My trip from Auckland to Hong King

I sit here at Auckland airport pondering how not -ubiquitous the internet is. It’s not like I’m not fairly well equipped- tapping away on my baby iBook and wishing it was a Mac Air or Netbook. I am also equipped with an iPod with voice recorder and my trusty iTouch. None of which can actually connect to the internet in any sort of meaningful way. I suppose I could buy an iPhone and throw my money down the bottomless pit of data plans or pay to join the Auckland airport wireless network but I am too skint to do so. You would think that they could run to a little bit of free internet but no! The one thing I can do is Tweet from my phone but without the conversations and communication of seeing what others are saying it would be like talking to the void. I will find somewhere to play somewhere in Hong Kong to let people know that I have got there safely.

I haven’t even left town yet and I am over the idea of travelling cattle class all the way to Hong. Lid down here comes tea- very nice it was....

New development. I have just found another absolutely brilliant reason for bringing your laptop with you when you travel. There I was back in cattle class and the cow in front of me throws her seat back so it’s about three inches in front of my face and pretends she can’t hear me when I ask her to move her chair forward just a tad.. Those waves of claustrophobia that have been kept at bay by having ten inches in front of my nose disappear and I start to feel frustration at the invasion of my space. I catch the most sympathetic looking steward and say that I need to use my laptop and there is no space. He looks about and says he will look about for another seat without some cow leaning back in it. The only spare seat is in business class and I can go and sit up there but I only get to stay there as long as I am working on my computer. So here I am sitting with my legs crossed and spread out and no neighbours. Bliss. So this is going to be a really long blog post- until the battery runs out basically- as I pretend to work feverishly on some life changing thesis that I need my computer for. I have turned the brightness down on the monitor to save power. I only wish it wasn’t 2:14am NZ time and I could stay here forever.

They have just turned the cabin lights out. It a good job I can touch type by the light of my screen. I arrive in Hong Kong about eight hours from now and I know my battery won’t last that long- I won’t either as at some stage- claustrophobia or not- I will have to go back to the sardine tin and sleep. I wonder if I can pretend to type with the screen on and me drifting off to sleep. I really am tired as it was closer to three in the morning when I got to sleep on Monday while re-drafting the milestone report for the end of the ICT cluster.

Need to avail myself of the bathroom and had to walk through the darkened sleeping room of white blanketed really rich people lying down asleep strapped with to their safety belts on. Even the bathroom is nicer with real little towels to dry your hands on a moisturising face and body cleansers and creams. OK folks- although the idea of typing all through the night to keep out of cattle class is very, very appealing I do think it is actually beyond as sleep’s tentacles stretch towards- I don’t want to be too knackered when it comes to sightseeing when I arrive.

I am quickly doing this while I am on the free wireless at Hong Kong airport waiting for my bus to take me to the airport.