2024 UK Trip (Part 1 - Kangaroo Route)
I am excited to announce that this website finally has its first, precious, and non-anonymous reader.
For some personal reasons, I had to enter the UK between April and July this year. But I was busy drafting my thesis. Another thing is, it is way too long and expensive to fly between Australia and the UK, not to mention you have to deal with the 10-hour jet lag on a tight schedule.
Route Selection
Time was not a big deal since my boss was not in Australia during that period as well, and I still felt I was energetic enough to endure a 24-hour long-haul trip. But the expense was a problem, lol. It felt silly to take 2,000 Australian dollars out of my pocket for a short Oceania-Atlantic trip just for a plastic card. So I decided to use the benefits from my credit card. If an economy cabin costs that much, why not dream bigger?
Anyway, I somehow managed to redeem my American Express points, which I had been accumulating for 6-7 years in case one day I wanted to save money on flights between the USA and China. Now it was the time.
The departure date was scheduled for late May, and I had two options for redeeming the flights:
Transit in Taipei, Taiwan (operated by China Airlines, not Air China).
Transit in Hanoi, Vietnam (operated by Vietnam Airlines).
To be honest, I preferred China Airlines as the flight attendants would easily understand what I spoke. But I was kind of worried if it would be dangerous to fly over Taiwan after May 20, 2024.
Now that I look back, there were military maneuvers between May 23 and 24 around Taiwan. So, yep, probably I made the correct decision, even though civil aviation was not interfered with.
Alright, the only option available was Vietnam Airlines. Anyway, cảm ơn.
Melbourne Airport
I exchanged all the cash I might need: British Pounds, Vietnamese Dong, and Qatari Riyals, while I was waiting for check-in. Yes, I arrived more than 3 hours earlier than the scheduled departure time.
The check-in was smooth enough, but the lounge offered by Vietnam Airlines in Melbourne Airport Terminal 2 was… how to say… at least I could charge my phone there, and I had a table to work at.
Check-in at Melbourne Airport Terminal 2
Melbourne - Hanoi
The first segment was on an Airbus A350, and I was assigned seat 2A, luckily a window seat.
I don’t know how to describe the flight experience like travel vloggers do, but in a word, the food was good, and it was more spacious, lol.
In my case, however, the legroom of the A350 while lying down was still not enough. I couldn’t fully stretch myself (probably because I have longer toes, lol), so it was a bit painful.
9 hours.
Chào mừng đến Việt Nam!
The Amenity Kit provided by Vietnam Airlines
Food provided in MEL-HAN
Transit in Hanoi
Humid, humid, and humid. That’s how I felt after I left the cabin. Within a minute, I was fully sweating. And it was also awkward that I had to go through another security screening. Come on, I didn’t even enter Vietnam…
The lounge was better than the one in Melbourne, though I only had one hour left. After a quick shower, I hydrated myself by eating tons of watermelon. I probably consumed half of the watermelon available in the lounge, lol.
I should have tried the pho there…
Vietnam Airlines Lounge - Hanoi
Vietnam Airlines Painting
Hanoi - Heathrow
The second flight was on a Boeing 787, still seat 2A.
This time, the legroom was slightly extended, probably by 2 or 3 cm, but long enough for a 6 ft person to fully stretch out.
Food provided in HAN-LHR
Another 12-hour flight, and I was finally at Heathrow.
I had heard that the staff at Heathrow were planning to strike around the date I would arrive. But luckily, it didn’t happen when I was there.
The entry process was smooth, and now here I am — London.
Heathrow Arrival
To be continued…