Day 0: A Stroke Of Luck

[I am now blogging from our apartment at the Gold Coast. I am seated at the outdoor dining table at the balcony of our 20th floor apartment, overlooking the endless blue ocean with white breaking surf, and the tangy seabreeze gently caressing my face. It is very early in the morning but the sun is already up at 5 am. Besides Son No 2 who is also an early riser, the rest are still fast asleep. Son No 2 is doing his "colouring" in front of the 40" plasma TV in the living room. But as I intend to write this travelogue in a chronological order, I will now switch back to Day 0... until I manage to catch up to today, which is Day 2!]

The journey from our home to LCCT, Sepang took less than an hour. We were booked on AirAsiaX for our flight to the Gold Coast but when we reached the airport, we had a surprise. We were told that there had been a delay in the delivery of our carrier, the new A330, to AirAsiaX. Thus, AirAsiaX has chartered a Cathay Pacific plane and crew to take us to the Gold Coast. Due to this turn in events, we now had a full serviced flight to the Gold Coast!

When we booked our tickets, there was a good offer on the AirAsiaX Business Class seats. Even after we added in all the extras that we needed to pay to make our flight more comfortable, such as meals, blanket, pre-booked seats and checked-in luggage, the final amount that we needed to pay for the budget airline was still considerably less than a normal full-serviced flight. Now, on the converted Cathay Pacific Business Class, the deal was even more worth it. The cabin crew spoke Cantonese, HK-style, and provided excellent service. The children were lucky, if only they realized it - they could enjoy a “real” Business Class experience. We had in-flight entertainment, wide berth seats (with all those hidden gadgets that impressed the children - and me - no end), a Goodnight kit, a full supper with free-flow of wine/juice and a simple breakfast the next day.



Son No 3 slept soundly throughout the night, with his mouth opened as usual, and had to be woken up the next morning. The rest of us managed to sleep as best as we could. Economy or business - it was still a challenge for most of us trying to sleep in a semi-reclining position. But overall, it was a good flight.