On My Way

Well, I successfully made it to Melbourne after nearly 24 hours of travel, between airport waits, transfers and flight time. My first leg, which was Los Angeles to Auckland, New Zealand, took more than 14 hours but went by surprisingly quickly. I was thinking that flying long distances is much like a running a marathon -- once you know you can survive the 11 hours from LAX to London, everything else is totally doable.

I must say that Qantas provides an excellent flying experience. Their in-flight entertainment system is first rate and you can even watch Gone With the Wind which, given the fact that you're in the air for 14 hours, seems like a great way to spend the time. The food was more than edible -- dinner included a delectable chocolate brownie and their "snack" involved M&M's. The bathrooms were super-clean, had tile floors and provided a needle disposal area. I assume this is for diabetics but realize that it might also be handy for those heroin addicts trying to get rid of their stash before going through customs. Very thoughtful, those Aussies.

I was also captivated, as always, by the flight tracker on the screens. About eight hours into the flight, we crossed the equator and then the International Date Line. The IDL lies on the 180 degree longitude but is not vertical line, as it has been moved to accommodate the needs of various countries, some of which are the Pacific Islands near Tonga and Somoa over which I flew. Although the paradox of the IDL was first written about in the 12th century, there still is no international treaty that establishes its exact location. (Interested in more? See http://www.phys.uu.nl/~vgent/idl/idl.htm). Of course, I began to think about whether it is possible to straddle the date line, effectively existing in two different days at one time, and this led to thoughts on multiple time dimensions and LOST. This distraction used up a good 30 minutes as I tried to come up with new theories to share with my brother.

Unlike recent Qantas international flights (or on LOST), my plane landed safely in Auckland, New Zealand, with no holes blown through the bottom of the plane. After a quick stop (where they, nonsensically, made us get off the plane, go through security and then get back on the SAME plane!), I landed in Melbourne around 9:00 a.m. Monday morning. Due to crossing the International Date Line, I am now missing a day of my life, which is weird but not as strange as it will be to relive the same day on the way back.

More on Melbourne to come.....