My Morning Kit

So I flew to Sydney on Sunday night for a business trip. I usually take the Singapore Airlines - more comfortable and better menus. However, as Qantas offers free stopovers for those flying business class to some Australian states, I booked my ticket with them as I was planning to take leave in Perth and Albany with some friends who are staying there.

As all business class seats on Qantas flights were full, our company travel agency put me on British Airways. I didn't quite know what to expect but as a friend pointed out - it's business class after all, how bad can it get? The check in was more exclusive - no queue, private seating area, and your luggage was personally carried and checked in for you while you are seated at the counter, waiting to collect your boarding pass.

I asked for a window seat and was told that it would be facing the opposite direction. I was more prone to claustrophobia (and having a window always helps!) than backward travel sickness, so I opted for the window seat. It was interesting that the seats are positioned in opposite directions with a centre partition. But I soon realised that the seats can be adjusted to horizontal position, which was good and made sleep a lot easier and more comfortable. The one thing that hit me though, was that the entire plane was full of Australian and Brits. I certainly felt like a fish out of water, and that I stood out like an oversized sore thumb. People were striking up conversations with neighbours and aircraft crew, talking about the weather, good bargains, families at home, etc. Believe it or not, I saw a couple of boys who looked like they were still in college, and I guess they must be rich kids in some ivy league school flying home.

The entertainment on the plane was faulty which was ok, as I had not been able to sleep the night before due to accidentally drinking coffee after 12pm which doesn't work well with my system. I was planning to be dead to the world on the whole flight. Once I reached my seat and had the controls figured out (not that hard to), I settled myself into a comfortable position and was happily closing my eyes when the gayish steward passed me a grey cosmetic looking pouch. Curious, I took it from him, and lo and behold it was my morning kit. Not surprising considering that it was an overnight, sleeper 777 plane. What was a little astonishing to me was that the toothpaste, moisture lock, pulse balm, lip balm, etc were all Molton Brown products. I guess they must be way cheaper in UK than they cost in Singapore. Having not had the time to get sunblock or lip balm before flying off, I said a little prayer of thanksgiving to God for meeting all my needs.

After a dinner of roasted mediterranean vegetables, steak and potatoes and the pass up on dessert and expensive wine, I lowered my seat down out of sight from the elderly gentleman facing me in the next row who also kept curiously peering at me from above his book, threw the comforter/blanket over myself and blissfully switched the world off.