Some time before
Chinese New Year 2015, I toyed with the idea of
visiting Tahiti and Bora Bora. I have long been drawn to these exotic, isolated islands. I looked at the cost of
flights out of Taipei. The figures were
expectedly prohibitive, and I simply let the dream
fade. Soon however, a trip to Australia became
alluring as it had been nine years since I'd last seen my dear
Tante Erna. In the meantime, she'd had a stroke - from which she thankfully
recovered - and her brother Gerhard in Hamburg had passed away. (I had tormented myself as
I traveled in the Baltics about making a stop in Germany, but had elected not
to, as I was to visit so many places. I
thought, "I'll see him next time."
That did not come to pass. Not
willing to repeat a sorrowful mistake, I bought a ticket.)
On a previous antipodean
visit, I had called on Melbourne only, with a short excursion to the
town of Tumut in New South Wales. Then, I'd stayed with family and friends. I decided this time that
independent travel would prove expedient as it had in South Africa, and that
some days in Sydney were most certainly called for.
After booking the
flight, I contacted Kathy in the UK.
I've known her since my early restaurant days in Cape Town. We'd also spent time together in London, met
in Japan one Christmas, and hung out as expats on holidays in South
Africa. I remembered that she
had connections in Australia and hoped that she'd consider meeting me
there. What bliss when she answered in
the affirmative! I additionally made arrangements with George, the reason for my
visit to Tumut in 2007, and he thankfully agreed to make a trip to Sydney. Then I contacted Matt, whom I'd met in London. (I'd first met his brother Richard, and much later met their
parents and remaining siblings in South Africa.) Matt and his sister Sarah moved to Sydney
some years ago, which I learned from Richard last
year in the motherland. All in all, the
anticipation of new destinations and old reunions bubbled and excited in the
months leading up to the journey.
A colleague, Lourens,
expressed an interest in joining me and I said come along. He booked on the same outbound and return
flights with Scoot. Scoot (if you didn't know) is a no-frills airline out of Singapore, a
subsidiary of the much costlier Singapore Airlines. Later, a friend of his, James, asked to join
us also. He would accompany us to
Sydney, but then remain behind on a one-year working visa.
My ticket in hand, I took a chance and looked at prices from Sydney to Papeete,
capital of French Polynesia and transport hub for the expansive array of
islands. To my joy and elation,
traveling this route was cheaper by almost half. I hurriedly secured a
seat on Air New Zealand via Auckland.
Lourens was initially going to do the whole trip with me, but
subsequently opted out of the Pacific leg and arranged to stay in Australia
instead. No worries - I am well accustomed to traveling alone.
Scoot has its own
diction. The pilot said, "Before we
scoot off, be aware that you may buy anything from the Scootalogue. If you're hungry, Scoot
Cafe will serve you a selection of snacks and drinks. Just ask one of our friendly Scooties for
help." I found this novel and cute, if a tad too informal for such an
important event - bussing a couple hundred people across ocean and the
impenetrable Outback. The Scooties were
polite and efficient, in keeping with Asian service industry ethic. (I find Western service
ethic less and less attractive.)
I was thrilled to once again be "scooting" away from
work and woes, to be off anew on a promising adventure. After waiting for four hours in Singapore, we
lined up at the boarding gate. Another
30 minutes later, it was announced on the gate in writing only that the flight
was delayed for another three hours. It was disappointing, but I am fully in favour of safety
first, and as such I was not even a little
upset. I set out once more
around Changi Airport, which, by the way, has won a torrent of Best Airport
Awards in its lifetime. (In various categories, it
figures among the top three over and over.
I was surprised to also find Taiwan Taoyuan Airport often near the top.) I made some fresh
discoveries. At the far end was a
sunflower garden and a small cinema.
Much more comforting,
the airport hotel had showers that were open to travelers at a cost. It was decided! I hopped in and sponged
my bark. While doing that, Lourens and James
put themselves to sleep just outside the hotel's door. Dressed and feeling much better, I exited and saw the tramps taking their naps, but I didn't realise they were my tramps. I looked for them in the
cinema, in the sunflower garden, and in the restaurant area. Then I went to the boarding
gate. Fortunately, one of them woke up,
and they boarded the flight with me. We
were informed that departure had been delayed because the craft had been struck
by lightning on its earlier flight from Sydney.
It had needed repairs and then certification by Boeing. All's well that ends safely.
Scoot's entire fleet
consists of the latest on offer - Boeing Dreamliners. Lourens - who is obsessed with clean air -
declared that the air quality was markedly better than any flight he'd
taken. We further agreed that the
environment was not too cold. The lights
in the uppermost panels above the hand luggage bins were pastel and
multicolored, adding to the beauty. In general, the interior was much slicker than I'd ever seen, and the seats were quite comfortable. I imagined the craft
felt lighter, though that's probably just because I'd read that they are.
There were, however, no individual monitors. One was required to purchase in-flight
entertainment and then view it on one's own device. We didn't accept that offer. The windows, instead of having pull-down
blinds, were electronically adjusted from transparent, through darkening shades
of blue, to completely black. Our cabin
was for hours lightless and subdued, notwithstanding the diurnal schedule (05:00 to about 16:15).
This I cherished, as it helped me enjoy some
uncharacteristically lengthy slumber.
(In the end, once we'd added luggage, "Scoot-Through",
meals, etc, we didn't really save that much money. Scoot-Through is this - passengers with
connecting flights have to pay to have their check-in luggage booked through to
their final destination. Failing to make
this arrangement in advance means that you have to go through Immigration in
Singapore, pick up your luggage and then check in again for the onward flight,
in both directions. Goodness! Despite Scoot-Through, we nevertheless had to
stand in a sluggish queue in Singapore to get boarding passes for the flight to
Sydney, and again for the flight to Taipei upon our return. Most airlines issue all boarding passes at
first check-in! What a bother, though we
did have a long layover and it gave us something to do. Onboard, nothing was complimentary, not even
water and certainly not beer or other such pleasant beverages. Nothing from Scoot Cafe was reasonably
priced. Moreover, it was forbidden to
consume food or drinks brought onto the craft.
I doubt I will fly on a budget airline again for these reasons.)
