Planes, trains and automobiles

Well the journey really did start immediately we left the house. A very slippery walk to the tram stop and 40 minutes later we were at Meadowhall Interchange, awaiting the super duper Megabus to London. Megabus departed 20 minutes late but managed to arrive 15 minutes early - go figure! Oyster cards at the ready and by 5pm we are safely ensconced in the Sky Team Lounge at Heathrow Terminal 4 with the first of several glasses of champagne - come on, it is New Year's Eve after all. Quick hugs and kisses with Brian and Maxine (lovely boaters) who we bizarrely meet in the middle of Heathrow and we're boarding our flight to Doha, Qatar.

Whilst the inflight service isn't fab the airport is mahusive and full of luxury brand shops with no one in them, lots of blokes in robes and very disconcertingly loads of women in full black burkas. I've seen eye slits, divided eye slits and fully covered heads. It is so alien to me and for some reason I feel several different emotions about it, mainly a tug between feeling intimidated and feeling angry at a perception of oppression of women - I say perception as there's no visible signs of oppression. One lady I saw, with her face uncovered, was absolutely gorgeous and had the most amazing pink, glittery shoes on, with very pink glittery toenails and a lot of pink glittery jewellery, there wasn't a great deal of oppression there!

Thankfully I manage some sleep on the second flight from Doha to Jakarta but still arrive with a pounding headache. Immigration is a doddle but luggage takes a little while. A bus from the airport takes us into Central Jakarta where we pick up a tuk tuk. They don't have the knowledge here like in London and our driver stops twice to ask for directions. In the end Adrian directs him using the iPad.

The Packers Lodge is lovely, clean, new and a very welcome sight just after midnight. At £7 each a night it's a steal and a bed each - bags on the bottom bunk.