Down Under for Some Tight-Assed Fish

The first leg of my trip around the world is complete. As planned, Australia was a spotting plus visits with friends and relative stop.

I kicked off my flights on Asiana 777-200s from San Francisco (SFO) to Sydney (SYD) via Seoul-Incheon (ICN). The service was excellent. Although seats were comfortable (lie-flat from SFO to ICN, only angled flat recliner from ICN to SYD), as usual, I was only able to sleep deeply for about two to three hours on each flight).

This was my bed/seat in the lazy mode while getting ready for breakfast.

Since the Business Class cabin was small on both flights - and they were not full - service was very personalized. Dare I say it - pacing during meal service was almost too fast. I was barely done eating one course before my plate was picked up for the next.

Meal highlight of the flight - Bibimbap...on a plane. A first for me! Chili sauce, sesame oil, and steamed rice are mixed-in with meat and vegetables in the large bowl. Kimchi and omelet, along with soup, were side dishes.

As previous mentioned, while in Sydney, I met up with cousin Cindy and her husband Matt.

We went out for some tight-assed fish and chips.

On the spotting front, I met up with long lost SJC Aussie spotter Andrew (sorry, no picture) and airliners.net community manager Paul McCarthy.

I did manage an afternoon of sightseeing and shopping in Sydney, but since I have previously been, I wasn't really seriously sightseeing.

Circular Quay.

Sydney Opera House.

Harbour Bridge.

I drove on the left side for the first time. It was a heart-stopping adventure everytime I got behind the wheel. After three days, I still was not comfortable.

Cousin Cindy laughed at me for going cold turkey and braving Sydney traffic - in rush hour - first time driving on the left!

Since I encountered difficulties, I did not realize that driving had become so second nature to me.  Here are some funny/interesting examples:

• Constantly reaching for the seat belt over my left shoulder.

• Backing up was always a challenge. I want to shift with my right hand and look over my right shoulder. I then get all flustered and screw up the simple stuff like shifting in and out of drive and reverse (and this was on an automatic!).

• Roundabouts - do I enter clockwise or counterclockwise? (Answer: clockwise). Do I look left or right? (Answer: right). Looking to the left and seeing the all clear will get you into an almost accident and a honk from a disgusted driver!

• My left wheels constantly rode the lane marker and sometimes - the curb. I had to purposefully put the right side of the car closer to the right than what felt right. Then I felt like I was about to collide with on-coming traffic.

• Let's not even mention the classic favorite of using the windshield wiper control for the turn signal (why did they have to reverse those controls too???)