The 19-Hour Flight

It just sounds like a beating doesn't it?

It wasn't too bad.

Except that I had "Handsy" sitting next to me and "Andre-the-giant" in my lap.

Literally, of all the open seats, why did it seem like I was the ONLY person on the plane with someone sitting RIGHT next to me??

I had plans for that seat next to me... Great plans. I was going to commandeer it for a bed. Genius right?

Instead, I got Handsy, who earned his name by letting his hand drop into my lap 3 times while he was sleeping.

He also talked to himself.... loudly. Was it to casually make a comment to strike up conversation? Perhaps.

But I have a strict "no-talk" policy when it comes to planes. Call me anti-social but think about it... If the conversation is bad, you can't escape. And if you've acknowledge the presence of the person next to you with conversation, you can't really un-acnkowledge them and keep to yourself. Let's face it, with 19-hours ahead of me I had no intention of sticking it out in bad conversation.

Then there was Andre.

Andre was well...

You get it.

Andre pretty much rode to Sydney in my lap.

I do not exaggerate. The flight attendant even made him sit up when they served dinner just so I could eat.

Let's just say, come layover in Brisbane (16+ hours later), I was ready to get off that plane. (Plus, at that point I'm pretty sure that was Handsy's B.O. I was smelling...)

During the layover in Brisbane my coworker and I pretty much got strip-searched due to contraband (nail clippers). I considered asking for a tip after I got the dangerous chemical swab test to pay for my baby nail clippers they confiscated.

The last leg of the trip was pretty uneventful, save for dragging my poor suitcase (now with two broken wheels) through customs.

Now my Aussie adventure begins.