DAY 1
TOWNSVILLE (Australia) to KUALA LUMPUR (Maylasia)
Wednesday April 6th, 2011
TODAYS MILEAGE – 4762 miles or 7664 kilometres
TRIP MILEAGE – 4762 miles or 7664 kilometres
Greeting and Salutations Culture Vultures,
I was chatting to some good mates of mine, Phil & Jodi Wilkins, about going over to visit them in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The have been over there for the past couple of years, teaching at the Australian International School. It just so happens that April is school holidays over there, so the plan was to jet over, spend a couple of days in KL (as the locals call it), then shoot on up to Vietnam for 10 days of playing "Tommy Tourist".
As with the beginning of any of my new travels, there is always a child-like excitement when I head off to places I have never visited before. I flew in from the mine site where I work, last night, and set about finishing packing for the trip. I was up around my normal time of 5AM and promptly set about removing half of what I packed the previous night, a habit I picked up several years ago.
So, being someone who will never die wondering, thanks to young Sonia, who picks me up in her mobile handbag (the Mitsubishi Triton ute) at 8 bells, I'm off.... a new adventure begins. I present myself at the Townsville Qantas ticket counter and then prepare to spend the next 15 hours and 10 minutes to cover the 4729 miles or 7610 kilometres to Philthy & Jodes place.
The first leg of the trip takes me from Townsville to Brisbane on the tin crow, covers 1112 kilometres (691 miles) and takes a leisurely, 2 hours and 5 minutes.
One of my least favourite past times, waiting at airports, consumed nearly 3 hours of my life I wouldn't get back. The only positives of a layover, is the fact that you are headed somewhere and can largely ignore the caged consumer feeling of over-priced shiny trinkets, alcohol and personal hygiene products.
For the next 7 hours 55 minutes, I was a guest of Qantas "Frozen" Air Freight for the 6155 kilometre (3825 mile) Brisbane to Singapore leg of the journey. I so won the flying lottery by not only getting the exit row seat I asked for, but there was no one sitting next to me – score!!! I settled in with a good book and two blankets to try and ward of the frigid cabin temperature, which brought out the comment from me "are we flying passengers or fucking penguins"????
Is it me, or is Singapore's Changi Airport getting bigger every time I visit it? They've ripped apart Terminal 1 to renovate it, but the last time when I flew through in 2008, I was on my way to Edinburgh (Scotland) and I didn't see anything wrong with it back then.
I arrive at the Malaysian Airlines counter in Terminal 2 (Gate 52) only to find that I didn't have a boarding pass, bad thing for trying to get through security, plus my luggage had not been added to the flight manifest. A couple of phone calls, after they suggested I return to my originating departure point (as if I'm returning to Brisbane???) and I was on the aircraft that resembled a cattle cart, headed to Kuala Lumpur, a short 343 kilometre (213 mile) hop that took 55 minutes.
It was just after midnight that I exited Kuala Lumpur International Airport located at Sepang, which is also the site of the Malaysian Grand Prix.
As you can see by the Flight Map, it wasn't anywhere near the length of my usual overseas trips.......thankfully 
Just to recap, in case you are interested, I've broken down the flight times and distances in getting over there:
∗ Townsville (Queensland, AUS) – Brisbane (Queensland, AUS)
691 miles or 1112 kilometres
• Flight Time: 1 hour 45 minutes plus 2 hour 45 minute layover
∗ Brisbane (Queensland, AUS) – Singapore (SGP)
3825 miles or 6155 kilometres
• Flight Time: 7 hours 55 minutes plus 1 hour 25 minute layover
∗ Singapore (SGP) – Kuala Lumpur (MSY)
213 miles or 343 kilometres
• Flight Time: 1 hour