01.11 Adelaide to Doha
1530 (ADELAIDE TIME) I leave work. It’s been a productive day and went quite quickly. Much quicker than the last few. It has felt like this trip would never get here. It’s been a warm day, and I’m so glad to be heading to cooler weather.
1600 There’s no rush to get to the airport so I relax at home for a little while. I finish packing and tidy up the house, turning off the power etc.
1830 Time to get to the airport. The taxi is here and it’s clean drive there.
1900 Check-in goes quickly and the queue for screening is short. My check-in luggage is only 19 kg. Seems much more. I go to the Qantas lounge to wait for my flight. Time to indulge in a quick snack of spicy pasta and a holiday champagne.
2050 Time to go through customs. It’s very fast too.
2115 Flight QR915, A350-900, Seat 2K. I’ve boarded. I feel very calm and relaxed already. But curiously, I only feel mildly excited. I think it hasn’t sunk in that I’m finally on holidays. Then a glimpse of the flight tracker gives me a quick buzz and I know it’s real.
It will be a 14 hr flight tonight. My plan is to try to get some quality sleep. I decide to avoid alcohol and I’ve brought valerian tablets that should help settle me.
I start by watching a movie. “Goodbye Christopher Robin” looks like a good place to start. The flight is a little bumpy for the first half hour out of Adelaide.
2245 They start preparing for dinner. I choose the creamy pumpkin soup, Arabic chicken kofta, warm orange semolina pudding. As they set my table they place a small electronic tea light; it sounds tacky but was actually lovely. The meal is delicious, especially the soup.
2351 I’m trying to delay sleep to align with my destination, so I watch another movie. This time “The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society”. It had been given an R rating but I have no idea why.
