I'll start with the journey...
I've always wondered why aeroplane seats are reclinable. I mean surely it's just plain rudeness to the poor soul sitting behind you? Or maybe I'm just British... either way, it took about 12 hours of flying with my little tv screen pressed to my nose until I finally came to the conclusion that you cannot sleep when your back is ram rod straight. So I gave in with no regard for the bloke behind me and lounged out in fully reclined luxury - liberating!
At first we thought 'hey this is great, long-haul rocks right on; free alcohol, good movies and sitting on your arse for a whole day... how bad can it be?'. The answer to that we found in Bangkok airport; really REALLY bad. There is sod all glamorous or relaxing about sitting (reclining!) in a 31" seat watching a tv made for mice, listening to babies screaming, eating polystyrene food whilst having an elbow duel... then you have to get off the plane, do a lap of Thai customs and then sit staring into space for an hour and a half before you're allowed back on the plane. It's not relaxing, it's shite! I looked and felt worse than I did after the Isle of Wight festival (yes really Frenchie) and my hair had turned into some sort of mysterious chip shop dwelling mass - not sexy.
However, all was made worthwhile on the Virgin flight from Sydney to Cairns. At first it was just plain painful; our last and shortest flight felt the longest of them all until we got to Towmsville and the route took us over the Great Barrier Reef... it was like a mirage... I may have actually dribbled on the window.
