Wow. Today was an interesting day to say the least.
We got up early because I needed to go to Westpac (a bank over here) and withdraw some money for Japan (Westpac is partnered with Barclays so I can withdraw from ATMs without being charged internationally, unfortunately Barclays are not partnered with any banks in Japan.)
Joe stayed at the hostel and made use of all the food we had left over (as customs are extremely strict, no food at ALL to pass through customs). He made some fruit salad, and an omelette to eat before our flight.
The withdrawing of the money was fine, but the currency exchange wasn't.
For whatever reason the Dollar had gotten even STRONGER overnight and now the rates weren't as good!
I walked around looking for rates, found some good ones (82.83, quite decent) but they charged a $10 flat rate! Travelex made me laugh... 75.34 (terrible!) AND they charged 3%, which, when converting about $600 is pretty hilarious.
Eventually it was Westpac that came to my rescue (again). 82.35, not bad, and they said because I was their customer I would not be charged commission.
After that malarky was sorted, we headed to the airport.
It was all going so well. We walked up to the empty check-in desks, wondering why everyone had checked in already. We put our bags on the floor and started to get our passports out when we were told: 'Hi! Don't get too comfortable because your flight is probably cancelled'.
WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT
Obviously we were quite irritated because we're only spending 5 days in Tokyo, and whenever a plane is cancelled, it generally takes AGES to make new arrangements and fly out, but we were actually VERY pleasantly surprised.
They were completely honest with us, telling us that the captain had fallen sick last minute (and not just said 'due to a technical difficulty') and told us that while they weren't sure, they were 99% certain the flight would be cancelled.
Would you get that honesty at an English airport? Of course not!
Then it got even better! Within 15 minutes we were transferred on to a new flight, and upgraded. We were originally flying with JetStar (owned by Qantas, but JetStar would be the easyJet of Australia). We were told we would be flying on the afternoon flight with Qantas, back to Sydney! Sydney! Where we started! Then when we arrive at Sydney we'll be flying Qantas again to Tokyo.
Then, they gave us all each a letter for insurance cover, $100 worth of credit compensation to spend on a future JetStar flight, and a meal voucher worth $8. A meal voucher! In England you would have to FIGHT to get that, but over here they just gave them out, no questions asked!
And we were only delayed a few more hours, so I wouldn't have even thought it was necessary!
We had eaten some fruit already, but the box was still near enough full. We thought we'd take advantage of the meal voucher, and bought ourselves a nice big meal.
After eating more fruit, we boarded the flight to Sydney which took just over 2 hours.
I had forgotten that Qantas flights provide meals. And snacks. So along came the dinner trolley where they served bread, teriyaki beef with rice and vegetables, and a chocolate mousse for dessert. Oh.
Despite not really being hungry, I forced myself to eat it.
We arrived in Sydney and much like Cairns, there was no waiting around. We were directed straight to a bus that would take us to the International Terminal. I felt a bit nostalgic, being back in Sydney. I had missed this wonderful city.
Then we had just 20 minutes before we boarded. Again, despite not being hungry, this was the last chance we had to eat the remains of our food before throwing it all in the bin. So, we ate the large omelette and started nomming away at the fruits.
The fruits were really good, so sweet and juicy! We still had to throw some away because we didn't have time, but we got through quite a lot. But that was it, I really couldn't eat ANY more.
We boarded the Sydney to Tokyo flight with Qantas. About an hour after take-off, the dinner trolley came round. Oh. It was at this point I knew how the Vicar of Dibley felt in that Christmas episode where she went to all the Christmas dinners.
I couldn't do it. I tried and I tried, but only managed to eat half. I thought I was going to explode.
NO MORE FOOD.
As it was a night time flight, I went to sleep. It was quite comfortable, I managed to get a decent 8 hours sleep. But when I woke up, I thought I was having a nightmare.
As I opened my eyes and looked down the aisle, what do I see wheeling it's way down towards me? The breakfast trolley. NOOOOOOOOOOO.
Scrambled eggs, sausage and bacon. I just couldn't do it, even the smell made me feel like I wanted to die. I didn't so much as TOUCH anything on that plate.
I have to say it's been an eventful 24 hours but we have now left the beautiful place that is Australia and arrived in Tokyo, Narita.
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