I\u2019ve been to just about every state in the country of my birth (and I have my eye on you, Delaware), so I know on an intellectual level that even though I was traveling to Australia and New Zealand… two countries where English is the primary language, most of what I would be experiencing would be well out of my comfort zone. Traveling to Australia and then traveling to New Zealand for the documentary, and\u00a0squaring that circle with actual boots-on-the-ground experience was a never ceasing jolt, and a mostly pleasurable one at that.<\/p>\n
I would recommend Australia to any first-time international traveler because the experience provided both a soft landing as well as almost two weeks of surprises. Those surprises actually began in Los Angeles, while still on the tarmac at LAX, with the complimentary tim-tams. Tim-tams are little chocolate biscuits – an Australian favorite, apparently – and my sweet tooth took every opportunity to assert itself whenever I encountered these treats. I just love the idea that even snacks are different somewhere else\u2026 although we may have a permanent gulf when it comes to vegemite, marmite and other \u2014mite related spreads. However, for the flight to Adelaide via Melbourne, it was a fifteen hour introductory course in culture assimilation.<\/p>\n
This must be said.\u00a0 While I know that airlines like RyanAir and the like exist\u2026 airlines that seem to have adopted the Baron von Sacher-Masoch theory of travel and the Gordon Gecko theory of cost cutting\u2026 the Qantas flight was simply a revelation for me. I\u2019ve flown every U.S. domestic carrier that exists, and quite a few that don\u2019t exist any longer (oh, People\u2019s Express, we hardly knew ye), mostly in economy class. Much like the tale of the man who accidentally kills himself in the bath because he increased the water temperature in such small increments that he didn\u2019t realize how hot it was getting, airlines have successfully implemented this strategy at 35,000 feet with regard to our expectations. From reducing meals\u2026 first to sandwich packs and then to snack packs and then nothing at all, from removing magazines in favor of paid internet access (if you\u2019re lucky), to charging for pillows, the strategy of turning an airplane into a bus with wings has long since been a success.<\/p>\n
So it was a surprise to find that the good folks at Qantas economy not only provided seats that allowed us to sleep with a degree of comfit I was completely unfamiliar with in economy class, each seat had a pillow and blanket on it when we sat down.Tthey further astounded me by\u2026 feeding us. Yes, for the love of all hat is good and holy, they fed us. Often. Osso Bucco and grilled baramundi\u2026 in economy? Food at all? Snacks on demand? We had escaped the surly bonds of earth and touched the face of God\u2026 in tim-tam form.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s not even that they fed us on the long haul segment. This was perhaps somewhat expected. although the frequency and generosity surprised me. It was that they even fed us\u2026 twice (!) on the flight from Melbourne to Adelaide. Domestic flights serving food. I never got over that.<\/p>\n