I ordered a Zima...not emphysema
The flight to Hong Kong was brutal. I don't think I will ever opt for a flight longer than 10 hours again. It's not that the actual flight was bad - no turbulence, the food was surprisingly good, only one screaming kid, and I actually managed to snooze for about an hour, but, the psychological aspect of flying for 14 hours starts to get to you...especially over water. It's like Angelo was telling me - a plane just doesn't seem to be in it's natural state in the air. If a boat loses power, it still floats. If a car runs out of gas, it just sits there on the road. Planes are a different story. I also find that you just can't distract your mind enough from trying to solve life's problems while stirring in your seat, no matter what arsenal of distractions you bring on board with you.
When I awoke in Hong Kong, I was amazed at the fact that the entire airport was on a man-made island. Everything seemed to be done to a grand scale, the airport terminal, the thousands of skyscrapers, the indulgent use of technology in everything imaginable. Not surprisingly though, it comes at a cost, and the smog was the worst I have ever seen in my life. It is estimated that Hong Kong exceeds the European Union limits for airborne pollutants by 300% ... most of it due to the uncontrolled economy in neighbouring Guangdong, China. I believe that if more people saw the real effects of our "lowest price is the law" mentality, they would make wiser decisions regarding suppliers, and examine what the true difference is between a need and a want. In actual fact, if every person on this earth lived a comparable lifestyle to an average North American, we would require over 2.5 planets to survive. It's not surprising that our world has gotten to the point where we are actually advised not to go outdoors in order to protect our health? Anyhow, nuff said - we own too much disposable cheap plastic crap, and it's destroying our future.
The remaining part of the trip had an uneventful 3 hour stopover in Singapore. I couldn't help but think of all the Aussie's who have been caught with drugs in this airport recently, and are now facing the death penalty. It's constantly in the headines here.
Arriving in Perth at 1:30 am, I was glad to see so many recognizable sights when coming in for landing. So after 28 hours in the air, and a 12 hour time change, it was time to learn how to drive on the left side of the road again. Thankfully, there is no one on the roads at this hour as most people are sleeping, and the rest are in the bars till 5:00 am...yup...5:00 am.
When I awoke in Hong Kong, I was amazed at the fact that the entire airport was on a man-made island. Everything seemed to be done to a grand scale, the airport terminal, the thousands of skyscrapers, the indulgent use of technology in everything imaginable. Not surprisingly though, it comes at a cost, and the smog was the worst I have ever seen in my life. It is estimated that Hong Kong exceeds the European Union limits for airborne pollutants by 300% ... most of it due to the uncontrolled economy in neighbouring Guangdong, China. I believe that if more people saw the real effects of our "lowest price is the law" mentality, they would make wiser decisions regarding suppliers, and examine what the true difference is between a need and a want. In actual fact, if every person on this earth lived a comparable lifestyle to an average North American, we would require over 2.5 planets to survive. It's not surprising that our world has gotten to the point where we are actually advised not to go outdoors in order to protect our health? Anyhow, nuff said - we own too much disposable cheap plastic crap, and it's destroying our future.
The remaining part of the trip had an uneventful 3 hour stopover in Singapore. I couldn't help but think of all the Aussie's who have been caught with drugs in this airport recently, and are now facing the death penalty. It's constantly in the headines here.
Arriving in Perth at 1:30 am, I was glad to see so many recognizable sights when coming in for landing. So after 28 hours in the air, and a 12 hour time change, it was time to learn how to drive on the left side of the road again. Thankfully, there is no one on the roads at this hour as most people are sleeping, and the rest are in the bars till 5:00 am...yup...5:00 am.
posted by Develo @ 1:52 AM
4 Comments:
At 10:47 AM,
Jeremy said…
Wouldn't you want to use most of that time to attempt to solve life's problems? Seems like a rare opportunity to just sit and think.
At 11:30 AM,
Angelo said…
You, up there in executive class -- you'll get no sympathy from me.
At 4:35 PM,
Jeremy said…
ha haha...tough crowd over here, eh?
By the way, this just might be the best blog-post title ever.
At 4:45 AM,
Develo said…
Fair enough...the flight could have been much worse. To be honest, right when I was getting really sick of just sitting there, I went for a walk and ended up in coach class. NASTY - some dude was sleeping upside down in his seat, and it must have been like 5 degrees warmer back there. I tell you what though, I'd give up the business class seat for two coach seats anyday if it meant having my sweetie with me.
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