"Here we go, here we go, here we go!"
I'm having fun re-living the 2012 3RRRFM/Intrepid Travel trip to Vietnam. (This is why we take pictures!)
I'd made sure to catch an early Skybus shuttle to the airport in case anything went whimsical with Melbourne's roads but there were no delays and in due course the Skybus arrived at Tullamarine Airport and everyone bundled out bound for their separate adventures.
Tulla is, incidentally, supposedly named after a Wundajeri - Indigenous Australian youth, who reportedly escaped from the first Melbourne gaol in 1838, burning it down in the process!
I hadn't flown domestically in a decade or so, until 2012, and longer still Internationally. Not at all since, either. So I found the whole Customs/Passport thingy quite fascinating, if a bit long winded, especially the snakey wakey lines. No worries, I got to meet at least one of the 3RRR FM posse while waiting...g'day Neralie!
The only minor glitch I had was checking in luggage, where I asked about a small aerosol insect repellent I had in my check-in. I'd been a bit dubious about that beforehand but had gone with the shop assistant's assurance that it would be okay...against my better judgement, actually, but sometimes you don't think things through! It was 'unsafe to fly' anyway, and fair enough, since it was also unsafe FOR flies.
I'd made sure I had plenty of time in hand anyway, and had a good wander around the shops (is it just me or is Duty Free not all that much of a bargain?), had some brekkie, and even did a little emailing, while marvelling at the splendidly groomed and uniformed stewardesses from Emirates, Garuda and Vietnam Airlines.
As a cheerful atheist I have no need of signs, portents, or omens...
Well, maybe 'signs', as in "Boarding Gate This Way".
I remember when Tullamarine Airport was brand new, and it hasn't aged particularly well...certainly it could use some new, more helpful signage! I had trouble finding my way around, intitially but this was probably a good thing, as I got to stretch my legs a lot after the bus ride and before the flight.
Anyhoo, outbound for Vietnam there were several Gacha novelty vending machines in the International Lounge at and one of them, I immediately noticed, had Marvel Cute Edition Swing Danglers Keyrings/Charms. (Not the most auspicious of names anyway!)
They're produced by Tomy, a United Kingdom toy company and made in China. Tomy Stark! (Tee hee!)
Naturally, I had to have a go, and two Aussie Roobles (gold coins) later I had me a seventh Iron Man figure to take with me on the trip.
No luck involved really but it certainly did make me smile. I've photographed it both in the packaging and out. Silly looking little beggar, really! I used, as a backdrop, my green travel clipboard, which I took along for all those accumulated documents that I wanted to have handy, as well as it being quite a nice 'greenscreen' for taking pictures of anything I might want to use photoediting software on later.
Of course, I was already smiling from the whole airport buzz, which I have yet to become jaded with. Big planes dazzling in their shiny, if slightly stained, livery being swarmed by Thunderbirds like service vehicles: flatbed luggage trucks with roller bearing platforms, "Igloo" cargo pods, maintenance scissor lifts. Lots of purposeful bustling all directed to the exciting purpose of lofting aluminium cylinders full of passengers into the sky art regular intervals.
I'm not likely to ever get over it, based on the fact that I still get a thrill of anticipation when the lights go down at the cinema, which I'm MUCH more accustomed to, over a lifetime.
My new little Iron Man toy went into my carry on luggage, along with a couple of my other 'tiny travel mates'. (Naturally, I didn't put all my Shellheads in the same bag, in case of luggage mishaps!)
We emplaned on Vietnam Airlines Flight VN 780 at 10.35 AM. Time to di di mau!
