Australian Trip Diary

I'd have posted this much earlier, as this was written on Friday early
AM Australian time, which was Thursday 1/22 American time.

More is coming.... Much more!

Australian Trip Diary

En route
I have to say that the Aussies I've interacted with so far have been
warm hearted, generous, & civil folk. From the flight attendants on
Virgin Australia who have perhaps the best customer service attitude
I've ever seen, to the young lady who saw me waiting for the restroom
and walked across the plane to let me know that another one was open,
to the bloke sitting to my left who took every bit of food, water, or
whatever was distributed while I was sleeping and put it into the
seatback pocket in front of me, to the French expat who was heading
back home to Melbourne and offered me some suggestions on how to kill
time in SYD airport, this travel experience has so-far brilliantly
exceeded expectations.

As I'm recovering from the last bits of a sinus cold, I didn't know
how I'd fare even getting to Sydney. But the trip has been restful...
far different from what I was expecting. LJ, the Aussie gentleman to
my left with the window seat, was quick to point out the harbor as we
approached for landing. And Carlos, the Mexican exchange student who
was spending a semester abroad in Melbourne, sat in the aisle seat to
my right, giving me a new perspective on America's southern neighbor,
its challenges, its hopes, and its must-visits.

Between bits of sleep and listening to Malcolm Gladwell's Blink and
podcasts from Michael Josephson's Institute of Ethics, I could feel
the very slow trickle of energy back into my batteries. Speaking of
batteries, it's thanks to the USB charger ports in EACH of the economy
seats that I'm typing this to you at all. Richard Branson has it
figured out. I'm making sure my next trip to NYC is on Virgin America,
and I might try to do 1 leg of my Copenhagen trip on Virgin Atlantic.
When I saw that the prices for Virgin Australia's flights were so much
cheaper than others while searching on Yahoo Travel, I was rather
suspicious of the service. I couldn't have been more wrong!

Times like this, as I kick back in a Wi-Fi less terminal and type
these notes out on my iPhone, I realize how blessed I am to have the
chance to experience the goodness of other people around the world.

Time for a bit of drink, some reading of John Maxwell's Winning with
People, and off to board the 9:40 Virgin Blue flight to Adelaide. More
later, folks!

Dr. Mark Cheng, L.Ac., Ph.D., FMS, RKC Team Leader

Sent via mobile phone