The Final Leg

My flight out of Chennai for KL is scheduled for 22:00 (10pm) so I have a long wait in the international departure lounge but have a Bulgarian ships engineer for company and we chat for about 5 hours about India and the world in general.

The international departures lounge at Chennai, and in fact at Kolkata and Delhi, reminds me of the overseas terminal at Sydney back in the 1960s. Very basic and very dated, no air-conditioning and a bloke with a backpack sprayer wandering around spraying mosquito repellant on all the seats and on the just polished floor. We've managed to steer clear of the malaria-carrying buggers for almost 4 weeks but I'm eaten alive in the terminal. I just hope the Malarone does its job and it's too late for the mozzie net, I sent that home in a TNT pack from Puttaparthi.

Security is tight here, as it is at every Indian airport, and 2 hours before departure we are herded past sub-machinegun toting soldiers for our luggage to be screened. Several people are frantically stashing liquids like aftershave and perfume into their already overloaded checked baggage. I'll wait for the duty free in Sydney.

I haven't got my old partner Ian with me on this flight so I get to sit next to a young Indian guy who says nothing the whole 4 hour flight to KL. I don't even get a thank you when I wake him for the inflight meal or the landing. Very unlike most of the Indian people we have met on the trip.

KLIA at 4:20am is still busy and transit passengers try and sleep where thay can. At least it's got air-conditioning and no bloody mozzies! KLIA is a magnificent airport but thankfully I pre-booked into the Transit Hotel which is right next to the boarding gates and there's no need to go through immigration and customs and all that rubbish. I get a comfortable room for $40 with a bathroom and all mod cons. This is the only way to transit through an airport on these long flights.

I get about 3 hours sleep and my 8:30am wakeup call gives me time to shower and wander leisurely down to Gate 35 for my final leg home. I'm just wearing underjocks and throw open the curtains to be greeted by the nose of a 747 parked about 30 metres away. I hope the view doesn't put the crew off their game!

I pass the final security check and we depart KLIA at 10:05am headed for Sydney. It's an 8 hour flight and we'll pass over Indonesia and then make our Australian landfall in the far northwest, near the Kimberleys. The inflight data screen gives all the information to show exactly where you are and how long to go etc.


Right on cue we pass over the Australian coastline and the rugged north west of Australia unfolds for hour after hour. It seems there is nothing down there but the arid brown dirt hides mineral riches which are the backbone of Australia.


We're heading away from the sun so twilight comes quickly and makes for a final shot of the Boeing 777 wing set against the setting sun. That's home down there!