The Long Way to Melbourne

By Arthur, University of Melbourne, Australia

My journey from London to Melbourne was a true endurance test. Two flights, three time zones and a hectic Qatari airport transfer later, I finally landed on the opposite side of the world. By the end of it, I wasn’t even sure what day it was- everything blurred into an endless cycle of turgid meals and unfulfilling films.

Before all that came the hardest part. Standing outside of Heathrow’s security checkpoint with my family felt pretty surreal. The stereotypical airport farewell seemed to have an added layer of difficulty- we were all very aware that this was to be the last time I saw them for over a year. Nevertheless, the opportunity that lay ahead of me remained at the forefront of my mind, and the adrenaline that I felt walking towards my gate an hour later displaced any feelings of fear or sadness. I felt incredibly liberated walking down the plane toward my seat- I was finally kickstarting a year I knew I would never forget.

The first leg to Qatar went pretty smoothly, though I was far too restless to sleep. My mission for the flight was to find a way to watch England’s Euro semi-final against the Netherlands mid-air. After learning that I would by flying during the match, I was determined to find any solution that would enable me to watch such a historic game. I thought I’d planned it perfectly; with Qatar Airline’s WIFI policy etched into my memory, I purchased the £50 onboard connection service, which I had been promised would provide enough speed to live-stream the match. Of course, the WIFI refused to connect, with not even a flicker of signal to give me any sort of update. After attempting, and failing, to communicate with the staff about a refund, I eventually gave up, mildly furious at myself for wasting the money. As soon as we landed in Doha and I connected to the airport WIFI, my phone exploded with notifications about England’s last-minute winner- I had missed it by 2 minutes!

Bleary-eyed in the terminal, I watched the highlights and spoke to my friend- it was at this moment that it really hit me that I was travelling to the other side of the world. Not just for a holiday, but to actually live there. By the time I finally reached Melbourne, it was close to 1am. The airport was quiet, the air cool and drizzling with rain- oddly comforting after hours in the stale, dry airplane cabin. I ordered an uber and headed into the city. The drive took about half an hour, and somewhere along the freeway the skyline came into view. Tall glass buildings emerged, glowing through the mist, reflecting off the wet roads. Despite my fatigue and isolation, I felt a sudden rush of excitement. The goodbyes, frustrating football and sleepless flights had all led to this moment. Immediately, it was all worth it.