The Flight to Japan - and the AFTERMATH

19 – 20 June 2014

The Ibis Budget at the Auckland airport is well named. Or maybe shoe box would be even more apt. Not even a glass or plastic mug in the bathroom, and we could just squeeze the bags past the bed in to the room. Fortunately the bed was on wheels so I could move it to get into bed more easily. If you wanted a cuppa there was a lounge area downstairs and $3. would do the trick. The Hotel is situated in that new shopping area on the left as you head towards the airport and I was told the pub close by did do great meals. We crashed til the alarm at 4.30 am., bought tickets for the Yellow Bus at 5 and on our way.

The flight from Auckland to Narita took four movies, two meals, a tub of ice-cream and a couple of walks = 10hrs 30. which was ½ an hour less than expected. The airport was easy – fairly much like Auck. but quite a long walk from get off to bag collection. Customs etc. was not a problem, no hold ups at all except my digits didn’t want to leave the required prints and I had to “press harder” – painful. The shuttle to the Narita Hilton was easy to find. Shuttle? No, a huge bus, but free and no probs. The landscape was trimmed gardens and further from the airport, wild grass. The areas we passed with trees seemed to be covered with some creeper and looked very lush and tropical. We had a cuppa and decided we didn’t need another meal so off to bed about 8;  your 11pm at home – they’re 3 hours behind here.

We went off to sleep fairly well instantly – we needed it. About 10.30 Hoppy leapt to his feet, standing on the bed, went running down the length of it, with short steps as you do on a trampoline!! He stood on my leg as he went by and told me off for using an expletive as you would when woken from a deep sleep. Unfortunately beds aren’t very long when used as a sprinting track. He raced off the end, falling forward onto a desk with rounded edges but sharp corners. I turned on the light to see Hoppy looking very startled, blood streaming between his fingers as he held his face. I yelled “get a cold flannel” which he did. Then I could see he had split open his lip well over an inch across under his nose, up one side of his nostril and into his nose with a flap of lip hanging out!! After a mishap at St. V de P we had bought some steri strips, as luck (?) would have it. We debated calling a doctor but I managed to pull the flap back up into position and tape it down. Hop had purchased the smallest pack of strips; they felt totally inadequate as there are only three and I had already used half of one. Get some Lynda – we could not have managed without them!!I let him fall asleep after two hours but made him sleep on his back, and I spent the next six hours mopping the blood from his face til it subsided. At 4am I dozed off beside him, jumping at his every movement.

I ordered breakfast in our room for 8 am. the next morning realising there was no way we could go to the restaurant despite the discount vouchers. You know Hoppy – nothing gets between him and his food! He downed a sizeable breakfast before I was into the first aid box again to hide the bloody face from all and sundry. Fortunately I had some sizeable plasters and it all seemed to be “hanging in”; his lip was still in a straight line! But have you ever tried to attach a plaster to whiskers?