Around the World: Entering Asia

January 8, 1992

 

The $4 shuttle exploded into a cloud of steam on the way to the airport.  After a bit of road side maintenance, I finally made it to Sydney International Airport, where I spent several hours queuing in a variety of different lines before finding my seat on the plane.

Before the journey north to Hong Kong begins, we are headed 800 km south and west to Melbourne so everyone can get off the plane and wait in the departure lounge for a couple of hours.

Once the passengers have boarded again in Melbourne and the obligatory safety presentation is out of the way, I plug my headphones into the seat and I am treated to a little Inflight channel comedy.

"Attention passengers, this is your Captain speaking.  We are currently at an altitude of 33,000 feet at a cruising speed of 850 km/hr.  If you look out the windows on the left side of the plane, you will see...  the Pacific Ocean.  

If you look out the windows on the right side of the plane, you will see the Pacific Ocean and a tiny yellow dot.  Inside that yellow dot are four smaller black dots.  Those dots are me and my crew.  We hope you enjoy your flight."

747 on final approach to Kai-tak (Hong Kong International Airport)
Photo by Ywchow

This my first flight on Cathay Pacific and the treatment of the passengers is phenomenal.  The kids on board have all been given a complimentary knapsack with crayons, a watch, a pencil case, deck of cards and a booklet of games and puzzles.  I admit, I'm a little jealous.  The cabin crew are ever so attentive, and this is Economy.  I imagine first class probably has a jacuzzi and masseuse. 

The approach into Hong Kong includes a breathtaking view of the city.  On a hillside, in the distance are lights in the shape of a huge dragon.  It's dark and difficult to make out details of the city, but I can see we are pretty close to tall buildings.  By close, I mean I can see televisions that are on through the buildings' windows.  The airport's only runway, I've learned, is the shortest in the world, and at the end of it, is Victoria Harbour. 

I'll be back to explore Hong Kong in a few weeks.  Tonight, the airport will be my home.  I'm flying out tomorrow for Bangkok, Thailand to meet up with some familiar faces from home.

• ¤ •

Some interesting facts about the approach to Kai-tak Airport

(no longer in operation):

Kaitak-Airport-Plan
Photo by Toblerone

The runway at Hong Kong's Kai-tak International Airport is 3390 m long.  

"Larger aircraft including widebodies (an airliner with two passenger aisles) will usually require at least 8,000 ft (2,400 m) at sea level and somewhat more at higher altitude airports. International widebody flights, which carry substantial amounts of fuel and are therefore heavier, may also have landing requirements of 10,000 ft (3,000 m) or more and takeoff requirements of 13,000 ft (4,000 m)+." (Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Runway)

Kai-tak International Airport moves 29 million passengers and 1.5 million tonnes of freight annually.   

¤

Less than 10 km to the north, the terrain reaches an altitude of 2,000 feet (610 m).  Just across the street from the runway are buildings up to 6 stories tall.  The hills less than 5 km to the northeast, and to the south just beyond Victoria Harbour, top out at 2,100 feet (640 m).  

¤

On a typical approach, the aircraft passes over the densely populated area of Western Kowloon.  This leg of the approach is guided by an IGS (Instrument Guidance System, a modified ILS).

A small hill marked with a red and white checkerboard is used as a visual reference point on the final approach (in addition to the IGS).  Just two nautical miles from touchdown, the pilot needs to make a 47° visual right turn, starting at a height of 660 feet and ending at a height of 140 feet, lining up with the runway just shortly before touchdown. This maneuver is widely known among pilots as the "Hong Kong Turn" or "Checkerboard Turn". (Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kai_Tak_Airport)

Hong Kong Kai-tak International Airport approach.
Photo by Derek Yung

Under ideal circumstances, landing at Kai-tak airport is challenging.  The mountains to the northeast of the airport cause wind to vary greatly in both speed and direction, as do strong crosswinds during typhoon season. Hong Kong is not a place that typically experiences ideal weather conditions.

¤ 

The last flight occurred on July 6, 1998, when Kai-tak was officially closed, and replaced by Chep Lap Kok, located 30km to the west.

Around the World: Sydney

January 7, 1992

I don't know if I'm ready for Australia and it's legendary snakes and spiders after experiencing Fiji's indestructible "little black animals", but here I am, in Sydney getting the tourist overview on how to avoid unwanted nibbling.  Basically, the rule is look before you... well, do anything, really.

Sydney is quite a beautiful city.  I get the sense, as I wander around the city that every constructed building, every tree lining the streets, every little nuance was built with the utmost care and attention to the finest of details.

A trip to the Art Gallery was just the treat I needed.  The displays in the main gallery were somewhat typical of standard art gallery art.  Beautifully done, but nothing that really stood out to me, although some of the paintings dated back to the 1400's.  What really settled my soul were the high school art presentations on display in the basement.  There was an interesting piece in comic strip style.  One display was a piece on a flat board with little framed pictures of 3D scenes; one frame had a young girl sitting on a bed, another frame had an unfinished painting sitting amongst brushes, paints and newspaper.  The amount of detail in this work was intense.  Another display was a painting of a road that led to a city; the road, called Eternity Street, led straight to a brightly back-lit cathedral on a bridge, however the road continued into a dark tunnel underneath.

My favourite piece among this display was a painting of a spiral staircase.  Each stair was so slightly a different shade from the previous, to focus in on two stairs side by side, the difference in colour was barely perceptible, but looking at the painting as a whole, the staircase spanned the whole of the colour spectrum.

Photo courtesy of Australian National Botanical Gardens

A beautiful day was all the inspiration I needed for a picnic, and the Royal Botanical Gardens was the perfect location to enjoy one.  Here, plants from all over the world are available for viewing, flowers and ferns native to distant rain forests to cactus' of the desserts.  The fragrance was as exquisite as the view, which included the Opera House.

Sydney Opera House

The tour of Sydney took me to Darling Harbour and a spiral wading pool, perfect for soaking my feet after a day of exploring.

Darling Harbour wading pool

• ¤ •

The appearance of things change according to the emotions, and thus we see magic and beauty in them, while the magic and beauty are really in ourselves.

~Kahlil Gibran

Around the World: Nadi

January 5, 1992

Back in Nadi after a fairly uneventful bus ride from Lautoka.  I found a place to stay and gave it a thorough inspection for uninvited six legged flying guests. There are screens on the windows, and I know I'm in Fiji because there is no light in the bathroom.

It is unbelievably hot.  I can't even begin to describe the intensity of the heat.  At the hotel bar, the two ladies tending the cafe joined me for lunch while I tried to find a beverage that would keep me hydrated long enough to actually drink it.  They mentioned a beach, just a short walk from the hotel, down the road and around the corner.  A dip in the ocean.  Sounds like heaven.

Towel and water in hand, I start making the short walk to the beach.  The road I've been instructed to follow bends to the left just up in the distance.  When I arrive at the bend, the road continues, bending to the right.  At that point, the road continues and bends and continues and bends.  I have consumed more than half of the water I brought with me, which is now the temperature of tea.  I'm on an island so there is obviously a beach somewhere, but not here, where it would be most useful to me now.

Disappointed and dehydrated, I walk back to the hotel and straight into my room.  Flip flops, bathing suit and beach jumper still on, I continue straight into the shower and stand under the spray of cold water until I am shivering.  Perhaps a quiet day preparing for the flight to Sydney tomorrow, close to an ample supply of cold water is for the best.

The beds in the dorm are odd.  The four bunk beds are stacked three high, connected to metal poles that are secured floor to ceiling.  There's no conceivable way to get up to the top bunk, no ladder, no steps, no trampoline.  I only hope there's also no giant, bionic bugs.

Yes, these things are actually this big.
Photo by Anastayshere

I'm woken up by a storm pummeling the metal roof.  The rain sounds hard enough to puncture through the structure, if not the island itself.  The ferocious thunder rips through the air, shredding through my body, making me feel like a plucked guitar string.  The lightning is so intense, it transforms the blackness of a small island in the vastness of the Pacific into daylight for several seconds.  In those moments where the room is temporarily lit, I can see the metal pole supports of the beds are all covered with cockroaches.  

• ¤ •

"There are times when fear is good.
It must keep its watchful place at the heart's controls."
~Aeschylus