I've often heard it said that 'experience is what you get about 5 minutes after you need it'. Well, I just got a lot of experience in one shot. I'll share a few things here such that others might not have similar difficulties. First, if you are ever traveling from a foreign country to another foreign country - make sure you check to see what information you need to be able to provide at check-in. This is extremely important if your flight out of the country you are going to is booked on a different airline. I got to see parts of the Melbourne Airport that few people probably ever get to see as I hastily made my way to the Air New Zealand office in hopes that they would be willing to print my itinerary outlining my return to Australia. Luckily, the folks at Air New Zealand were extremely helpful (and the folks at Qantas were extremely helpful too) and we got the whole thing worked out so that I could check-in for the flight. Any other time, this would have never been a problem because I would have had everything printed out. But without easy access to a printer at the Graduate House (or even CSIRO for that matter) I never printed all the trip information.
So, heart-stopping moment number one was over. Next, I found out that my carry-on bag (that I have used countless times in the States) was too big to be carried on here. Okay... This really wasn't that big of a problem, except that I made a critical error at this stage of the game. I should have lightened my backpack by putting some stuff in the now checked luggage. I had put a lot of stuff in my backpack to avoid having to expand my carry-on suitcase. So, when I went to departure customs and they weighed my backpack, it came up at 12.3 kg. Apparently the limit is 10 kg (22 lbs) for a carry-on item. Anyhow, I managed to throw out some expendable documents that I was carrying with me, stuffed my travel book in the pocket of my shorts, and carried by computer (the guy told me that I could carry something to get the weight down). I was hoping (praying) that I wouldn't need to throw away something more valuable (like the shoes I had in my backpack).
I went back through the door to the departure customs area and learned that the weight check was actually a spot check process. Since I had been alone the first time, I didn't realize this. So, I made it through okay without them re-checking through my bags. Right at the moment I am in the terminal, so I am hoping that they won't check the weight again before getting on the plane - I'll need to scout things out. Even if they do, I am pretty sure that my computer and this travel book will account for the 2.3 kg and I'll probably be fine... I have never had an experience like this in the states. No one asked me anything about my carry-on bags when I went through LAX and I was allowed to take my carry-on suitcase and backpack. Oh well...
I walked around for a bit when I first got into the terminal and managed to get a pretty cool comparison photo. Pictured here is an Airbus A380 (right) and a Boeing 747 (left). These are the two largest commercial airliners out there today (and probably ever). The size comparison is amazing to me as you can see how much bigger the A380 looks compared to a 747. Anyhow, I thought it was a great opportunity for a photo. I'm going to continue to try to bring my heart-rate back down after the check-in / departure customs / security experience and I may check out some of the shopping opportunities that they have here. The departure gate area is much nicer than the gate area at LAX. If I can find a moderatly priced cold beer, that might be very nice right about now...
No comments:
Post a Comment