Everything went relatively smoothly this morning doing the airport shuffle – driving out and checking in with our overweight luggage in our Subaru, before driving home and tidying up the house a bit at the last minute while waiting for the wonderful Rad to come and take us out to the airport in his (littiler) car.

We weren’t charged for the extra luggage, and the only hassle was having to remove the contents of my daypack (ha! Daypack? It’s more than enough for an eight week trip on it’s own and weighs a ton – probably around 15kgs), when going through the screening as the various electronic and camera equipment were packed so closely the X_Ray machine couldn’t determine what bomb was what.

For some unknown reason, we had to check in again in Sydney, and by the time we were stuck at the end of the Customs line, tried to squash the cameras, lenses, radios, binoculars,multiple GPS devices and heart rate monitors, adaptor plugs, chargers, phone and computer accessories into a space that had definitely shrunk since it went through the scanner on each occasion.

We didn’t even have time to get up to Qantas Club at the international terminal this time, and managed to look strong and as though “our bags aren’t heavy, it’s just my handbag” as we smuggled on board three computers and enough electronica to power a Pacific Island nation for a year.

No problema. Phew!

Thankfully, the flight had an unusual number of vacant seats for today’s international flights, so whilst far from empty, we were each able to stretch out to have a couple of seats each.

This is (almost) my first time on a budget airline, and I must admit, I’m not impressed. While we did take a Thai Air Asia flight between Hanoi and Bangkok in 2006 ($25 buckeroonies each), it was great for the 2 hour flight, and food, drinks and ‘comfort’ items like blankets and pillows weren’t an issue. Even a short time into this journey, I am finding that I really miss the little things that make such a difference. It is an interesting experience, and the staff are helpful and distractingly beautiful, but I certainly wouldn’t rush to use them in future, certainly not for international travel (surely NZ doesn’t really count as international though does it? I digress).

We are both feeling more comfortable, although still have to negotiate the airport with the unwieldy bike box and diving bag, backpacks and computers to find a taxi big enough which won’t rip us off on the journey into Central Ho Chi Minh City. After Budapest I'm a tad weary for the first time in my life about such things.