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author | dakkar <dakkar@thenautilus.net> | 2009-08-17 10:54:50 +0200 |
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committer | dakkar <dakkar@thenautilus.net> | 2009-08-17 10:54:50 +0200 |
commit | f3b6e73ca1fcf29731cc2a85114c41fad87d0d96 (patch) | |
tree | 452b0c5a8612aceb6975e530193c57dafaba36e7 /src/viaggi/AU/day2/document.en.rest.txt | |
parent | CV updated (diff) | |
download | thenautilus-f3b6e73ca1fcf29731cc2a85114c41fad87d0d96.tar.gz thenautilus-f3b6e73ca1fcf29731cc2a85114c41fad87d0d96.tar.bz2 thenautilus-f3b6e73ca1fcf29731cc2a85114c41fad87d0d96.zip |
moved stuff around
it's a good idea to separate the documents from the templates
Diffstat (limited to 'src/viaggi/AU/day2/document.en.rest.txt')
-rw-r--r-- | src/viaggi/AU/day2/document.en.rest.txt | 115 |
1 files changed, 115 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/src/viaggi/AU/day2/document.en.rest.txt b/src/viaggi/AU/day2/document.en.rest.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..367c81d --- /dev/null +++ b/src/viaggi/AU/day2/document.en.rest.txt @@ -0,0 +1,115 @@ +Diario - 11 July +================ +:CreationDate: 2003-01-29 10:51:59 +:tags: viaggi + +Feeling deceleration: 20 minutes to landing. All passengers seated, cabin crew +prepare yourself, you know the drill. Dubai by night from on high is a sight: +orthogonal streets outlined by yellow lightglobes, white lights marking houses +or plants (not sure which). Front camera shows the approaching lane, rear +wheels touchdown, front touchdown, brakes brakes brakes, down we are, get out +of the way, do a nice parking, it's been a pleasure to fly you, now get out of +my plane! and take every thing yours out with you! + +So out we go, to the warm welcoming of Dubai International Airport: 0200 local +time, 37°C outside temperature, and rising. Warm indeed. + +Transit passengers this way (how do some people accomplish to get confused by +ONE, SIMPLE, LARGE sign? how do they expect to survive in a foreign country +without knowing this much of either English or the local tongue?), transit desk +gives me (as an Emirates transit traveller with more than 4 hours wait in front +of me) a ticket for refreshments (more below). Baggage screening, and the +airport is all mine! + +They said Dubai Duty Free is impressive. That's an understatement. 40 meters +wide, about 150 long, it comprises so many shops: you can buy anything you'll +ever need while traveling, and most of what you'll need not. My Newton, after +deceiving me with the local time (which is one hour ahead of what Mr.N thinks) +tells me he never knew the exchange rate for the Dirham (UAE currency). A +cashieress (is there such a word?) tells me 1 USD = 3.6 Dh; couple of mults +give me 1 Dh ∼ 500 ITL. I need some batteries for my CD player, so I go +exchanging some liras. Walk many a hundred meters to find someone willing to +buy liras, discover 1 Dh = 588 ITL. Not bad for a quick estimate. Buy +batteries, buy Pink Floyd - The Wall live (because it's there). + +Go find where to reclaim refreshment ticket. Info desk. MacDonald. Oh great. +Actually, it's a french-sounding croissanterie and-the-like-erie. Get a tea and +an apple-filled whatsitsnameagain. Microwaved. Ten minutes to recover use of +tongue. Another ten minutes to reduce tea at acceptable temperature. + +I'm boarding at gate 7, take off about 0730. I'll listen to some music now. +It's another two hours before gate opens. + +Fog! And I was thinking about asking 'which way is north?' to see the sunrise +on the (quasi) desert! No chance: sun is probably rose by now, but I'll not see +it till I am well above fog and clouds. Oh hell. + +Countermand: Ek 463 to Johannesburg is late, so I board at gate 18. Thanks me I +asked. + +Regular boarding, no problem till taxing. I'm 25G, that is, right-hand side +aisle is on my right. Emergency exit is right beside me. R3 (flight assistant +Iutoi) is uncomfortable: he notices a clunking sound coming from below. Captain +is notified, crew members come and go. Captain drives the plane back to dock, +for examination. In the following hour and a half we get to know that: no +problems exist with the hull, none with the cargo, but: one of the cargo shells +is broken. Cargo gets down the plane, changes shell, gets on again. OK, taxing +to the lane. Uh oh, same sound. Captain says ignore it. So we do. Take off two +hours later than due. Captain announces he'll try to make up for the time lost, +but the atmosphere is not of the same advice: we encounter turbulence right +after take off, and never really got out of it. Fasten seat belts sign is often +alight, the plane rises to 37kf from the 33kf promised (to speed up the flight: +we're running on an arc with a radius of roughly 6Mm, what's 1Km more or less +gonna do?! He's the Captain, he knows better. I hope). More: my TV screen goes +on strike: it doesn't respond to touch, it doesn't show controls or messages. +Later I discover where they hid the hand control, but there's no way to control +video params (and they're quite out of their senses). Food is not so good as +the first flight: chicken with mashed potatoes and some vegetables, salad, some +unidentified fish. Nice sweet piece: some kind of candied fruit with (probably) +milk-based cover. + +We're nearing Singapore, where a one-hour stop was programmed. Don't know how +they'll manage it, since we should have been here **two hours ago**! And +probably we'll not arrive to Sydney before 0800 local time (due 0605). Will the +guy (gal?) from Wollongong wait for me? After all, they have my flight number, +they can check. Even thought about faxing them (this plane has a satellite +phone system), but is full night there, and they'll leave to get me before even +noticing the fax. We'll just have to wait and see. And hope my baggage is here, +in the cargo area... + +I've slept most of the flight, and my bio-rhythms are quite screwed up. If they +expect me to start working the same day I arrive, I'll ask Markus how he felt +after making the opposite trip. What I want when I get there is a shower, know +my hosting family, **then** I'll go and look around the campus. Not the other +way round. They sound like sensible people, after all. + +Oh, I finally made sense of a picture in the air show (where they tell you nav +infos and show you nifty maps with a plane in the center): draw a plane, draw a +black box somewhere around it, and a black arrow pointing from the center of +the plane to the box. What is it? Bingo! Have a cigar! It tells you where Mecca +is! Remember this is a Islamic airline! (no pork in the meals, if you were to +ask). So, using the Mecca-arrow as a compass, I quickly recalc my orientation, +and discover I was looking for sunrise facing west-south-west. Would not have +seen it anyway. Oh well. + +Landing: I'll pack the Newton. + +Changi airport (i.e. Singapore)... not much time to visit it: just got off, and +that lady tells me to be back in half an hour. No problem: I'll just go look +around. Around is a half-a-kilometer hallway, then some shops, then start +coming back because time is running out. + +On the plane again. Getting tired of this; luckily it's the last take off. To +comply with Australian regulations and such, we are sprayed with some +pesticide, just to make sure we don't get nasty insects to land. They have +plenty already. + +This time I get to watch some movies. The screen is still not working properly, +but I'll make do. So I select channel 1 and watch The Tigger movie. It's not my +kind of cartoon (Disney: songs & good feelings), but it's not that bad either. + +Dinner. Sleep. Not so well, actually. Succeed in a two-hour near-sleep. We're +over Australia mainland, but still two hours and a half ahead prior to landing +(yes, 7 hours between takeoff and landing): another movie. Mission to Mars, +understading one word out of four. Finale cut out by Captain saying we're +landing. Finally! Another spraying, just to make sure. |