Today would be the final flight of section 2, to my parking place with the Thai Flying Club at Bang Phra airport. The hotel offered a “free shuttle” to the airport which turned out to be a pick-up truck with a rug in the bed for one to sit on. Happily, it wasn’t too far to the airport; and a British family who were also on the “shuttle” decided to all sit together in the back and insisted I take…
I slept in late the next morning (something of a theme on most of the days off from flying!) After rising, I went for a short explore around the local area, including a slightly touristy temple, and the sea front near the hotel (where, Captain Anil had told me, the very first aircraft to land in Sri Lanka had set down). At one end of the large sandy promenade where this airplane had landed sits the Galle Face hotel, an…
It had been three long days. Even though the flight from Bahrain to the UAE had been short, when you add all the time spent in airports at each end, we’d had precious little time for relaxation. We’d therefore be taking a day off in Nagpur, to rest and prepare for the final couple of flights of this part of the journey. That morning we both slept in late, missing breakfast entirely, and met up for an early lunch. The…
The day’s flight was, compared to our previous two long-haul adventures, short and easy. A quick run down the gulf to the United Arab Emirates. I had selected the Emirate of Al Ain as it offered the closest airport to the Indian mainland, which would be our subsequent destination. We took a taxi back to the airport and after a short wait the handling agent met us and led us through security. After the experience in Egypt we made sure…
We had booked two nights in Hurghada, as the stop was sandwiched in between two very long flights. Little did we know that route changes down the line would conspire to make these “long” flights look like warm-up acts! We spent the day doing precisely nothing, other than catching up on some flight planning, and lounging on the beach reading. As I lay on my lounger, a man would occasionally lead a camel up and down the beach; one couldn’t…
Dad left early, and I slept on, eventually rising at about 0845 and taking care of a little planning. Gavin and his father were soon up and about, and we set out for a leisurely day of tourist activity. Our first stop was the ruins of Ephesus, initially an ancient Greek city built in the 10th century BC. The nearby Temple of Artemis was one of the seven wonders of the world. The city declined in importance as the river…
Alex wasn’t available in the morning, so after a light breakfast we took an Uber to the airport and spent a while asking around before we managed to find someone from the handling agent to guide us back to the aircraft. Fees were extremely reasonable for a 2 night stay, at less than 60 Euros total. The Bombardier private jet parked next to us taxied out at about the same time; clearly it was rush hour! We were flying this…
Storms were forecast over the Carpathian Mountains in central Romania and Alex, our host in Iasi, had recently sent me some photographs of a German Cessna 182 which had been destroyed by an encounter with a storm and violent hail. With this at the front of my mind, I decided we’d make a relatively early start and fly during the morning, hopefully beating any storms! A short taxi ride to the airport, and the very efficient handling agents had us…
We met Christian at the hotel the next morning, and started the day with breakfast in the Cafe Landtmann. This is something of a Viennese institution; it was founded in 1873 and has been the preferred coffeehouse of many renowned Austrians including Sigmund Freud. We ate next to a large, relaxed dog that was asleep on the floor, clearly enjoying the relaxed coffeehouse atmosphere. Breakfast complete, we continued our tour of the city, ably guided by Christian who had very…
It was a long time since I’d visited Prague, so it was good fun to re-explore the familiar tourist attractions around the Old Town, and also check out some new locations. After a relaxed brunch on an outside terrace at the Cafe Louvre we crossed the Vltava river and slowly ascended the many steps to the Prague Castle complex, built on a hill overlooking the city. It was packed with tour groups, all following guides who displayed various emblems on…