Expensive Mistakes

Adventure!  We (the GD and self) and in the Hong Kong airport on a short layover.  In a few minutes we'll be boarding our second (super long) flight to Melbourne.

So, did you know you needed a visa to go to Australia?  I didn't!  The good news is they're free and you can apply online.  The bad news is if you are ignorant of this policy and your boyfriend is from New Zealand (the only country exempt from the policy) and no one tells you until you are checking in at the Qantas counter, you will have to pay £25!  And that is like a million US Dollars!

Expensive lesson learned.  Btw, Qantas is an awesome airline that serves many kinds of food (including Twix ice cream bars!) and has movies on demand.  So far I've watched It's Complicated (adorable -- Meryl Streep stoned is the best) and Avatar -- slightly less impressive on a 6-inch screen). 

It is sometime in the morning now, but my brain doesn't know that, so I'll probably be sleeping as soon as we get on board.  And then eating some more delicious food.  And watching more movies.

Also, Hong Kong airport is probably one of the best-organized airports places I've ever been.  Friendly people with perfect English and informative signs press color-coded stickers to your lapel (on, you know, shirt) as you get off the plane and direct you to your connection.  It feels a little like kindergarten, but this is comforting in an unfamiliar place and without a real sense of what time it is. 

They're starting to board now!  Got to go!