I did get lucky on the Melbourne-Singapore leg and had an empty seat beside me. Also, either the man in front of me was very courteous and I was crushing the knee caps of the man behind, or, more likely the seats don't recline very much. The seat pitch was decent too, so all in all I didn't end up feeling too crowded. It was freezing cold though. I spent most of the time huddled in my blanket and seriously thought about using two. Got about 3 hours sleep.
Dutifully had my shower at Singapore. Wondered why I had packed shampoo in my carry-on and not deodorant. Learnt not to overfill my little 100ml containers in my freedom baggie. They leak.
There was "free" wireless internet at Changi but didn't use it. They wanted to reserve the right to send me promotional guff and also wanted to know my passport number and full Australian address. Could well have been Singapore government regulations but decided I didn't want to check my e-mail that badly.
Didn't get so lucky on the Singapore-London leg. Don't think there is a single empty seat. At least not in cattle class. Seat pitch not so good and I really was crushing the knee caps of the guy behind so not so comfortable this time. Also freezing cold. Why do they do that? Didn't get much sleep at all this leg.
Watched Quantum of Solace, Transporter 3, 2 Burn Notice episodes and 1 Shark episode. Also, dozed through an Agatha Christie talking book. Listened to Chapter 2 twice as I kept falling asleep. Also dozed through most of Chapter 4. Probably snored too. Fortunately, it was one I'd seen on TV so I could follow the plot. Have put the headphones away now and hauled this out. My ears couldn't take it any more, plus I need to have something to watch on the way home.
Longing to just get to my hotel and collapse into bed but have 2 1/2 hours flight time more to go. Also, must make sure I go for a short walk and an evening meal of some sort. Otherwise I'll end up the way I did in Spain. Waking at the crack of dawn when nothing was open and dying by 8pm. Must adjust better than that.
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Got into London on time, no endless circling in one of those holding stacks we never got to work. Took about an hour all up to get through Customs and Immigration and collect my bags. No dramas except that the woman on the Immigration counter seemed a bit concerned I was travelling on my own and didn't have any friends or family here. I'm surprised at the number of people who can't imagine being on their own.
Got into London on the Heathrow Connect and then the Tube. Finally made it to the hotel about 6pm. Not too bad. There was a woman on the Tube holding a tissue to her face. Why she thought that would help protect her against viruses I can't imagine. I was tempted to sneeze on her just to tease.
Got to Euston Square which looked just it did on Google maps. Marched off down the street only to discover I was heading east not south. Marched back to the tube station only to discover I couldn't go south because the intersection there is definitely not pedestrian friendly. Marched back down into the station and through lots of tunnels and finally took the correct exit.
I had to walk past several very old buildings that are part of the University of London to reach my hotel. They were lovely. Unfortunately, the clusters of students littering the street were not so lovely. However, when it finally became clear to them that there was a cranky, jet-lagged woman wheeling a suitcase bearing down on them they ultimately leapt out of the way.
My room is #7, not #3 (the converted broom closet) I'd been promised. I've been upgraded to what presumably sells as a twin. It is L-shaped with the entry on the short bit. The entry way is perhaps 2m square and the "long" bit is about 2mx4m. The single beds are also placed in an L-shape. You'd need to get on well with your twin but it is a good size for a cheap single. One wall has an old fireplace with a marble mantlepiece so it was obviously part of a pleasant room once. The original walls have picture rails, chair rails and a frieze (dado?) just below the picture rail. They put the frieze and the chair rails on the new wall too which is a nice touch.
By contrast to some places I've stayed in the bathroom is positively massive. Standard sized fittings with a (bit) of room to move about. Double-glazing means street noise is not much worse than at home but I can hear my neighbouring guest sneeze, snoore, cough and flush the loo.
After unpacking and sending a few e-mails I staggered off out around 7:30pm. Bitterly cold wind but otherwise not too cold even when not hauling luggage around. Walked down towards the British Museum and then across to Tottenham Court Road. Not as many restaurants/cafes as I was hoping. Ended up at Sagar - a vegetarian Southern Indian place so you can see how tired/desparate I was. I mean - vegetarian! Had a Mysore Masala Dosa and a Kingfisher beer for a total of 10 pounds including tip. They warned me it was hot but it was just a little spicy. Craig would have eaten it for dessert. I think I dipped bread into dishes I should have poured over the dosa and used fingers when I should have used cutlery and vice versa so a slightly awkward meal. Also *very* tired so ate quickly.
When I checked in there were two American tourists asking the receptionist for advice on Indian restaurants in the vicinty. The receptionist (French I think and rather cute if I was into cradle snatching) suggested Tottenham Court Road. They said they looked there and found nothing. Don't know what they were using for eyes. I found two places in my short stagger about the hotel. Both southern indian which is a nice change from all the Tandoori places in Australia.
Got back, did some laundry and then to bed by 9:20pm and asleep by 9:21pm.
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