New age travel

 If only it was always like this - no queues, no chattering hoardes, 15 mins to check in and a row of seats to oneself (Auckland to Singapore). The down side of course - mask breath after 26 hours in the air that even extra strong mints won't shift, restricted cabin service and the risk - however small - of catching something nasty from a delightful young man in the next seat (Singapore to London). Get straight to the point 'where had he come from? Oh Sydney - aren't they in lock down again?' 'Yes, but still a green route into UK.' Ok, we've all had our Covid tests but this is a long way from the safe haven of NZ. Time to shift to the more common mindset of living with Covid-19 rather than elimination.

All that plastic! Surely there's a better way to encourage social distance? 

 

Nice sunrise over Eastern Europe. 

 

It's Heathrow but not as we know it.  

 

Some travellers wore masks long before they were mandatory - now taking even greater precautions. 

Kings X Station at 9am on a Thursday in July - also unrecognizable.

A few stark reminders how unsheltered life is in the UK - a text from Vodafone with a number to call in case of suspicious activity or suspected terrorist threat, security staff with dogs on 24 hour patrol around the station and checking under the public use piano in the waiting area. Extra loud announcements implore the people who left bags unattended outside the Waitrose foodstore to return and remove immediately. Anyone who has ever tried to navigate the narrow aisles of station retail outlets with even small bags will understand why they might have done that. Vigilance is clearly the norm here.