Let’s pick up from where we left off shall we? The last couple of days has involved over 42 hours of flights/stopovers/flights, Toowoomba-Sydney-Bangkok-Dubai-Budapest. Hope the Deep Vain Thrombosis was worth it?

The Amex Lounge in Sydney proved a good timewaster. Unlimited food and beverages for 7 hours. That sounds like the greatest thing ever but the consequences of eating and drinking non-stop involve wedging yourself into a aircraft toilet many times in the subsequent days, something I want to limit as much as possible, so discretion trumped gluttony.

The offerings included a Mexican stand but all it did was just sit there and get a tan from the heatlamp, as if they were back in their homeland having a siesta. A Mexican stand-off if you will.

I did help myself to some of the other options including quiche and a chicken and lemon tagine (paired below with a salad sandwich and fighting for screenroom with a bowl of tomato soup). The breadroll was placed atop to make the whole thing arty and portray some artisan message, but the soup most likely used to call a tin can home. The roll looks suspiciously like the kind you get at the supermarket bakery if you were wanting to impress someone at a dinner party but you couldn’t be bothered making the effort. The tagine was tasty, the sandwich was the result of trying to grab something the same time a young lady reached for the the sparkling water next to me. Was I thinking she would be attracted to a man with healthy eating options on his plate rather than “a healthy appetite?” Yes. Was she? No.

Being there for near 7 hours I was hoping for sime rotation of the menu. Sadly that cliche of a change being as good as a holiday, apparently wasn’t discussed when mise en place  was happening in the kitchen. They just ladelled up the same. If was enough to make a man drink, so that’s exactly when the drinking started.

Getting inspiration from the book I began on a quest of vodka but unlike the title, eight crates were never on the cards.

And finishing up with the desserts. The rocky road was great. A nice touch also was the edible faux American Express card on top of the custards with rasberry topping.

Nothing like some gratuitous product placement. I think there are laws against advertising this kind of thing to the youngsters, but I am willing to turn a blind eye, only because chocolate was involved.

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Flying on the A380 airbus actually makes the experience of sitting in a confined area for 17 straight hours somewhat bearable. Unfortunately the promised exit row seats didn’t eventuate but an aisle seat with surprising legroom comes a close second. It was my first time on an Emirates flight and I was impressed. They have a heap of entertainment options. There was a free live sport option which saw me watching the Melbourne Storm v Wests Tigers. Who would have thought you could watch the NRL at 40,000 feet above the Middle East? They even have a couple of cameras attached to the plane but at night they are useless, could be a colonoscopy for all I know.

Inflight meals were noodles or a name-your-meat and rice option. The top left of the above picture is a beef salad and next to that is a chocolate cake. They also served up the unused breadrolls from the lounge? All eaten with metal cutlery, not the plastic rubbish you get on other flights.

After watching a few movies during the flight – 3 Billboards (sensational), Get Out (very good) and The Shape of Water (unfinished, rating TBA) I decided to unleash my inner Guillermo del Toro and make my directorial debut. I call it “Thailanding”, of our landing in Bangkok.

That creaking noise is the plane. Hearing that now it sounds as if I was lucky to make it. Did not get a picture from Dubai. I was hoping I may have seen the engineering marvels rising out of the sand but it is hard to get a picture when the wing is obstructing the view. Tomorrow, Hungary.