I am writing this from an internet cafe in South Ealing, London. I have been here in London since Sunday night and will be leaving next Sunday night. I am staying with Mel and Jem who are, as always, being great hosts.
I was a bit scared before the flight over here, as my ear is still infected and the cabin pressure of the plane could have caused my eardrum to perforate. Preflight abuse of medicine prevented this though, and in fact during the flight I was able to hear for the first time in almost 3 weeks. Unfortunately my deafness returned upon landing.
I will be arriving in Sydney on the 7th of February, the earliest flight I could get, 2 days before my birthday. I highly unrecommend Virgin Atlantic – they charged me an additional AUD516 to change the date of my flight on a supposedly open 1 year ticket. Not happy at all. I will never be flying with them again – they charge AUD$300 for leg room seats between London and Sydney, which every other airline gives away for free. I am not paying that 300, I will just get a seat near the exit, which is usually empty, and switch during taxi. That is what I did last time.
The cafe is closing now, so I will have to leave. Lets chat soon, OK?