Daily Prompt: Share a story about the furthest you’ve ever travelled from home.

A few years ago I used to work for a large airline as Cabin Crew. Ever since I was a little girl it was one of my dreams. I spent a couple of years first on Short Haul covering all the European cities, before moving up to Long Haul.

The strangest thing about Long Haul is you travel so far and yet only stay there for a night or two. The furthest place I have ever travelled is Sydney, Australia -Living in England you can’t really get much further than that. I was there for less than 36 hours! We arrive in from Bangkok at 7 in the morning and leave about 3pm the next day. It’s the most surreal experience! Walking down to the harbour to see the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge was like being in a dream, it was a cold February at home and yet here I was on the other side of the world in the glorious sunshine, and I kept thinking to myself I going home tomorrow. Who does that? Who goes to OZ for just a day? I remember phoning my mum in the early hours of the morning (jet lag!) and she said she was making her dinner. In that hotel room right then I felt a long way away from home.

The trip is actually part of a 9 day trip, although technically 7, because day 1 you check in at half 8 in the evening and you land on day 9 at half 7 in the morning. We fly to Bangkok first which is a incredibly long way but what surprised me was to learn that it was a further 10 hours to Sydney. We pick up a lot of transfers in Bangkok but there is also a vast majority of people who stay on to go onto Sydney (a new crew takes that flight). That’s a total of 23 hours for them in their seats! There is no way on earth I could sit in the same seat for that long, I struggle with a 2 hour film in the cinema! The flight back from Cuba last month was bad enough and that was only 8 and half hours. No the only way I would be able to do it is in business class with a flat bed and to be able to sleep the whole way.

Following my Bangkok – Sydney flight was a flight to LA the following week. This is the weirdest feeling, it’s dealing with the drastic change in time zones that’s hard. You go from GMT to +8 to +10 back to GMT and then -8. You literally spend your whole life jet lagged! When I got from our honeymoon to Cuba the jet lag was bad and I thought to myself this used to be my life, how on earth did I cope?? Well I was younger but even so.

Having said that for me it was the best job in the world, I’ve been around the world many times, seen some amazing places, and places I would never think of going or ever be able to afford go. I’m glad to say I have done it.

Who knows maybe one day I will be able to go back to Sydney and spend some more time there, better start saving for that business class ticket!