Just to be clear, my flight actually wasn’t a straight 21 hours. It was more of a 13 hr flight from Vancouver to Auckland, then a 3 hr layover, then another 5 hrs to Melbourne. I just say 21 hours because that’s the number I saw on my itinerary. 🙂
Okay! So firstly, thank you to those who came to send me off on my trip! Didn’t think I would cry but the tears rolled down when my sister, Trini, was filming me saying “goodbye” to my family. I was a bit sad because my family were late in sending me off but in the end I got to see them before the security check! Score! Thanks to Shen, Sage and Robbie for taking time out of their schedule!
L-R: Trini, myself, Shen, Sage (missing Robbiekins!)
As you can see, I was sporting in a comfortable, scrubby outfit (hoodie and yoga pants!) because I knew the ride was going to be a long one!
There wasn’t much use for the menu since the meals included on the flight were amazing already! I just liked the cute design of the bubbles so I took a picture of it:
Dinner consisted of chicken penne with tomato and pesto sauce, salad, bun & butter, cheese & crackers, and cheescake! There was this main dish or beef curry… Air New Zealand knows how to treat their passengers well! (There was even complimentary wine during the flight!)
And breakfast? Hot omelette, sausage, potatoes, fruits, yogurt, and orange juice! Just the main dish filled me up! It was so good…
I was fortunate to be seated with one of the most friendly and talkative people during my long flight to Auckland. A 60-year old Australian couple, Glenda and Peter, from Queensland who made me smile and laugh during my whole ride! They were flying back from visiting their son in Calgary and saw the before and after effects of the Calgary flood. Though they witnessed an unfortunate event, both of them were full so much energy and life… I really admired them! They gave me recommendations on where to travel to in Australia and even offered me a place to stay if I were ever to visit Queensland. Super genuine and great people! It was probably my first time not watching movies or TV on a flight. Choosing to speak to them was the best decision!
When I wasn’t talking to them, I ended up sleeping like a baby. It was dark for most of the ride and the majority of passengers were also trying to catch up on their slumber.
People are really right when they say Australia is “up-side down” … just check out this photo. While everyone is sleeping in Australia and other parts of the world, North Americans are out and about! Dark = night time, light = day time.
When transferring flights, we all waited in this enormous line up! Another security check was needed even though none of us left the plane … during the plane ride. Oh well, gotta take those safety precautions!
Since none of my clocks were set at the right time (actually… my laptop is still set as the Vancouver time zone), I was depending on this large digital clock to tell me the correct time so I wouldn’t miss my next flight. Even though it was 5am in Auckland, I was completely awake and energized to explore the airport.
Of course I also had to check emails and social media while I was at the airport. The Auckland airport wi-fi works on a freemium model where the first 30min are free, but if you want more, you gotta pay! Being the cheap person I am, I thought 30min was more than enough to catch up on my life back home!
It feels weird knowing that a lot of my friends are back in Vancouver, while I’m away from there in a new world. Feels weird to leave my school, job, family to venture out to the other side of the globe! Odd… but fantastic feeling!
Check out the beautiful Auckland airport!!
Lastly, to the couple who made my first overseas an incredible one, THANK YOU! I will miss your stories and laughter but I know we will see each other again!
Note: I didn’t take any pictures of my flight from Auckland to Melbourne since I was busy bawling my eyes out after watching “Wreck it Ralph”. Don’t judge – it was an amazing Disney production.
The Life of KND 
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