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I'm currently sitting in the Cathay Pacific Reef Lounge at Cairns International Airport. I must say, compared to sitting in the crowded and limited food court just outside, this isn't half bad. A full bar, and a selection of cold meats, cheeses, dips, fruits, breads and other nibbles I didn't pay much attention to was a welcome distraction in the 4 hour wait for the connecting flight.
Feeling fairly drowsy at this point. I've been officially "out of bed" for 9 or so hours, and actually awake for probably a few hours longer, and it's not even midday. Last night's sleep....wasn't. 4 beds, 5 people, and Angela and Isabelle, the 2 youngest, simply refused to sleep top-and-tail in the same bed. Kicking each other then screaming at each other became an interesting game. The parents however got sick of said game at around 9:30pm, and separated them. Angela had the bottom bunk to herself, Charlotte had the top bunk to herself, Isabelle had my side of the bed. I had the floor. Yep, seriously. I laid down a towel and a pillow, and tried to sleep on the floor.
It didn't go well. I've had no more than 2 hours sleep.
After finishing last night's blog entry, separating the girls and setting the alarms for 3am I laid down and tried to sleep. The discomfort of a dirty floor, combined with the anxiety of sleeping through the alarms, meant that sleep was pretty much impossible.
So at 3am we awoke, got ready, went downstairs and waited for the taxi(s). And waited. And waited. And waited. Pick up time was supposed to be 4am. That came and went with no sign of our ride. The first time we rang the taxi company they apologised for the lateness, and said they'd be there within minutes. 10 minutes later, when we rang again, they said they'd never heard of me, and denied that we ever had a booking.
Terrific. Holiday over. Or so we thought.
So the guy working the night shift at the Ibis Budget hotel was nothing short of an absolute hero. He made a call to a friend who drives a cab, who, as luck would have it, happened to be leaving the international terminal, and within minutes he was at the door. Our knight in shining yellowcab only had a regular taxi however, but he offered to squeeze all 5 of us in, on the proviso that I jump out into a dark alley before arriving at the terminal and he show up on their cameras carrying 5 passengers plus driver in a 5 person vehicle. Naturally I agreed. I got some funny looks from the people waiting outside of the terminal near the loading bay when I emerged from the dark alley next to domestic terminal T2 and started unloading the bags from a taxi I didn't arrive in.
But security didn't nab me, and quickly and easily through customs we went, and boarded our unremarkable economy class flight to Cairns. Despite trying to weazel my way into the Reef lounge on the basis that we had Jetstar Business class tickets, and failing miserably, we still got into the lounge as I'm a Priority Pass member (thank you Citibank Signature Visa card).
I wanted to post this while in the lounge, but didn't quite get enough time to get the pictures uploaded before we were summoned from our lounges by a boarding call. I guess I finish it tonight at the hotel, along with part 2, and the Jetstar business class recap. With any luck it will be positive.
Feeling fairly drowsy at this point. I've been officially "out of bed" for 9 or so hours, and actually awake for probably a few hours longer, and it's not even midday. Last night's sleep....wasn't. 4 beds, 5 people, and Angela and Isabelle, the 2 youngest, simply refused to sleep top-and-tail in the same bed. Kicking each other then screaming at each other became an interesting game. The parents however got sick of said game at around 9:30pm, and separated them. Angela had the bottom bunk to herself, Charlotte had the top bunk to herself, Isabelle had my side of the bed. I had the floor. Yep, seriously. I laid down a towel and a pillow, and tried to sleep on the floor.
It didn't go well. I've had no more than 2 hours sleep.
After finishing last night's blog entry, separating the girls and setting the alarms for 3am I laid down and tried to sleep. The discomfort of a dirty floor, combined with the anxiety of sleeping through the alarms, meant that sleep was pretty much impossible.
So at 3am we awoke, got ready, went downstairs and waited for the taxi(s). And waited. And waited. And waited. Pick up time was supposed to be 4am. That came and went with no sign of our ride. The first time we rang the taxi company they apologised for the lateness, and said they'd be there within minutes. 10 minutes later, when we rang again, they said they'd never heard of me, and denied that we ever had a booking.
Terrific. Holiday over. Or so we thought.
So the guy working the night shift at the Ibis Budget hotel was nothing short of an absolute hero. He made a call to a friend who drives a cab, who, as luck would have it, happened to be leaving the international terminal, and within minutes he was at the door. Our knight in shining yellowcab only had a regular taxi however, but he offered to squeeze all 5 of us in, on the proviso that I jump out into a dark alley before arriving at the terminal and he show up on their cameras carrying 5 passengers plus driver in a 5 person vehicle. Naturally I agreed. I got some funny looks from the people waiting outside of the terminal near the loading bay when I emerged from the dark alley next to domestic terminal T2 and started unloading the bags from a taxi I didn't arrive in.
But security didn't nab me, and quickly and easily through customs we went, and boarded our unremarkable economy class flight to Cairns. Despite trying to weazel my way into the Reef lounge on the basis that we had Jetstar Business class tickets, and failing miserably, we still got into the lounge as I'm a Priority Pass member (thank you Citibank Signature Visa card).
I wanted to post this while in the lounge, but didn't quite get enough time to get the pictures uploaded before we were summoned from our lounges by a boarding call. I guess I finish it tonight at the hotel, along with part 2, and the Jetstar business class recap. With any luck it will be positive.
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