Australia was our last international trip before this long COVID lockdown, and will be our first international trip as we resume our travel. One driver was a meeting in Brisbane, which I commit to attending once a year, and I didn't need much of an excuse to visit the country anyway.
First, a few words about the plane tickets. It was a no brainer when we managed to get one-way business seats from Newark to Sydney, at 80,000 miles per person. That used up most of my miles, but I was glad to do it. The interesting thing is the return trip. From a prior trip I got the idea to try a Sydney - Newark and Newark - Europe trip, with about 3 weeks in between. We vacillated between flying to Berlin (and back from London) or to London (and back via Berlin). The first itinerary was about $1100 per person (in coach), and the second $970. We opted for the second one. Meanwhile I managed to upgrade to Premium Plus on the SYD-SFO segment, with PlusPoints, and we are waitlisted on all the flights. One must say the SFO-EWR flight is not looking good for upgrades, as transcon flights seem to be in great demand. Can't beat the price, though.
It also took a while to settle on how we would spend the two weeks in the country. At the end "taking it easy" was going to be our plan, even though it entails checking out rental cars in Sydney and Brisbane.
May 3, Tuesday. Uber at about $35 wasn't that expensive, although our driver had to be reminded multiple times which direction he should go. CLEAR gave me the usual problems (had to try both eye scan and finger prints), and both Anne and I triggered the metal detector. She went through the "other" machine once, I twice. To be fair, the total time to get through security was around 10 minutes, so there is really no reason to complain.
I am typing this at the SFO Polaris Lounge, which as far as I can tell was repurposed from the old United Club Lounge. Both the EWR and SFO Polaris Lounges were disappointments, EWR was crowded, the food in both lounges was mediocre. The Polaris experience (we have done it a few times) is nothing to write home about, except the alternative would be a lot worse. The EWR-SFO flight was packed, and a crowded 777 coach section can feel oppressive, especially with the now-ubiquitous 10-across seating.
The flight attendant for the SFO-SYD flight again acknowledged the many miles I have flown with the airline, and she was quite gracious during the entire trip. On this leg we would end up having two other meals, making a total out of five - I did skip snack. The Business Class section was quite full, but not the Premium Plus and coach sections, many were enjoying a lie-down across three or four seats.
The mask requirement for airports and planes was struck down by a Federal court recently. Some states - NY is a notable example - decided to keep the mandate, but many, including New Jersey, announced immediate plans to rescind the requirement. However, the Australia government requires all incoming passenger to remain masked throughout the flight. Wearing a mask for 14 hours is very uncomfortable, so many try to find relief in various ways. Anne slept sideways away from the aisle so people couldn't see her, I just tried to create room with a finger so I could breathe easier.
The veggies (cooked and raw) section at EWR Polaris Lounge.
What I assembled for my snack at the lounge.
The EWR Polaris Lounge is more crowded than I expected. Of course the "regular" United Club is usually much more so. First world problem.
Anne in her seat. One good thing is one doesn't have to step over a fellow passenger to get out of the seat. 11L has a bit more privacy - and a better window view - than 12L.
Decent hot meal EWR-SFO.
Data costs only $6 ($8 for Mileage Plus members, further reduction of $2 if MP Visa card is used).
Dinner SFO to SYD.
Pre-arrival breakfast. Counting the meal I had at the SFO Polaris Lounge, five altogether.
May 5, Thursday. I did manage to catch a few hours of sleep, and Anne also did quite well on that front. The plane landed ahead of schedule. Immigration was straightforward, including my having to stop by a quarantine officer for him to make sure all I brought along were energy bars.
A COVID test is required of all arriving passengers within 24 hours of arrival, and self-administered RATs (rapid antigen tests) are acceptable. We found our way to the food court on the departure level, and found a quiet place to do the tests with RAT kits we brought along (the government does suggest this for incoming passengers). We were in no hurry, so I had a cup of coffee. I forgot how enjoyable a good cup of Australian coffee could be.
Meriton Mascot is quite close to the train station. The receptionist said the earliest she could get a room for us was noon, which would be great. (Turns out when we checked back at 1:30 pm, the room she had wanted us to have wasn't ready, so we got another room, which was okay.)
Meanwhile, Anne and I took a bus to Eastgardens where we met up with Ruth and Stephen. She drove us to visit our parents' graves. Afterwards we had lunch with Dr. and Marina Cheung at East Phoenix in Zetland. We had not seen them for more than three years, yet had a good chat as there are many mutual friends. Ruth dropped us off afterwards.
Dinner was takeout at Camy's (a grilled chicken place) and a Taiwanese restaurant. We stayed in Mascot for one night last time we visited, but did not "discover" this vibrant community (mostly Asian, most buildings built by Meriton). As with many urban areas, this is another mostly blue-collar town yielding to gentrification - or whatever the new terminology says.
In the evening I joined the Thursday morning (York PA) time Bible study. I started fine, but had to struggle to keep awake and coherent soon afterwards. Jetlag is difficult to overcome.
Arriving passengers are to quarantine themselves unless they test negative for COVID. Since self-administered (non-supervised) tests are acceptable, we found a quiet corner at the airport and did the tests. An honor system that depends on the goodwill of the people.
Visiting my parents' resting place.
Lunch with Wen and Marina Cheung, whom we have met on several prior occasions during our visits to Sydney.
Accommodations: Meriton Mascot Central, 3 nights.
May 6, Friday. We don't have too many objectives for this trip, partly due to this being our first long-distance international travel since the pandemic began (it was beginning to be taken serious during our last trip to Australia in January, 2020), we decided "when in doubt, take it easy."
We had agreed yesterday to meet Ruth for lunch, and took the train to Hornsby to meet up. On the Central to Hornsby train I was remarking to Anne that many riders ignore the requirement (as far as I know) that masks be worn on public transportation, pointing to the person sitting across the aisle as an example. Then I noticed that it was Ying Y, the pastor of the English congregation of a local Chinese church, whom I had met many times in Brisbane, and will meet again in a week or so. We chatted for a few minutes.
I had been to the Hornsby shopping center before, so Ruth tells me, but I have little recollection of it. We ate dim sum and other dishes at a Chinese Restaurant, followed by coffee. We then went to Ruth's apartment. Our intention was to stay a while and then head back to the city to ride on the ferry. We ended up talking till close to 5 pm. This time we took the Hornsby to Central (via Strathfield) line which while longer in distance covered had only two intermediate stops. We bought some food close to the Mascot station and ate in the apartment.
I then went out, as I did last night, to walk enough to satisfy my daily exercise requirements as dictated by my Apple Watch.
The Westfield Mall in Hornsby has as a landmark this complex looking clock. I imagine it tells time reasonably accurately.
Inside the restaurant (Joyful House 喜悅軒)
On the way back to Mascot we saw this beautiful sunset. It was too late by the time I took out the phone and take a shot of it. Hopefully this would serve as a reminder ...
May 7, Saturday. Our target today was to ride the Sydney Harbor Ferry. The train T8 usually goes from Mascot to Circular Quay, but we had to make a change because of track work. The ferry terminal was quite crowded, today being a weekend, and it had been raining quite a bit in recent weeks, so we couldn't get on the ferry to Darling Harbor that first came; the second one arrived 10 minutes later, so it was okay.
Darling Harbor had changed quite a bit from the last time we visited (perhaps three years ago). Now there is a tall spiral building that reminds me of (and probably patterned after) the "egg" in London. It is a hotel, and per Google Maps charges a daily rate of over A$800 (forget for when). Indeed, the Park Hyatt by the Quay charges over A$1,100 a day. Makes what we pay for at this Meriton (A$170) a steal. Of course the views are excellent, but these are high prices.
In any case, we had lunch at a fish and chips place at Barangaroo, and walked along Darling Harbor a bit before heading back to the hotel. The route we took was light rail to Circular Quay, and then train back to Mascot. Mostly uneventful, except we got on the light rail and then found out the machines are on the platform, so we took a "free ride." (We mostly likely didn't shortchange NSW Transport as there is a daily charge limit which we probably exceeded for the day anyway.)
Anne and I both tried to get some sleep, with limited success. We had a dinner appointment with the family, and was a bit late getting ready to leave. An Uber got us there in good time.
Both Susanna's and Wilson's families showed up for dinner, so there were 11 people in all. I was seated next to Chris and had a good chat with him. Wilson was also nearby. The next generation has reached middle age, how the time flies. Incidentally, Wilson, Wendy, and Ryan all just came out of a 7-day quarantine after testing positive. It's an honor system, though.
After dinner Anne and I took the light rail (this time we tapped on and off), followed by T8.
A remark about our return flight to the US on May 18. On both Anne and my APP we had been told one of the flights might have been cancelled. I did some checking and discovered UA2448 SFO-EWR had vanished from UA's booking system, even though it still shows up on our itineraries. Today that flight appeared again, but when I looked at it earlier today, no seat map was available. I was quite worried as there were not too many seats left on the remaining SFO-EWR flights, so now can breathe some sign of relief.
The view of the Harbor Bridge and Sydney Opera House never gets old. (Same remark about the person :)
Crown Towers was under construction for several years. I never took note of it until this trip.
Another view of The Crown (from the Southern end of Darling Harbor). It now dominates the skyline, with the Bangaroo International Towers in front.
W Sydney will open November 2022 (per Marriott website). I imagine it will cost around US$1000 per night, as do Crown Towers and Park Hyatt Sydney near the Circular Quay.
We had lunch outdoors in the Barangaroo area. "Street performers" passed by. It was a festive afternoon.
Dinner with Ruth's family at Market City. How the time flies, babies are now middle-aged, and their babies are growing up, quick.
May 8, Sunday. Checking out and taking the train to the airport were both quite straightforward. I was the only customer when I showed up at the Thrifty office, and the process was straightforward enough. When I told the agent I planned to drive up to Gosford and back, her recommendation was the I should sign up for eMU, a tagless toll system that would fit my needs.
I had a lot of trouble signing up, most probably because the website was faulty. Eventually I got through and registered properly. Two problems: the previous renter is still signed up for the system (ID’d through the license plate); and I am not sure all the toll roads are covered. Part of the problem was when Google offered a new route that would save a few minutes, I tapped ‘accept.’ That resulted in a more circuitous route involving two or three additional toll roads, so perhaps A$15 for 4 minutes. One road is NorthConnex which is quite new and doesn’t appear on the eMU list. Another item I need to take care of, or at least worry about.
To find a place to do all that, we drove to Le Perouse. It was very crowded, today being a nice Sunday. We also had lunch before we headed up to East Gosford. Driving on the left was not difficult, except for the occasional white knuckle moment where I veered too much to the left.
Ruth and Stephen arrived soon after we got there. They visit and tidy up the place every week. After they left, Anne and I got takeout from Mr. Cai. The dishes were nothing to write hone about.
I looked up the sky after dark and was amazed how much I could see. In NJ I could clearly see the Dog Star Sirius next to Orion. Tonight I could make out most the body and the tail.
It took me a while to sign up successfully for the eMU Pass, most likely due to website issues. We stopped by Le Perouse so I could do the sign up "in peace." While the system by-an-large worked, I am quite sure some charges were erroneously put on my account. Or it costs US$80 (roundtrip) to go from Sydney to Gosford.
Frenchman Bay in Le Perouse.
View from East Gosford house. Pelicans, cormorants, and others birds are behind the red boat house.
If one looks up further ... (photo taken by Anne, as are many others in this blog entry).
Periods of afternoon showers were often followed by appearance of rainbows. A double rainbow in this case.
An Australia lapwing (?) was among the many other birds we saw.
This osprey has a fish in its talons.
Scared away by my approach, fish in talons.
The "lowly" brush turkey is a common sight.
The Wagtail wags its tail.
Magpie.
Most likely a Rainbow Lorikeet, seen along our climb on The Skillion on Monday.
White ibises on Pelican Island (May 9).
Oyster Catches (trust me) seen from our ferry ride (May 9).
Accommodation: East Gosford house, 3 nights.
May 9, Monday. It was a bit cloudy, and glimpses of rainbows made their appearances as the conditions changed.
What appeared to be a ferry was sailing past us when we were at Woy Woy, walking in Lions Park. A search for Central Coast Ferries led us to the pier. For A$16.50 each we could ride a round trip to Empire Beach and back, stopping by a couple of places along the way. There were a couple of passengers who rode the ferry part of the way; it was a 50-person boat. The skipper told us they do take large numbers of school kids in the mornings and afternoon. We saw quite a few rundown boats in communities that certainly looked high-rent, wonder why. A newspaper clipping inside the boat (couldn't find the date of publication) says there used to be many ferries that ply Brisbane Water, but the roads built have drove many of them out of business. The skipper also told us the channel markers have not kept up with the shifting sea bottom, something to be aware of if I were to sail around here.
We had a late lunch at a Fish & Chips place in Ettalong Beach. Then we drove to Terrigal to have a look. Last time we visited, during the summer, the town was packed. Today it was quite quiet. We climbed up ‘The Skillion’ and took in the view from there. Many places - this included - remind one of the Gap in Sydney.
Dinner for me was roasted chicken from Red Roosters, Anne bought a roll and noodles from Thai Bites.
View from Lion's Park in Woy Woy.
We sighted this Central Coast Ferries boat and decided to take a ride on it.
Hurricanes are uncommon in NSW, so one wonders how this boat sank. Also, Davistown is on the opposite side of Brisbane Water from Woy Woy, the ferry would make the journey considerably shorter. Not sure too many people travel between the two cities, though.
Saratoga. One can imagine how isolated this town is before roads were built in the area, making the ferry an essential mode of transportation.
Climbing up The Skillion in Terrigal. The rise in elevation is all of 100 ft.
View from The Skillion.
May 10, Tuesday. It again rained on and off, and we were treated with a nice double rainbow in the morning.
Ruth and Stephen came by and we drove to Avoca Beach to have lunch. While I still enjoy Fish & Chips, I realized I can’t have them for every meal nowadays.
Anne and I walked over to the Edogawa Japanese Garden and did a quick (15 minutes) tour of the place. Evidently Edogawa is the city’s sister city.
Both tonight and last night I walked about 2 miles to get my exercises in (and to maintain my pace to meet Apple Watch’s monthly challenge).
We had enough leftover for a dinner.
More on the eMU saga. Today I found out the NorthConnex charge did show up on my account, that gave me a sense of relief. There were also two charges incurred before I signed up for the pass. While I am sure I did it right, I am not about to argue, not that I know whom to argue with. The website seems to be working properly now.
At the edge of Avoca Beach.
Fish and Chips!
Edogawa Japanese Garden. East Gosford is a sister city of Edogawa's.
Kois everywhere come when they think there is food.
Drystone Garden, or simply a Zen garden.
May 11, Wednesday. There must be people who do one-day business trips from Sydney to Brisbane. For us today felt more like a travel day.
We got the house somewhat ready by about 9:30 am. We did have to leave the bed sheets to dry on a rack as it would take too long to dry in a dryer. In any case, Ruth showed up so she could help with the tidying up.
My first instinct is to avoid driving through the toll roads/tunnels as much as possible. At the end, however, I decided not having to go through that many stop lights, and avoidance of traffic jams, were worth the tolls along the way - one point for the toll road planners. It was raining most of the time, and at times quite heavy. The Camry Hybrid was quite fuel efficient, the entire trip cost less than A$30 in petrol, around US$20.
We had a lot of time before our flight. We stopped by Wok on Air to have lunch, and used Priority Pass for the first time in a while. Free WiFi offered at the airport helped with my catching up.
The flight was delayed by around 20 minutes, today being a rather rainy day. Our flight QF532 was packed, the flight a bit bumpy, but no complaints. I think flying Qantas is generally better than other Australian airlines. The terminal tends not be be as congested, with seating easy to come by. The passenger is not nickeled and dimed in seat selection, baggage, and light refreshment. And reasonably high-speed WiFi (free) to boot. Of course things might have improved a lot in Terminal 2, but I won't find out this trip.
We uber'd to our hotel, and Alfred came by to pick us up for dinner with family at Yum Cha Cuisine. Rachel has continued to grow, and is now in Grade 11.
Anne found out she lost her cell phone after we came back to the hotel. Looking at her iPhone location, we at first thought she left it at the restaurant. Then we noticed it was close to where Alfred lives; sure enough she left it in Alfred's car. Alfred brought it back.
Located Anne's iPhone from mine.
Accommodations: Jephson Hotel, Toowong, QLD (2 nights).
May 12, Thursday. Early breakfast with Andrew P, then off to BST for an all-day meeting, including lunch. Susan G. offered to take us back to the hotel (about 5 minutes) and back, and we met her mother Monica on the way back from Jephson to BST.
The fundraising dinner was attended by about 70 people, so slightly worried that it may become a COVID spreader event. Australia came off some rather severe lockdown recently, but people seemed very relaxed. Many people seemed to have come down with it, and as far as I know everyone recovered. I was the emcee for the event.
Attended the York PA-based Bible Study. Today I was wide awake. Having coffee (with dessert) at 8:30 pm probably helped. Ended up going to bed quite late.
May 13, Friday. Hotel checkout was 10 am. Alfred stopped by to take us to Ling's place in Bellbowrie. We basically spent the whole day at her house chatting. She cooked dinner.
I couldn't bear not meeting my monthly Apple Watch exercise objective. I have missed two days already (total allowed is 4). So at close to 9 pm I went out for a walk. It was quite dry, and I worked up a sweat.
Accommodations: Ling & Wally's house in Bellbowrie (2 nights).
May 14, Saturday. It has been raining quite a bit during this trip, starting with our stay in East Gosford. Things are worse in Queensland, with many areas flooded. This after another heavy rainy week in February. For the tourist that meant being stuck indoors. We weren't expecting to do much anyway, so it's okay.
Lunch at Stir Fry (in Jindalee), and Ling again prepared dinner at home. Both times Rachel and Alfred joined us.
Lunch was at Stir Fry in Jindalee.
Ling can give the restaurant a run for its money. The foil has a baked Japanese pumpkin in it.
Ling is into gardening, a large part of their yard is dedicated to vegetables.
Possums are a problem, so nets and meshes are deployed to thwart their efforts.
Bananas and papayas (below).
May 15, Sunday. We woke up early at around 6:45 am so we could go to the morning Sunday service (in Mandarin) where Wally would preach on Daniel 5. The Sunnybank District Baptist Church is a multi-lingual church. Afterward Anne and I were dropped off at a mall as Wally also had to preach at a Cantonese service. We walked around the area, and by the time I tried to get a table at Parkland Restaurant, the wait was too long. So we had noodle soup at a Taiwanese restaurant, which didn’t take much time.
Wally dropped us off at BNE domestic, and I checked out a rental car from Thrifty. The agent tried to upsell me to an Audi, not an unreasonable price at A$40 a day. Turns out my rate wouldn’t allow me to be upgraded, so it didn’t matter. So far the Hyundai I30 has worked out very well. Perhaps its size makes me feel more confident that I can stay in the lane.
The sun began to find its way through the clouds as we were driving up M1 to Sunshine Coast, and the day would get better as the afternoon progressed. Our apartment is a bit dated but nice, with two bathrooms, but one bathroom has a strong sewer gas smell (dried out drain?) and there are no tissues or paper towels in the apartment with a kitchen.
Anne and I walked along the beach for a bit. There was a lot of foam on the beach, perhaps due to storm drain discharge from the recent rains. Otherwise there is little evidence that Alexandra Head had so much rain that it would be in the news for a few days.
For dinner we had takeout from Sang’s Asian. The menu is relatively simple, we had the duck and yellow curry.
Wally preaching at the Mandarin service at the Sunnybank District Baptist Church.
The Dim Sum restaurant at Parkland Mall was too crowded. We ended up having noodles at this Taiwanese restaurant.
Reasonably priced food.
There was a lot of foam on the beach next to the hotel. Result of recent storm runoffs?
One can appreciate the potential of a nice beach day in the area.
Oaks Hotel. It was a bit difficult to find; we were looking for Seaforth as the hotel's name is Oaks Seaforth.
Accommodation: Oaks Sunshine Coast Seaforth Resort. 2 nights.
May 16, Monday. Today was a gorgeous day. Sunny, calm, not too hot. As I type this (10 pm) it is overcast.
Our day was spent in the Noosa Heads area. Our original intention was to make the 10:30 am ferry out of Tewantin, but I kept missing the turns Google suggested, and thus got to the terminal late. Didn’t matter, it was a 12- or so minute drive to the other ferry terminal, located by Sofitel in Noosa Heads, and we boarded it to head back to Tewantin; we stayed on to return to Noosa Heads. Along the way the Captain pointed out some interesting facts along the river. First is the expensive real estate, with lots costing A$9 million and apartments selling for A$20+ million. The lots were at $30,000 a few decades ago. As with these millionaire rows, most are vacation homes that are not used much by their owners. A second fact is right now it costs nothing to moor on the river, and many take advantage of it. The council will be starting to charge for anchorage and they expect a reduction of 30% in the number of boats. Third was a caravan park was up for sale, the town outbid a developer so the park can stay. People lease them for decades (around A$80 per night peak); so there would still be haves and have nots. The rains from February eroded a lot of sand from house ‘beaches’ that will cost the owners a lot to repair (the captain estimated $100,000, but who knows).
Lunch was at Boardwalk Bistro, right next to the beach. We had seafood pie, fish & chips, and fried calamari (way too much food). At around A$100 it was our most expensive per head meal. After a walk on the beach we drove the car to Noosa National Park and took the short walk to the Boiling Pot lookout and Tea Tree Bay. There are lots of surfers in the water. After stopping along Gympie Terrace to admire the lorikeets singing loudly in the gum trees, we headed back to the hotel.
Dinner was microwaveable food we bought at Coles.
Boarding the Noosa Ferry for a ride along the Noosa River. We boarded at the Sofitel terminal, having missed the boat at Tewantin (less than 20 minute drive away).
We passed by a sister boat along the way.
For now mooring is free along the river. That will change soon.
Per the Captain of our boat, houses can be very expensive along this stretch.
Bistro Boardwalk is right by the beach.
Seafood Pie, Fried Calamari, and Fish & Chips. Way too much food.
Noosa Heads Beach.
"Boiling Pot" in the Noosa National Park. Surprised the locals do not give it a name like "Devil's Cauldron." The video below is from my Google photo collection and may not be valid.
Tea Tree Bay.
We stopped by Noosaville on the way back. Many lorikeets are returning for the evening.
We probably would have eaten at "Maisie's Restaurant." It was closed because of lack of staff - so Australia has similar labor problems as the US.
Tomorrow will be preparation to return to the States. Our plan is to get to BNE early enough to try to get tested for COVID, before our flight to Sydney. If we can’t get it then we will try that at SYD.
May 17, Tuesday. So our COVID testing plan worked. We checked out of Oaks Hotel at around 9:30 am, and returned the rental car at about 11 am, filling up at the airport. After dropping our luggage off at the domestic terminal, we took the (free) bus to the international terminal. When the bus driver found out we were there to do COVID tests, she told us where to go, and where to pick up the bus for the domestic terminal.
The testing center was quite quiet, as I had hoped. Filling out the application and making payment on line was a bit unwieldy due to poor data connection, but we managed. It was a few minutes before we got our noses swabbed for the RATs (rapid antigen tests), and the technician told us after another few seconds that we were both negative (yay!). While I thought getting a severe case of COVID was unlikely, that many people we met either recently recovered, or had family members that recently recovered, was a reason for concern.
After getting back to the domestic terminal, we still had about an hour before boarding, so we took advantage of Priority Pass and had lunch at Coffee Royal. The flight to Sydney was uneventful, but also crowded with a few empty seats. The plane we flew in is about 14 years old (looking it up via different websites), and doesn't have a seatback entertainment system.
We took the T-bus to make the Sydney domestic to international terminal transfer, it was quite straightforward. Since we didn't have anything planned for the evening, we went to Chatswood where Anne bought a few souvenirs for the grandkids, and had dinner with Stephen and Ruth.
The lorikeets were chirping loudly in many trees in Chatswood.
Anne had a class that started at 11 pm (9 am NJ). The day turned out to be more relaxed than we had anticipated. We got upgraded for the SYD-SFO leg, SFO-EWR will be coach, fully packed, it appears. But that's tomorrow's worry.
Both Anne and I remembered the "incident" that Reid was in the elevator lobby by himself. That was over three years ago. How the time flies.
Getting a RAT at the BNE testing center.
Both negative!
The Qantas flight from BNE to SYD was in a rather dated 737-800.
Elevator lobby of Rydges Hotel. Reid was "lost" for a moment here three years ago. He was barely five. The hotel, while a bit expensive, advertises itself as being 181 (?) steps away from the airport. Indeed it took me less than that (door to door).
There are these interesting "figures" in the Chatswood area. Dinosaurs?
There is also this. Just a blown up balloon.
Dinner at King Dynasty in Chatswood Westfield Mall.
The United APP has been having problems getting my upgrades straight. It shows we got upgraded SFO-EWR, but that wasn't true. Our EWR-LHR upgrades did come through though, that will be a couple of days from when I am typing this.
Accommodation: Rydges SYD, 1 night.
May 18, Wednesday. Indeed it takes less than 200 steps (door to door) from the hotel to the airport. Even though we were going to be in Business, there was no longer a priority line for immigration and security. Immigration was quick and easy with the automated system, security took a bit longer than the advertised 7 minutes. Well, it took 15 all together, as I was selected for additional screening.
I grabbed a quick breakfast at the SQ lounge while Anne went shopping. Boarding was straightforward, and we are about 5 hours into the flight, with another 8 or so to go. Anne is sitting through this 4-hour film (Hamlet) while I was browsing the web with this purchased (and slow) internet connection.
Neither of us got much sleep. Most of the flight was during Sydney’s daylight hours, and we had just adjusted to that time. We tried to use the Mobile Passport APP but the airport didn’t seem to be set up for it. We stood in line after a group of people who for some reason were questioned quite extensively by border patrol. We were asked to move to another line which went a lot faster. Coming out of Terminal G there is a security line to return to the airside but without TSA-precheck it was slow. We ended up going to the far end of the terminal and utilized clear and precheck to go through. The whole process took more than 30 minutes, which wasn’t long in the scheme of things. When we checked into United Club they suggested that we use the Polaris Lounge, a ten-minute walk. We decided to do it as it had better food and a lot quieter.
We did not get upgraded on the SFO-EWR flight. Last time I took a transcon in coach in a 777 it was a horrendous experience. With 10 across seating things were tight. Today things seem a bit better, and the plane is full. At a little over 4 1/2 hours it is relatively short (we are on final as I type this).
Plane arrived early, but we had to wait for the gate to clear, so we ended up getting in at the scheduled time.
We uber’ed home.
Lunch on UA870 Polaris Class, SYD to SFO.
All good things come to an end. Now sitting in coach for the SFO-EWR leg. We were asked to mask up on this flight. On UA870, however, we could take them off once the door closed.
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