It’s off to Indaba 2007

Sitting at Gate 35 waiting to board my South African Airway’s flight SA7701 (courtesy of QF63!), it was a little surreal to hear Paris Hilton’s voice emanating from the TV behind me.  I did not want to turn around in case someone heaven forbid, actually thought I had some sympathy for her ‘unjust’ predicament…

In fact it was the Mole’s second potentially embarrassing moment at Gate 35 – earlier, after deciding to take a photo of our Boeing 747-400, for TravelMole I might add, I made my way to the glass, camera in hand. Quite a number of eyes watched me and the distinct vibe was “Oh no, a *&!@# planespotter!”

As I contemplated how easy it was to inadvertently amuse and/or dismay fellow travellers I noticed a microphone, one of those cone-shaped ones almost universally used by the entertainment profession. It was affixed to the ceiling, pointing down towards so that it actually was hanging down above everyone’s heads.

Perhaps someone who knows about these sorts of things might email the Mole or add a comment to this story?! Maybe its there on the off chance that the Qantas choir might undertake a pre-flight performance? Or to inspire a celebrity in a singing competition?

The Gate announcer next door was excellent, she could probably done a fair job hosting Rockwiz, but not sure about her musical knowledge…  So all in all, a fairly typical Sydney Airport departure!

Of course there has to be a couple of gripes to complete the overall departure experience. Food was expensive as usual. I saw a ‘special’ advertised for Raisin Toast (to which the Mole is quite partial) at $4.50, with coffee, “only 9.00” for both.

In their enthusiasm to advise people about the new regulations concerning liquids and such, brightly dressed people were helping people out at various points, making for added congestion in the queues!  May have been better to put up big signs and arrows directing people to one side to discuss whether their goodies would get through!

But these were only minor irritants, and soon forgotten after an easy walk through Customs and then pocketing a large bag of jelly beans….

Continuing in a Mole Musing mood, I have to say that I never lose interest in the vistas that can be seen from the plane window, whether arriving or departing from Sydney. I could even say “Subtly, all FLIGHTS are different”. Approach and departure paths change, as do where you sit on the plane and what time of the day or night it is.

We may all pretend to be blasé, but a lot of us (C’mon, admit it now) play that eternal flight searching game, trying to pick out Uncle Jack’s battle-axe block in Epping and then for bonus points, spotting him in the back yard!

In fact, on a previous trip, the mole took a photo of Weatherill Park where one of his mates works, who later emailed “Better than Google Earth!”  Hopefully on this trip to South Africa, the clouds will clear and we’ll all get to see some icebergs when we reach 61 degs south latitude on the journey.

One final thought before disappearing down the burrow to watch some inflight entertainment – it is actually comforting to see a few empty seats on a plane, not only for personal comfort (empty seat next to you), but also to alleviate that “We canna get off the ground!” pre take-off feeling when you walk down the aisle and everything is chock full of people and bags.

It also reduces your chances of running out of menu choices as the food trolly slowly approaches and increases the possibility of doubling up on my favourite part of the flight – the exotic fruit Splice ice cream…. Holy Scho-Moley!!

A mid-air report by The Mole