Round The World and other travels
A frequent flyer's collection of trip diaries
This is: Vietnam 2010
The last shall be First
At 6am on a chilly and dark Saturday morning in November, I would normally be either fast asleep or pulling the duvet closer as I looked forward to another two hours of gentle, semi-conscious dozing. On this particular Saturday, as my alarm clock burst into its familiar and strident entreaty, I had already been awake for half an hour. Departure day had arrived for another keenly awaited trip, and the buzz of anticipation had been sufficiently potent to cut through the deepest of slumbers. I jumped out of bed, went through my usual morning routine, had breakfast and - so I thought - attended to the last few remaining tasks.
Despite clear skies and calm conditions earlier, I
had the misfortune to set off during a squally shower. By the time I
had reached the motorway, however, the rain had gone and I needed to
shield my eyes against the low winter sun. It was a smooth journey,
despite encountering weekend roadworks. As I parked my car in the
usual place, I realised with some annoyance that my task list at
home had not, after all, been completed: I'd left my central heating
on at the normal setting. It was unfortunate, but it was too late to
do anything about it. At least the house would be nice and cozy for
my return.
At the airport, I discovered that I could only check my bag as far as Heathrow initially. While the news was a little unexpected, it certainly didn't present me with a problem. Security wasn't busy, but with only two lanes open it proved to be a slow process - nothing unusual in that, then! Once airside, I made a brief stop at American Express to acquire some Thai Bahts and then spent the remaining time in the bmi lounge. Boarding was announced at 1040.
(Link to flight log in side panel)
The first bag appeared on the carousel in
Heathrow's Terminal 1 exactly 26 minutes after the arrival on stand
of BD55: a classic Heathrow performance.
I made the short walk to the SWISS check-in desk on the same level
and, despite fears that I might be too early, was able to check in
immediately. Next stop was the bmi ticket desk, where I parted with
three of four recently acquired compensation vouchers, together with
a few pounds, in exchange for an Edinburgh - Zurich return ticket. I
walked away with a GBP50 voucher still in my pocket and a weekend in
Switzerland in the bag for the following Spring - not bad work, I
thought!
That
transaction successfully completed, I took myself airside via the
fast track security channel, courtesy of my SWISS Business Class boarding pass. As
my next flight was still several hours away I decided that I
fancied some proper food, rather than just browsing on typical lounge
offerings. I found Est Caffe and had an Italian-inspired
lunch there. Finally, it was time to head for the familiar territory
of bmi's Great British Lounge. It proved to be rather busy,
due to a delayed US Airways departure to Philadelphia, but I
eventually managed to relocate to one of the nice lounger-type seats
by the huge windows looking out to the northern runway.
My gate wasn't displayed until 1620 and it turned out to be 47 - as far away as possible. What's more, the status moved almost immediately to 'Boarding', but I felt that there was no cause for panic; I simply set off on the lengthy walk as quickly as possible.
(Link to flight log in side panel)
I had a very easy passage through a quiet Zurich Airport and soon found myself in the excellent First Class Lounge, where I was informed that I would be driven to the E terminal 50 minutes prior to the departure of my flight. I decided that I really mustn't eat any more, in the interests of saving myself for whatever delights the flight itself had in store - assuming, of course, that I managed to stay awake that long!
At the appointed time, I and five other passengers were taken down in a lift to the thoroughly civilised security facility on the ground floor. On completion of the formalities, a short drive in a minivan soon had us at the long-haul terminal. I quickly found my flight and didn't have long to wait for boarding to get underway.
(Link to flight log in side panel)