Christmas time, mistletoe and wine…

Well, it’s Christmas again, which means I will be flying home to the UK to see my loved ones. I am mostly excited to see my seven precious doglets, but I guess I love my family somewhat too (don’t strangle me, Grandma, you know I’m joking). The above almost-completely-unrelated photo was taken at the Christmas party for children I teach English to, in case you cared.

The process begins

It all starts with getting a decent ticket. One that’s cheap enough to not drive you into poverty, yet a short enough trip to not take several days of flying home.

This year I was quite successful on flight times and duration, but the price did alas drive me into a hovel of despair. Indeed, I have been left with a grand total of 3,000¥ to my name (about £20). The flight I managed to get was with Cathay Pacific from Narita Airport to Gatwick Airport. This, of course, included a transfer at Hong Kong International Airport for jolly good fun.

What are you playing at?

Unfortunately, some utter muppet chose this year to fly a drone over Gatwick, affecting 140,000 people. In fact, all outbound flights were cancelled and inbound ones were forbidden entry over the course of three days. I am on my way to Narita Airport as we speak, and really smegging hope the drone doesn’t make a sudden reappearance.

My journey in a nutshell:

Train to Narita Airport (2h)

Flying home: Tokyo —> Hong Kong (5h 25m)

(2 h shimmy around the airport)

Hong Kong —> London (13h)

Total flight time: 20h 30m.

Train from Gatwick to Hastings (1hr 40m) – if the drivers aren’t on strike as always.

The cherry on the cake

So, the entire hellish journey (including blood clots if I can’t stretch out enough) takes 24 hours and 20 minutes. And do you know what my mum said when I asked if she could pick me up from Gatwick Airport? Gatwick Airport is only an hour or so by car and I’m only home once a year, mind you. She said “Oh no, Jade, I really don’t want to leave the house on Christmas Eve”.

And there you have it, ladies and gentlemen, my one and only mother!

Let’s recap!

Highlights:

• poverty
• discomfort and loss of proper blood circulation to the extremities of your body
• waste of your life as you spend an entire day stuck inside moving metal objects
• overly caring parents.

And that is why flying to and from Japan from the UK is awful.

Related Article: How to Travel the World on the Cheap with Housesitting

Thanks for reading. Shout out to my mum for being a good sport

Love Jade xxx