The day has finally arrived, and it’s time for me to head out into the “wild blue yonder” (read, leave the house and head to the Airport 😁) My flight isn’t scheduled to leave until 7 pm (GMT), so I had some time in the morning to potter around, finish up some last-minute chores, then shut up shop and “hit the road.” 🤔 Just how many references to starting a trip can one fit into their first paragraph 😂
Point of note: in this post, I’m going to be describing the journey from my home in the UK to Melbourne Australia – the starting point of my Antipodean Adventure Vacation Itinerary. As this journey will take a little over 24 hours, and taking into consideration the time difference, I won’t actually publish this post until the day after tomorrow…though I’m actually starting out today 😳 For those who don’t want their head to hurt, it’s currently Monday 2nd, but I won’t touch down in Oz ’till Wednesday 4th!
First Port of Call: London Heathrow
For folks who live near Heathrow Airport, or for those who live somewhere that has good public transport links to Heathrow, there will likely be a number of transport options available. For someone who lives in the Rural South West, the best option for getting to the airport is typically via car.
Loading my suitcase into the boot of my trusty (Range Rover) Evoque, and with my backpack safely ensconced on the back seat, I headed off for the 117 it would take me to get there. A little over 2 hours behind the wheel. This journey involves me travelling along the A303 – which is a relatively picturesque experience and takes one past at least one famous UK landmark…namely Stonehenge. Heading East, the A303 joins with the M3 – which eventually gets you to Heathrow. Heading West, the A303 joins up with the A30 and takes one down to the likes of Exeter and beyond. The combination of all these roads pretty much traverses the width of the South of England.
A quick sidebar here. In January 2025, I shall be starting rehearsal for the stage play version of Bill Bryson’s “Notes from a Small Island” Whilst travelling past Stonehenge and also whilst writing the previous paragraph, I was reminded of Act 2 of the play, where older Bill – the character I’m playing – revisits a number of haunts in the UK, heading down to Exeter via the likes of Golden Cap, Lyme Regis, and West Bay. All of which are familiar haunts for me, too 😎 By the way, older Bill has a LOT of lines in Act 2! 😳
Airport Parking
If, like me, you end up driving to Heathrow, parking is the next thing you’ll need to tackle. Well, I say it’s the next thing, but you’ll want to book your parking well in advance of your arrival. If I depart from Heathrow, then I normally use Heathrow’s official “Long Stay” parking for personal trips where I’ll be away for some time. It’s not the cheapest option but, from experience, I know what I’m getting and (touch wood) I’ve never had a problem when I’ve parked there.
I pretty much never remember where I’ve parked! 🤦🏻♂️ Especially after a long vacation, so handy hint: use you’re mobile to take a picture of your vehicle with the parking row and bay clearly in view. That way, you won’t need to risk wandering around aimlessly upon your return.
Long-term parking is typically off-site and away from the departure terminal itself. This means that once you’ve unloaded your luggage from the car and made sure that everything’s secure, you be off on a bus ride as an interim leg to your plane.
Terminal of Departure
For my first leg to Dubai, I’ll be flying Emirates and departing from Heathrow’s Terminal 3. Pretty much all airport terminals are some microcosm of humanity in one shape or form, but Terminal 3 typically serves the Asia Pacific region, so it’s a particularly interesting place. My first order of business: Emirates Checkin
Airline check-in staff are typically quite friendly. At least, that’s my experience. Some days before my departure, Emirates contacted me to say that “due to operational reasons”, they needed to upgrade me from Premium Economy to Business Class on the Dubai to Melbourne leg of my journey 🎉 They also asked me if that was OK (like, why wouldn’t it be 🤷🏻♂️). At the check-in, it turned out that the “operational reason” for this was that the plane had changed, and it doesn’t actually have a Premium Economy class!
It also turned out that whilst I had been upgraded to Business Class, I didn’t actually have a seat! An hour or so later, that had been rectified, my suitcase was checked in, and I was off to airport security and then onto departure. If you’re a frequent flyer, then you may well have accrued enough points to get airline/airport lounge access for free. Or you may have joined a scheme like Avios where you can accrue points through a number of different means. Myself, I tend to like mixing those who don’t “do the lounge” and also take advantage of much better options for people-watching 👀
In my previous post, I wrote about the requirements for a Visa and the need to make sure you have the appropriate one (see here for more details). At the Heathrow departure gate, I was asked if I had a Visa for Australia, but nobody checked it! Let’s see what happens in Dubai! 😳
Next Stop: Dubai International
The A380 Airbus is the aircraft of choice for trips from the UK to Dubai. At least for Emirates. Travelling circa Mach 0.5 – some 620 kilometres per hour, or around half the speed of sound – and cruising at around 8,500 feet, this behemoth is a wide-body airliner that Emirates favours for its long-haul service(s).
As I mentioned previously, I’d booked Premium Economy – which, for the circa six and a half hours of travel, offers additional comfort and extra legroom. You also get uprated cabin service, as well as better catering, and where they typically offer you free alcohol, too. Most airlines provide a Premium Economy option, though I have to say that Emirates on the A380 has one of the best I’ve come across so far. Premium Economy isn’t typically that much more than the regular Economy class but is well worth splashing out on for long-haul travel if your budget will allow.
Dubai International Airport itself is massive! The pictures below – taken around 6:30 am – show only a fraction of the layout; limited to the terminal and the departure area through which I’m transiting. Dubai International is currently ranked as the busiest airport in the world (Heathrow coming in a close second), servicing around 5.3 million people per day!
Dubai also seems to be one of those perpetually sunny places ☀️ Least ways it always seems to be sunny whenever I’ve transited through there. Today – Tuesday, December 3rd – seems to be no exception; being located in a desert region, I guess it’s no surprise 🤷🏻♂️
I’ve been to Dubai airport a fair few times over the years, but only ever as a transiting passenger; to date, I’ve never actually been to Dubai as a final destination! Clearly, Dubai is one of those places I need to add to my travel bucket list! 😎
Final Destination: Melbourne Tullamarine
After a little over 13 hours, I finally touched down at Melbourne Tullamarine Airport! 🎉 Today is Wednesday, December 4th 😎 Let me start with a little about travelling in Emirates Business Class – it’s awesome; try it at least once in your lifetime! I could seriously write a whole post about it (and many others out there have). Again, aboard another A380 Airbus, the service and comfort are “next level”, and the food is amazing; washed down with a few glasses of champagne and, quite literally, falling asleep is child’s play!
Tullamarine Airport itself is pretty much like any other – with its duty-free on arrival, obligatory lines for passport control, and baggage reclaim. Amazingly, this was one of those rare times when I actually walked up to the baggage carousel and literally just picked up my suitcase without waiting! Almost never happens!! 😂
Unlike other Airports, however, what it does have is the Australian Border Force who – unlike any other border patrol – also have their own TV show! This show has literally taken the TV world by storm. As it’s me, and as it’s a show I watch from time to time in the UK, naturally, I had to stop one of the border security team members and ask them if there was any filming currently going on 😂 Sadly, pre-production filming had just wrapped for the upcoming next season, but at least I get to look forward to a new set of episodes airing soon when I’m back at home.
A short ride by Uber – my driver is studying Data Science at the university in Melbourne, so you can imagine how our conversation went 😉 – and as I finish writing this article, it’s almost 9:30 am; I’m sitting in the little breakfast restaurant, drinking orange juice and coffee, situated at the Vibe Hotel which will be my home for the next 3 days. I’ll be sharing more about the Vibe – and Melbourne in general – in my next Post.
For now, however, let me just leave you with this thought: if you have an early morning arrival, it’s probably a good idea to arrange an early checking, too; my room won’t be ready ’till around 2 pm 🤦🏻♂️ I guess it just goes to show that it doesn’t matter how much you travel, there’s always something that will take you by surprise 😂 It’s just as well that my travel attire was also Australian Summer appropriate, and having my trusty Backpack (more about that here) means I can just leave my luggage at the hotel until my room is ready! Time, I think, for some exploring; see you all soon 😎
P.s: the Visa thing? Well, actually, nobody checked that in Dubai, and nobody checked it at the border in Australia either 🤔 I guess with the modern world we live in today, it was just automatically linked to my Passport. Had I not held the right document(s), I feel sure I would have undoubtedly been stopped along the way…just maybe not until I’d reached the Australian Border 🤷🏻♂️
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