afterDawn

Cya!

It's not often that you can appreciate a turning point in your life as it unfolds before you. Often these things take a long period of reflection and pondering to be recognised and valued. I however, was fully aware that, sitting in seat 70K of a Qantas 747 bound for Hong Kong, my life was about to change forever.

Let's back up a little bit. In December 2011, I completed my 18th consecutive year of education when the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Melbourne handed me two pieces of awkwardly sized paper and said 'Good on ya, mate.' As her surprisingly husky voice subsided I was frozen by a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach when I realised that everything I had ever known was about to change. Primary school lead to secondary school, which in turn lead to university which was followed by .... what? I had no idea. Perhaps I should have majored in What To Do After University instead of Enterprise Change Management.

I had worked at a consulting firm for two summers and had somehow scored a job with them commencing in 2013. 2012, therefore, was my chance to see the world - beginning with a three-month stint teaching English in Cambodia. I eagerly planned the remainder of the year and spent countless hours dreaming about what was in store. As my departure date neared, the debilitating grip of hesitation tightened around my perceptions of the adventure. Slowly, the hesitation became more intense.

Which brings us to Melbourne Airport. At midnight. Final call for Qantas flight 29 bound for Hong Kong and London. I am wracked with worry and fear about whether leaving the only normality I have ever known will end up ruining my life. What if this is the biggest mistake in history? I ask myself (this was before I gave it some thought and realised that renewing Two and a Half Men for a second season was, in fact, the biggest mistake in history). I wonder how much I will miss the people I am leaving behind and if things with them will ever be the same again. Will the inevitable distance between us be worth the experience? What if I just turn around and live the same life I've always lived happily ever after? Wouldn't that be easier?

My foot crosses the aircraft threshold. I smile thinly at the flight attendant who greets me by name as the butterflies in my stomach multiply. No turning back now. My hand begins to shake and I clutch my boarding pass tighter. I sink into seat 70K and place my bag in the generous gap between my seat and the aircraft fuselage. I put on my headphones and hit shuffle on my iPhone. One of my favourite songs begins to plan and, for the first time, the lyrics strike a chord with me. I begin to smile. By the end of the first verse, my state of mind had changed completely. The song went something like this:


(The song is 'You Got To Go' by Above and Beyond and you can listen to it on YouTube here.)

For as long as I can remember, all I have ever wanted to do was see the world. And this song wrenched my perspective from what I was leaving behind to what I was going to. An adventure. A journey.

The seat next to me was empty. Roast chicken was on the menu. Juno was playing on the in flight entertainment system. I was ready for the next chapter of my life.

afterDawn

Trip Report Index

1. The Korean Odyssey - MEL-ICN with QF & KE + side trip to CJU with Jeju Air.
2. Journey to the Pearl of the Orient - MEL-HKG with QF & CX + side trip to Macau.
3. A Tale of Two Jetstars - MEL-BKK Y, BKK-MEL J.
4. All The Rivers Run - Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia & India with QF, AK, VN, MH, IC & 9W.
5. The Great White North: Alaska, The Rockies & NYC with UA, DL, FL and Holland America Line.
6. Jai Ho! To India's Far North with SQ, 9W & IT.
7. To Paradise and Back. MNL-MPH with 2P and DG with pics.
8. Crossing the Roof of the World; PKR-KTM with Guna Airlines (+pics)
9. Provincial Outpost to Global Capital; Jetstar DRW-SIN w/ Ambassador Transit Hotel Experience
10. The Best of South Asia; SIN-CMB-BOM-KTM with Sri Lankan Airlines and Jet Airways
11. From the Backwaters to the Big Smoke: Tiruvananthapuram to Mumbai with Jet Airways
12. Follow the Money; Hong Kong - Phnom Penh with Dragon Air

afterDawn

You might have noticed that this trip report only mentions the Hong Kong - Phnom Penh sector. This is because the Melbourne - Hong Kong sector was thoroughly uneventful. The most exciting occurrence was when my orange juice container exploded all over my breakfast dish. This wasn't a problem because, being Qantas food, I didn't want to eat it anyway. I noticed that the cabin crew were slightly less gruff than usual, but perhaps I was just on the high I mentioned earlier.

My transit in Hong Kong was quite interesting. And delicious. You can read about it on my blog here.

Before I knew it, I was back on the Airport Express train to HKG.

afterDawn

Dragon Air flight KA 206
STD 1600 STA 1735
ATD 1625 ATA 1745
Seat 47A
Aircraft Airbus 330-300

The title of this trip report (and why I find it to be so damn clever) needs some explanation (thereby inherently making it less clever). First, while waiting to board the flight I initially thought I was at the wrong gate. Ethnic Chinese businessmen were the only visible people in the gate lounge, besides myself, of course. Throughout the flight the crew spoke almost exclusively in Chinese and were visibly stumped when they had to switch to English to communicate with me. Second, having lived in Phnom Penh for two months now, the influence that China exerts in this region is fascinating. From the funding of development projects throughout the country to a one-sided relationship with Cambodia's ruling elite, China's power is extremely visible. This extends to the size and grandeur of President Hu Jintao's motorcade during the recent ASEAN summit in Phnom Penh. You can read my blog post about it here. Lastly, many successful businesses and companies here are owned by either ethnic Chinese or Chinese-Khmer. Their presence in the business sphere is extremely strong.

In any case, the boarding gate was an oxymoronic orderly mass of humanity until almost the flight's STD. I waited as long as possible before joining the queue. It wasn't until days later that I realised I was standing just ahead of some of my current colleagues who are now among my best friends.


The A330's luggage bins are tiny and my carry on was ... shall we say, a little bit above the recommended guidelines. I shoved it against the aircraft wall, compounding the somewhat tight legroom.


The cabin crew worked hard to settle everyone. Meanwhile, the Australian captain announced that we were waiting on connecting baggage, but that we would make up the time en route. I stared out the window and wondered why the hell Hong Kong was so cold. And why I was wearing shorts.

Pushback came suddenly and lead to an interesting taxi around HKG.


Take off was short and sharp and was for some reason a cue for my seatmate to begin aggressively fighting me for the center armrest. The meal service came surprisingly late - over an hour and a half into a 2.5 hour flight, with no drink service beforehand. There were two Chinese options and pasta with beef. With long periods of rice consumption ahead I opted for the pasta which was suitably delicious.


The IFE content was somewhat meagre but I passed the time watching old episodes of How I Met Your Mother and gazing out the window at a region I had enjoyed visiting two years previously.

The outskirts of Phnom Penh - my home for the next three months - soon came into view. We touched down smoothly and taxiied to the quaint terminal. As I disembarked the heat hit me like a blast furnace and was a sign of some of the rewarding challenges to come.

As the visa officer returned my passport to me he said with a broad smile,'Welcome to Cambodia, sir!'.

Welcome indeed. You've got to go.

B-HXG

I like Dragonair and I do think they worth the award of best regional airlines in the world^