Homeward Bound 5 - Assignment Miami Beach

I get into the Qantas Club and hoard a computer terminal for the entire 4 or so hours I am there for. After a pretty dismal effort to begin with - I blog and finish Italy. I really haven't been accessing any computers until the last couple of days in Venice - and having the free internet at the Evergreen Hotel - defintely helps heaps in terms of ability to keep this blog up-to-date.

The flight back to Australia was OK and I got a bit of sleep with my exit row seat with no seats in front of it (although it was near the toilet). There was this kinda freakish guy sitting next to me. He was a 6"7' junior volleyball player (with the AIS) - complete with a lack of people skills. For the first half hour of the flight - he was drawing pictures on his arm with a magic marker (defintely serial killer material).

I watched a really interesting doco on the "Most Hated Family in the States". It had Louis Theroux in it (the one time sidekick of Michael Moore - back in the "Awful Truth" show) and he was spending a couple of months with the family who are behind the "God Hates Fags"/"God Hates America"/"God Hates Sweeden" extreme right wing religious group. These guys believe that America is going to hell because of tolerance to gays and they picket funerals of dead soliders from Iraq. They have also picketed a local vaccum cleaner shop because they were selling sweedish vaccum cleaners (and there was a court case in Sweeden where two homophobes were jailed for discrimination against gays)... How about picketing Ikea instead? Anyhows - it was part hilarious and part distrubing... and is well recommended.

I also started watching "The Jammed" - a David and Margaret recommended feel good movie about the sex slave industry in Melbourne - but I had ran out of time (with what all my sleeping on the flight). I'll probably rent it when I get back home or something.

I had the whole diet-meals on the flight again - but I not only had steak for dinner - but also for breakfast... A little bit freakish (and I was a touch sad because I couldn't have my Chinese Breakfast!).

I arrived at Brisbane airport at around 9am the next day and had no hassles picking up my bags through customs. This was the first time in a long time that I wasn't quizzed by customs staff whilst waiting for my bags to arrive off the carousel.

I took the train over to the Domestic Terminal and headed through security where I was stopped by the staff who had an unholy obsession about my boot bag. They picked it up and said - "You can't bring roller skates onto a plane - go and check it in at the oversized baggage counter (somewhat ironical as this "oversized bag" could fit in a carry-on baggage locker!)". I was feeling tired and pissy and said back to them "I've been all over the world with this - and this is the first time I've had problems bringing this bag onto the flight". I explained to them it was just some ski boots and they fit in the overhead lockers. The big fat dumb security woman kept calling them rollerskates - but after I wasn't budging - she brought over her supervisor (who looked even more dykish than her). I think the supervisor probably thought the security lady was being a bit of a d##k - so she said - just scan it through again - and then they let me bring my bag through to the terminal. Don't you love patchy Australian airport security service. Where one airport will have problems with umbrellas - and the next one will have problems with "roller-skates"....

I hae a shower at the Qantas club and do a bit of blogging (get up to the second day of Hong Kong). I was feeling really really tired. The three weeks of poor sleep were finally catching up with me and I was fading rather fast. Unfortunately - I had to wait until about 3:30pm for my flight to Canberra (it was supposed to leave around 2:50pm but it was delayed - just like a number of other flights).

I was dozing on and off on the flight to Canberra. My snoring woke me up a couple of times (I occasionally let out a loud pig-like belch which will wake me). Unfortunately - I can't use my "SIDS" technique of lying on my stomach in order to stop me snoring on a flight.

My mum picked me up from the airport (Ant was flying back from Perth today for work and couldn't greet me at the airport). I had texted her saying that I was boarding the flight but she had thought I was coming from Sydney - so she waited about an hour for me to rock up.

On the most part - I've enjoyed my trip to Italy and Hong Kong. Selva (and Val Gardena in general) was really pretty, the price for the accommodation was right (parents paid for it) and although there was plenty of skiing to be had - a bit more of a challenge would have been a welcome change to things. The queues too were a bit on the feral side. Venice was well worth going to - and it was a bit of luck that Carnevale was on when we were there. I think we all got a little bored at Padova but Verona was worth it (even if for just the tacky Juliet balcony). Hongkers was a bit of a shopping detour for me - and I was a bit disappointed in not going to Macau - but hey - I'll probably be back there one day and I'll probably want to stay over at Macau for a change. It was a bit sad for Ant not to come with me - but it was his choice (didn't want to spend heaps of $$ going snowboarding in Europe).

So here endeth the Italy/Hong Kong blog - maybe one day I'll finish off the Japan/Eastern Europe/Singapore blog (hint I buy a PS3 at Singapore)...