections.  Looking for the tents and people in hazmat suits.  It certainly explains why we were sent to the furthest part of the airport.  If it was a contagious disease, it was the best place for it.

So we wait.

And then all of a sudden we're disembarking into the pouring rain and onto buses.  Yes, no gate, no air bridge, but buses.  It takes all of fifteen minutes to get to the drop off point, being thrown around, even at the low speed we were traveling.

It's fine though.  We have hours to spare before we get our next flight.  A cup of coffee, a cake, and a glass of beer, we're ready for the next leg, after a long walk, a gander in a few of the expensive so-called duty free stores, trying to find some cheap confectionary, look in a pharmacy that has no pharmaceuticals, and at last finding the Chinese equivalent to seven eleven where everything is cheaper.

I didn't check the price of similar goods on Australia, but I'm told it is the first duty-free store we've been to that had Bacardi Black Label.  If we cannot get it in Canada when we leave then we'll be calling in on the way home.

Cigarettes too are very cheap, and by the carton, roughly the same price as a packet of 30, around $35 Australia,  but the problem is we can only bring back one pack of 20.  Ideal if you are going somewhere more sympathetic to smokers, no much good for us.

Good thing then I don't smoke.

Something else to note...

The four-hour stopover didn't seem like four hours, not like in some airports when it seems like time had stood still.  Perhaps the leisurely wait at the 'Coffee and cates' cafe, the long walk down the length of the terminal building and back, and then the sorting of the onboard bags made the time fly.