We Must be mad

[dglamoore]

As we have got a business to close down before we leave we decided to sort some dates out so we can get organising :D

No Visa yet but hopefully will be Jan/Feb time so we have decided we are going to close the business on 4th April and fly on the 22nd April 2007 to Adelaide via Singapore.

We were going to take advantage of extra lugguage allowance but have decided to opt for a stopover in stead (Singapore Air said we could not have both :( )

With a 4 year old in tow it seems a long time to be flying and hanging around airports going straight to Adelaide so have booked into lovely hotel and spoiling ourselves rotten for 4 days as a treat on our way to our new life :D

Just got to get the visas by April now :lol:

Must be mad but feels more real now and something to work towards. Roll on 22nd April!!!

Lisa :D

[donna T]

Congratulations on booking those flights - it must be great knowing there is a countdown in place.

Good luck with getting the visas through!

[likesshopping]

Hi Lisa

I think you're right in booking a stop-over.

I flew direct to perth without any stops (apart from 2 stops for re-fueling - were allowed off plane for an hour to spend in airport) and it was pure hell.........my tummy was all over the place - what with being fed every few hours or so and not knowing what time of day it 'really' was........... also, when eventually I got to perth after spending 30 odd hours travelling you are so excited about being in oz that you dont want to go to sleep and I tried to stay awake - but then ended up speaking non-sense and was eventually told to go to bed by friends.

It was so different when hubby and me went 5years ago - we had a stop-over in Malaysia for a week and it cut the journey into 2 - 13 hours and 9hours (I think or thereabouts) it really was ok and we were able to enjoy our first hours in sydney when we arrive without being totally out of it!!

You're so lucky to be in a position to book - we still havent got our SA sponsorship back yet - think its 5 weeks now. Also, we have our house still to sell (been on market for 4 months) fingers crossed we can sell soon so we can clear out all our stuff and go into rented.

Well done sorting out your flights - you'll have to start organising your leaving party now!

Speak soon

sarahx

[dglamoore]

Hi Sarah and Donna

It is good to have a countdown in place now. We have to sort out closing down Gregs business so had to have something in place so we could sort out when to notify customers (they don't know we are going yet!!) and last invoicing dates etc.... :?

When we looked at how long the flights were and transit time in Singapore airport etc it just made sense to have a break - especially with a 4 year old who has never flown! We stopped in Singapore a few years ago on the way to Bali and it definitely made the flight easier. It will also give us a few days to get time adjusted too so should not be as bad when we get to OZ - plus they have a fantastic zoo and night safari on Singapore to take Dawn too :D

Sarah - you will be posting any day now about your sponsorship - ours took 29 days and seemed like forever. Our agent said expect up to 6 weeks but it is hard when you are reading about others getting theirs so quickly ie 10 days :shock:

Lisa x

[donna T]

So just how much are you looking forward to spending an entire day on a plane with small children??? I am dredding it - Josh goes a bit stir crazy if kept inside and Izzy won't sit still for more than a few minutes. Once we get our visas and book our flights, I might post to tell other people to avoid the same dates - we will be ostracied before we get there :lol:

[dglamoore]

We have (hopefully) planned the day so that Dawn will sleep on plane :D We are staying at Heathrow night before at a hotel with a lounge looking onto runway so she can plane spot. Also having dinner out so she will have a late night.

The day we fly we will keep her going all day round airport, lounge etc and fly at 6.30pm which is her normal bedtime. With any luck she will last long enough to have something to eat on plane and then sleep most of the flight :D

Have bought her a mini pull along suitcase that is small enough to go on as hand lugguage so will get her to chose some small toys to pack and will also get some small 'surprise toys' from cheapy shop to keep her interest just in case she stays awake :roll:

Hopefully this will all work!!

Good luck

Lisa :D

[likesshopping]

hi lisa.....you probably are the most organised person Ive ever come across and Im insanly jealous!! How great that you've about the plane journey for your daughter - I love the idea about lots of little cheapy pressies to open throughout the day.....think Im going to copy that idea!

BTW...you were right!! Our accepted for sponsorship came through this morning - so Im over the moon!

Have a good day

sarahx

[dglamoore]

HI Sarah

CONGRATULATIONS !!!! :lol: :lol:

Well done on getting sponsorship :D Now for the visa and the long wait. Great feeling when all that paperwork is done!

Not really that organised - Greg calls me dizzy most of the time :D Just like to plan ahead for a quiet life :D

Lisa x

[donna T]

Congratulations on getting your sponsorship - that's one more hurdle out of the way - well done.

Lisa - I too am in awe of your advance planning skills - I keep thinking about all the things we have to do and then my brain goes to mush so I have another glass of wine instead and promise I will get organised tomorrow!

I hope that once they grant the visa - my organised head will kick in :)

[Angela]

Me to - am I jealous. !!

Lisa you are the most organised women on these forums!! I admire you....

It is a long flight, we did a reccie in April but to BNE & NSW - lovely but not for the life we wanted....we flew JAL - do NOT recommend them. Stop-over in Tokyo - not what I expected.

Hoping my sponsorships through pre Xmas so the visa can be processed.
I am so impatient, its only been 13 days !!! You do get jealous when others get a reply in 10 days - my agency said 4 - 6 weeks to - I HATE waiting.... :roll:

Angela

[BJF]

We flew over with Air New Zealand via LA, had an overnight stop in LA but wish we'd flown straight through, the connecting flight meant hanging around LA airport for about 4 hours so we decided to overnight it in a hotel (paid for by RAAF) and continue the journey the following evening. In hindsight (what a wonderful thing it is) we realise it would've been heaps better to catch the connecting flight.

Our youngest was 4 when we moved here and each time the plane started to desend, she fell into a deep sleep, I guess it had something to do with cabin pressure, she woke as soon as the plane touched the ground. It was really quite funny.

We got backpacks for each of our three daughters for the flight's and put colouring books, pencil crayons, reading books, personal CD players plus CD's, lined and plain notebooks and travel games into them, we even put a colouring book in our eldest packpack and she was 17 at the time, yes she used it.