Leaving Albury

Penguins have significant forward protuberances around their midriff … Penguins waddle… Penguins are clumsy and slow on land ... Penguins are swift and graceful in the sea ... We qualify as penguins on the first two counts but fail dismally on the third … are we really penguins as David Parker says … Well if the characteristics of penguins that David Parker thinks are significant are the quality of their waddle and their lack of grace and speed on land then it is penguins we are and it is time for these penguins to migrate to more appropriate winter climes.

But is it really time for the migration? ... Not sure … the neighbours are all kind and considerate ... The bike riders prepared to share their coffee with us ... Albury is not yet really cold… Perhaps we have been hasty … Pick up the local paper… Lead story? … Set of misplaced false teeth … clearly there is not much happening in the Albury environs … Definitely time for these penguins to be on their way!

 

 

Time to test Australia’s transport infrastructure … It fails immediately ... Train replaced by a coach ... When will it ever end ... Rhetorical!

We arrive at our overnight haven… The Cilom Motel… sitting a respectful distance from the commercial hell hole that is Tullamarine airport ... The motels purpose in life? … To make an income supporting early morning flyers … Feed them ... Bed them … Mind their cars … Wake them early … Shuttle them to their planes ... No need to be fancy and new ... Cheap cheerful and functional is the business model ... The rooms tatty but clean ... The beds ... Comfortable… No mini bar… reconciliation of the account would delay the early morning departures ... Do you want an early morning call … No … You are going to get one anyway … Test their bar and bistro ... Again ... Functional but tired ... Food excellent … Wine appropriate in taste and levy.

Test the bed … It passes testing … That should allow a readers mind to wander to thoughts of their own! ... Beat the early morning call ... The motel’s efficiency remains on display ... The bags are loaded and the shuttle is away.

Check in with Qantas ... Ok ... Off to Sydney ... transfer… Air China check-in ... Fast ... Efficient ... Away … pair of aisle seats … Makes a huge difference ... When will they turn on the entertainment system … It is taking a while ... Become suspicious that it will not happen … Still it is a daylight flight and even the lack of an entertainment system is causing us surprisingly little grief! ... The entertainment system shows reluctant signs of submission to the endevours of the cabin staff and slowly and with great petulance displays a limited range of tolerable movies ... We indulge.

Meals and wine arrive ... The meals tolerable ... The wine ... Contained a small amount of alcohol but apart from that had no redeeming features … we chat to the Chinese Australian taking her toddler to see her parents in China.. We are amused by the little girl giving constant renditions of "the wheels on the bus go round and round "... Surprisingly the window shutters are ordered down and the plane is put into sleep mode even though it is midday ... Some passengers slowly sneak their shades up so the plane still knows it is daylight ... the flight draws on a little but these penguins rate the flight towards the upper end of there flight experiences.

Crunch ... The plane shudders ... We have landed … No we haven’t … Just the wheels coming down … Another slight bump ... What was that ... The plane has landed … They better have a look at the landing gear deployment ... An extended taxi starts ... Stop ... Start ... Stop... Pause ... Move a few metres ... Stop…. The penguins conclude the pilot doesn’t know where he is going … The penguins are right ... A ute appears on the tarmac ... Huge sign ... FOLLOW ME ... The pilot obliges ... Another long taxi… No landing bridge ... They Park on the open tarmac ... Shuttle buses and stairs arrive ... We are disgorged.

Out through customs…fast ... Efficient ... Into receivals hall… The taxi touts accost us ... We reject them ... Airport official approaches us … You need directions ... Yes ... Hails another official ... This one has a sideline ... Also a taxi tout ... Tries to discourage us from taking the Maglev … we resist ... Follow the obvious signs ... Lose concentration ... Wrong turn… Back track ... Find the station… Buy a ticket… 300kph ... 15 minute ... In town…

 

Now to buy a metro ticket ... As is the luck of the penguins the machine we choose is irritable ... Refuses to accept our pristine Yuan … We discuss the potential error of our ways ... Ask a Chinese lady… No English ... Point ... Demonstrate ... She tries ... The machine is not biased against any particular Nationality… She screws up her face ... Walks to the next machine ... It Springs into life and atones for the failings of its mechanical brother… Swipe the ticket at the turnstile ... The turnstile is grumpy ... Must be a common problem ... A station aide points us to a service counter... English ... Yes ... Grabs the card ... Swipes it in a reader... Hands it back ... No problems she says … She is right ... The turnstile is now courteous to the penguins.

The bags are hauled to line 2… More taxi touts are negotiated… 6 stops to East Nanging station.. Smile at the young Chinese ... Dressed in Western clothes ... Heads down ... All concentration is directed to their iPhone… This could be the train from Chatswood to Central if it was not for the modern and stylish rail carriages… Off at East Nanging ... Line 10 to YuYuan Gardens ... Emerge … A little discussion… There is the hotel ... Welcome … An upgrade ... Room fantastic! ... A great night’s sleep ... The penguins have landed in Shanghai.

Posted with Blogsy