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In the summer of 2008 I joined this forum to ask a few questions about an upcoming flight to Perth, Australia via Singapore and promised a trip report which never came. 
Now, over two years later, I have rediscovered the forum and my holiday snaps with the intent of providing you all with the trip report I had planned to assemble all those years ago. Ok, so it was only two years ago but it certainly seems longer than that.
Since it's been so long I will apologise in advance for the lack of detail.
So here we go...
I left my home town of Birmingham at about 5am, October 7th 2008, boarded the early train down to London, endured the morning rush-hour bustle of the London Underground to Heathrow and arrived outside the departure hall of Terminal 3 on a particularly dull and drizzly morning knowing that I would eventually arrive in a country where Spring was in full swing...
After checking in my bag at a deserted SQ desk (I must have arrived pretty early) my mother (who had accompanied me down to London to wave me goodbye) and I made our way upstairs to grab some coffee. After realising that Costa Coffee's "breakfast menu" would not satisfy our desperately empty stomachs we found the Three Bells cafe and chose to order a full English breakfast. Why not? I was only going to be in this country for another hour and a half.
After a long tearful goodbye - this was the first time my poor mother and I had been apart for such an extended time - I set off through security and towards the gate (can't remember which - it's been over two years, ok?).
On my way to the gate, all that was running through my mind was the excitement of boarding the brand new A380 that was waiting for me at the end of this long system of walkways. Will it be as big as it looks in photographs?
Well, initially, no it wasn't:
I have to be completely honest. I had followed the progress of this aircraft's development since its conception and I really wasn't impressed with the size at first. That was until I noticed pre-existing aircraft models taxiing behind it. The comparison was stunning - even when a Thai 747 wandered along. I thought to myself: My God, this thing is huge! The tiny little van below eventually caught my eye...
When boarding commenced, a full hour later than scheduled, I suddenly got those "butterflies in the stomach" feeling. Although I had family waiting for me in Australia, this was the first time I'd ever flown alone - and what a mighty big first trip alone!
I made my way through the jetway, camera in hand, and approached the door to find three very welcoming female cabin crew (and aren't they just lovely?) accompanied by the friendly, albeit very camp, head steward.
After this initial, although very rushed, photograph, they got together and posed for another...
It was extremely comforting to know that the people who would be looking after me during this long flight were willing to take a few seconds out to fulfil my photographic needs when there were literally hundreds of people they had to welcome on-board. I found that this totally eased me into a relaxed and worry-free approach to the whole "travelling alone" experience.
Now, over two years later, I have rediscovered the forum and my holiday snaps with the intent of providing you all with the trip report I had planned to assemble all those years ago. Ok, so it was only two years ago but it certainly seems longer than that.
Since it's been so long I will apologise in advance for the lack of detail.
So here we go...
I left my home town of Birmingham at about 5am, October 7th 2008, boarded the early train down to London, endured the morning rush-hour bustle of the London Underground to Heathrow and arrived outside the departure hall of Terminal 3 on a particularly dull and drizzly morning knowing that I would eventually arrive in a country where Spring was in full swing...
After checking in my bag at a deserted SQ desk (I must have arrived pretty early) my mother (who had accompanied me down to London to wave me goodbye) and I made our way upstairs to grab some coffee. After realising that Costa Coffee's "breakfast menu" would not satisfy our desperately empty stomachs we found the Three Bells cafe and chose to order a full English breakfast. Why not? I was only going to be in this country for another hour and a half.
After a long tearful goodbye - this was the first time my poor mother and I had been apart for such an extended time - I set off through security and towards the gate (can't remember which - it's been over two years, ok?).
On my way to the gate, all that was running through my mind was the excitement of boarding the brand new A380 that was waiting for me at the end of this long system of walkways. Will it be as big as it looks in photographs?
Well, initially, no it wasn't:
I have to be completely honest. I had followed the progress of this aircraft's development since its conception and I really wasn't impressed with the size at first. That was until I noticed pre-existing aircraft models taxiing behind it. The comparison was stunning - even when a Thai 747 wandered along. I thought to myself: My God, this thing is huge! The tiny little van below eventually caught my eye...
When boarding commenced, a full hour later than scheduled, I suddenly got those "butterflies in the stomach" feeling. Although I had family waiting for me in Australia, this was the first time I'd ever flown alone - and what a mighty big first trip alone!
I made my way through the jetway, camera in hand, and approached the door to find three very welcoming female cabin crew (and aren't they just lovely?) accompanied by the friendly, albeit very camp, head steward.
After this initial, although very rushed, photograph, they got together and posed for another...
It was extremely comforting to know that the people who would be looking after me during this long flight were willing to take a few seconds out to fulfil my photographic needs when there were literally hundreds of people they had to welcome on-board. I found that this totally eased me into a relaxed and worry-free approach to the whole "travelling alone" experience.
I'm only 18 yrs of age and I have never flown internationally all by myself yet. I've only flown "solo" domestically GFK-MSP-DCA roundtrip. My first solo international trip shall be taking place this coming March: GFK-MSP-AMS-CAI roundtrip, but if the civil unrest in Egypt does not settle down soon, I might be forced to cancel my trip!
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