#samoa16

I had hardly hit the pillow last night at the Parkroyal Melbourne Airport and it was time to head back to the terminal and check in for my next leg with Virgin Australia. This all went pretty quickly and I was soon at the gate and ready to board.

I dozed on the flight and we were soon landing in Sydney. I grabbed my bag, found the car and was on the M5 and heading home in no time.

For a holiday that started with such hassle - it ended well and I actually feel rested (although I could do with another week of sleep). I would really like to go back to Samoa at some point - preferably not alone - and explore some more when I'm not partially crippled. I even fantasised a bit about extending this trip a bit. One thing that is good - is that I am getting used to the idea of just lying around doing nothing on holiday - rather than just cramming my days full of things.

I was also looking at heading back to Tonga and the Cook Islands as well at some point - but I think the general fitness level needs to improve to get the most out of such trips.

Had a decent sleep in this this morning and started to pack up my stuff for departure. I decided to have one last wander around the beach and the property before grabbing a shower and finalising my bags. This time I have made sure that I have sufficient stuff to ensure I can manage my stopover in Melbourne if something goes wrong with my bag on the way back. Indeed I think this is probably change the way that I pack for all trips in the future.

I checked out of the Sheraton Samoa Aggie Grey’s Resort and used up my remaining SAT before driving the Yaris the short distance back to Faleolo International. While the Avis website says that they operate 24 hours a day, the young man who rented me the car told me they are really only there in the later afternoon when the flights arrive. So the tip - which I had to utilise - was that if the office was closed, the window would be unlocked, and I should open it a little and chuck the keys inside. Pretty simple system.

I headed on into the terminal - this time into the new building which is operational for departures but not arrivals yet. The crew who flew me into APW said it was long overdue its planned operational start, but didn’t look like happening anytime soon. The airport upgrade, which in total is going to cost something like SAT40 million, tells the story of the Pacific I think. It is being afforded by a concessional loan from the Chinese government who then employ a Chinese firm - in this case Shanghai Group - to use local grunt labour to do the project. It probably isn’t too dissimilar to the way other countries have run their aid in the past - but I am sure its about influence in the end. Samoa have also signed a new Air Service Agreement with China so I guess it is feasible that a Chinese carrier could be flying here soon - but to be honest I don’t think that Samoa is ready for the demands of Chinese travellers - it definitely takes a fairly relaxed approach to really enjoy travelling in the Pacific.

Another tip for Faleolo - don’t arrive too early. There really is not a lot to do and you will find yourself at a full gate waiting for an eternity - everything seems to run late around here. Indeed, make sure you check when your flight is actually going to depart as well, because the inbound aircraft is likely to be late as well.

I checked in with Virgin Samoa (effectively just a proxy of Virgin Australia) and went and waited at the gate with people obviously heading back to New Zealand for work after visiting family for the holidays.

Interestingly, while I sat and waited I noticed that the Samoan Ministry of Health seem to board every flight before any passengers disembark. They speak to crew - presumably about whether there are anybody on board has looked unwell - and only after that is everyone allowed off. It's quite unusual to watch government officials in the lavalava and thongs going about their official duties. I quite like it.

We did eventually board (on time which seems unusual for VA on this flight) and the flight back to Auckland was uneventful this time. Luke Mangan provided a lunch including a zucchini and prosciutto salad which was quite delish. On the way over I watched the rather pedestrian (although at times graphic) remake of Ben Hur and the whistleblower documentary National Bird on my iPad and we landed with several hours for me to make my connection to Melbourne and we just have to hope my luggage goes as well. As we landed I noticed this cemetery in the flight path where it appeared that all the graves had been decorated for Christmas - I will have to look that up at some point.

We boarded for MEL on time. On the way over I watched Rainbow Time and Swiss Army Man and the time actually seemed to fly. I had a dinner of from the economy menu since the food onboard was exactly the same as my previous flight and then just relaxed. The contrast of how smoothly went with flights etc today tommy trip over was stark. We were soon heading through the Border and back on home soil.

On arrival I was pleased to see my bag and then I walked over to the Parkroyal where I will rest my head for only a short few hours. Up again for a 6am departure tomorrow.