Baby flies the A380: Trip reports and wrap up

I've now posted trip reports on airliners.net for each of the airborne legs of our trip to Singapore and Malaysia.

Baby Flies The A380 Pt 1: QF SYD-SIN A380 (pics)
Baby Flies The A380 Pt 2: 3K SIN-KUL A320 (pics)
Baby Flies The A380 Pt 3: MH KUL-KUA 734 (pics)
Baby Flies The A380 Pt 4: FireFly KUA-SIN ATR72
Baby Flies The A380 Pt 5: QF SIN-SYD A380 (pics)

I found this trip a little disappointing. Rather than veging out by the pool, the beach and the food courts, there were too many days rushing around on business, exploration or with friends and relatives. I was very tired and wanted to relax and play with Alex, whereas as B, stuck at home for the year, was looking forward to going out and having fun. We certainly had fun, but I didn't return rested.

Thinking about it now I realise that I enjoyed the trip to Japan earlier this year more overall. Not the flights or the trips to the medical services, the recent trip was way better in that regard. Even though the Japanese trip was also very exhausting, I enjoyed the connection between Alex and me. Travelling in the Baby Bjoern meant that he was next to me most of the time, instead of isolated in his stroller. Humming music to him while standing at the end of the train carriages was tiring, but great bonding.

Alex probably got more out of the Malaysian trip than Japan, because he is older and more alert now. I look forward to many more holidays together as a family.

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The little Jedi of Kinosaki Onsen

A long time ago in a land far, far away. That's what it felt like as we walked the streets of Kinosaki Onsen dressed in our yukatas, the clop-clop of wooden getas sounding in the air. In his robes Alex looked the spitting image of a young Jedi padawan, all that was missing was the lightsaber. Incidently, Padawan is a district of Kuching in Malaysia. The town was so far back in time that my 4G router couldn't get a signal, hence the lack of an update. Plus I was feeling a little under the weather. There can be few better places to rest than Kinosaki Onsen. We dragged our luggage on the Midosuji subway to Umeda, then barely caught the Ltd Exp Hamakaze in time. An older Japanese train it lacked a food service or vending machines, leading to big issues. Alex was hungry for breakfast. B and I had eaten slices of Kobe cheesecake for breakfast, but Alex didn't like it. As we raced past the huge Akashi bridge Alex was pleading for food and drink. The kind ...

Springs, castles and the end of the line

I am never happy to stop before the end of the line. It irritates me to know that there is still somewhere unexplored lying ahead. So when I only got as far as Gujo Hachiman on the Nagaragawa Railway last year I knew I needed to return for more. Especially as this private third sector railway is, by its very nature, always at threat of closure due to low patronage. But did Gujo Hachiman deserve another visit? Sure it's a nice enough town, but had we missed out on enough last time to return? Mum's trip provided the excuse. I originally planned the Oito line, which wI'll be partly closed when the Shinkansen line is extended to Kanazawa. However, when I thought of special places in Japan that deserved to be shared Gujo Hachiman was at the top of the list. Before we could go anywhere Mum needed her coffee. There was a Tully's Coffee opposite the hotel entrance, so I parked her there while I booked our seat reservations. Mum got her fast train ride on a ...

The Carlingford Line

We close the year and the decade with a local adventure to mark the closure of a railway line. On the January 5, 2020, the Carlingford Line from Clyde will close to be partially replaced by the Parramatta Light Rail. This is Sydney's quietest line, a single track branch for most of its length from the industrial centre of Clyde to the northwestern suburb of Carlingford. According to Wikipedia, power supply and signalling issues mean that only a single four car train can utilise the line at a time. Newer Sydney trains run in fixed eight car configurations. This will be the first and last time I traverse the Carlingford Line in its current configuration. The weather of the day is certainly appropriate for an ending, the brown smoke haze lending an apocalyptic air to proceedings. I drive to Padstow and catch the T8 line to Central, followed by the T1 towards Parramatta and Penrith. The historic homes of the Inner West give way to industrial complexes, rail storage yards and t...

travelling allrite

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