Back to Canberra

After three months of a LooOoooOooOOnnNngG holiday here I am back in Canberra. It was a heavy hearted good-bye for me to my home in Malacca as it is the place where everything is taken care of for me but here in Canberra, I have to do everything myself (with Amanda of course).


I am certainly going to miss the food in Malacca, the cheap proper sized pool tables back home, my house, my mum's home-cooked food but most of all, my family. It is their company that I will always be thinking of and always be waiting to come home.

Ok ok, cut the mushy and emotional stuff. Back to OZ land and ANU as a student.

Question: How do yo equate the trip back to Canberra?

Answer: Going back to Canberra = 8 hours' flight + 3 hours bus ride.

Care to explain the equation? Sure, why not?

Jetstar Airlines - Cheap flights, low fares all day everyday from Australia's newest cheap fare airlines. People say low-cost airplanes aren't that good, safe, reliable, uncomfortable and lousy but here are some facts that I have discovered to prove them wrong (& right)

Jetstar Airlines

The seats are not small at all and in fact they are pretty spacious with enough leg space for you to stretch (My height is around 176 cm). They are pretty comfortable, equipped with an adjustable seat head rest to prevent nasty neckaches.

Some ad I found at the Sydney International Airport.

Like all low cost airplanes, every seat do not have an individual LCD screen in front of you, but they do have a screen in the middle every 6 seats, so it is pretty okay to watch movies. Cabin crew are friendly (like all other airlines).

Economy Class Seats

Food and drinks, those you need to purchase yourselves. However, plain water is free and that is the main reason why it is "out of stock" within the first 3 hours of the flight (I asked for water and they gave me one of the last bottles - or so they proclaim). Do pack some sandwiches or bread if you can.

The view of sunrise throught the window. Awesome

Amanda and myself were given the seat which is nearer to the toilet. At first thought, it was a good idea but on board it was an unbearable one (literally speaking). The toilet door and the walls were pretty thin and when someone farts, you can have an audible sound of *poooooot*.

The isle of the cabine. Note the LCD screens

But it gets better. Your olfactory will have a major meltdown if you were to smell what I have. There were four instances where certain passengers answered the call of nature onboard in the toilet. Imagine the stench! Other passenger beside me were either covering their nose, fanning their faces with paper or taking out deodorants. (Amanda slept through all of them except one)

The flight was pretty smooth, just some minor turbulence. I hope the minor details above will give you an impression of what to expect and experience when you are sitting a low cost carrier. It is not bad at all except for the foul stench that comes from the toilet.

Oh yeah, for movie addicts you can order a video on demand pack which they will give you a portable video player throughout the whole flight.

8 hours flight = Smelly poop stench + Loud audible fart sounds

Greyhound - Australia's only national coach express. Nothing much I can mention about the bus which is pretty much the same as Malaysia's Transnational or KKKL.

Greyhound Australia and a picture taken whilst leaving the airport

Overall, it was a tiring journey for me. I am one of those people who can never fall asleep on the airplane. Total hours of journey to Canberra ? 8 hours + 3.5 hours bus ride + 2.5 hours of waiting time = 14 hours. Almost a whole day spent on travelling alone.

If you think flying isin't safe, just think that at least you are inside the plane.