London-Tbilisi

Sat 1440 On platform at Holborn waiting for a Heathrow-bound train to turn up. Flight leaves in 3h10. I was naturally a bit late setting off, I do have plenty of time really but if (not sure) I am supposed to be there 3h before the flight I am obviously not going to make it.

Did feel a little bit 'why the fuck am I doing this?' this morning but not too bad. Bag weights 10kg and is perhaps a bit too heavy, but it's probably OK. Sweating like a bastard in jumper and jacket by time I got on DLR, having to carry the coat. Meh.

Load of fuckwits all clustering by the platform entrance, repeated announcements telling them to move. Anyway I am on the train now. Going to Heathrow is a bloody expedition in its own right. I hope I'm not reduced to one of those shit contracts out that way on my return. Still, it probably won't come to that and I guess it would beat working at McDonalds. I suppose I could rent a flat out that way. Not worth worrying about, not that I am, it just sort of occurred to me while bored and mulling on the sheer tedium of getting to Heathrow.

1458 South Kensington. Oldish bloke with stick just got up to get off. Before the doors even opened he asked (very politely) two people to move as he was trying to get off. They said they were getting off here too and asked if he wanted to go first, he said no. All very polite yet I can't help thinking he was a bit out of order to be so pushy before the doors even open. Yes, this is insanely trivial, I am bored.

1514 Just checked exchange rate, it's about 2.5 (actually about 2.6 but that's near enough for mental arithmetic) GEL to the pound. Need to have a rough idea so I know how much to withdraw on arrival. I need to pay about £70 when I check in at the hostel. Given I want a modest reserve on me and I have two weeks, I think withdrawing £200 odd would not be unreasonable - also then if the local bank charges me a flat fee I amortise it over a larger withdrawal. So that's about 500 GEL, but I should try to withdraw 490 or 480 so I get some smaller notes.

Don't know if I had any euros at home but if I did I never got round to putting them in my wallet. I don't know if I will want to eat in the airport at Warsaw anyway, I guess I can withdraw a bit there if I do. Not sure if I am going to eat at Heathrow or not, I snacked heavily this morning. I might naively hope Warsaw airport will be a bit cheaper, but I think if I'm hungry I will eat at Heathrow (assuming I have time, of course) and try not to worry about the cost.

1525 Hounslow East.

1534 Hatton Cross. Had sudden twinge of fear not flying out of Heathrow. But I am.

1610 Just cleared security. No real issues, I remembered to take everything off and shove it in my bag so I didn't set the metal detectors off.

At check in desk asked if I could take my bag in cabin. Woman at desk presumably weighed it and asked if I had a laptop in, as you get 8kg+laptop. I said yes (true) and she said it was OK. I asked if I could have an approved cabin baggage sticker and she gave me one, but asked if it was a big laptop. I offered to let her see it and she said she'd reweigh the bag with it out. I took the mains adaptor out too and my to-be-quaffed-and-discarded 330ml plane-destroying bottle of water. I suspect it would still have been over 8kg, though not by much, but she said it was OK (she didn't say it was overweight). Baggage sticker says business class which I stupidly did query but she said it was OK. Anyway, result.

I keep not zipping it up properly every time I have to open it. I don't have any really small loose items but still.

Foursquare reminds me I was last here at terminal 1 in November 2011, so I must have flown to Santiago via Sao Paulo from here.

1630 At Tin Goose having ordered honey roast ham, fried egg and wedges with - gasp - a glass of free tap water. This is fractionally about penny pinching but mostly because I am not desperate for a beer and I don't want to waste an otherwise easy opportunity to have an alcohol-free day. 9.95 on menu for the food and I will leave a tip as it's table service. Expensive and I fear the portion won't be huge but not insane. I am not super hungry having snacked on fruit this morning but it could be a long day. Was tempted by the lightly spiced north african chicken curry with herbed couscous but it was more expensive and if I didn't like it it's more of a pisser under these time-constrained circumstances than otherwise.

I did a little circuit of the shopping area before coming here, remember Harlequin 'pub' from last time, but their menu wasn't mega appealing. Giraffe a possibility, frankly there wasn't much in it but I thought I'd come here.

Paying cash as I have had my card blocked after using it at an airport before, not worth the risk. I hope they don't add a 15% service charge on as I would then have to break a twenty.n Got food, portion OK if not huge, asked for bill up front.

Cool, no service charge. Paid 11.40, I am so generous. Food not bad, feels good to have eaten Gate opens 1705 but obviously don't have to be there bang on time.

1715 At gate (5, trivia fans!). Called Mum while at Tin Goose, she made me think about buying a bottle of water for the flight. But I don't want the weight (especially if they weigh my bag, unlikely as it is) and I had about £1.03 in change or I'd have to break a twenty and have more change to lug about for the next couple of weeks. So I compromised and splashed out 92p on a pack of extra strong mints, I can at least suck them if I start to feel thirsty or need to get the acid taste out of my mouth after throwing up. ;-) I used the self checkout machines, I had to scan my boarding pass for some reason. Are these duty free extra strong mints? 92p seems moderately extortionate but I buy these things so rarely I have no idea what they'd cost in a supermarket. I suspect it's not massively overpriced.

Battery at 66% but I intend to read on the Nook on the plane and although I haven't checked they are fully charged, I have two spares in my pocket and I'm fairly sure at least one is charged.

Feeling moderately jaunty. Even the act of being at the airport feels somewhat exciting, I am sure that is not going to last much longer. ;-)

1721 Announcement saying slight delay due to late departure of plane on inbound journey and late arrival in London. They are cleaning it and doing security checks now. I think I can see it through the gate window, so I don't think this is going to be a big deal.

I have 1h20 in Warsaw so I'm not exactly flush with time but it should be OK. It's a good idea I wasn't planning to eat there, even with no delays it would perhaps be a bit tight.

1733 Did quick web search about what happens if I miss connection. Very quick skim suggests my legal rights are minimal so it's a question of being charming and/or persistent with the airline, but they will probably pay for overnight accommodation if necessary. If it happens I'll just have to deal with it.

Did find this article which is probably rather US-specific and not very relevant but has an interesting, almost scary intensity about it. Maybe I can just visualise being in a situation where you really need to get somewhere and are caught in the middle of airline chaos better being sat here at Heathrow. http://www.slate.com/articles/life/transport/2013/08/flight_delay_tips_how_to_get_home_faster_when_your_airplane_is_late.html

1749 On plane. Aisle seat. Got bag into overhead locker. No one else in my row of three yet, but suspect that won't last. Never know your luck. When I checked in online it did look like at least the middle seat was unoccupied IIRC. Baby in row behind me but it's a short flight and it isn't making any noise yet.

Bloke now taken window seat (no window in this row, just blank wall) but middle seat still free. I think we might be all onboard too. Could be big elbow readin' time!

Business class is the first three rows, the seats aren't even any bigger, the middle seats of the three merely have some text about them being blocked for your comfort.

1753 Battery 52%. Turned off mobile data just to be paranoid and airline mode on. Wondered about sending what I have but decided I'd keep it all one entry.

1955 Still on London time. Bit concerned will miss connection but nothing I can do about it. Eyes a bit watery, intermittent mild pain in legs and feet hurt for no obvious reason. I might be a bit tired but really it is way too early for that to make sense. Wonder why I assumed I wouldn't be able to sleep on Warsaw-Tbilisi flight before?

Slightly worried about language and food issues in Georgia, but I guess that's a bit silly. Bound to be OK, at least in Tbilisi, and once I find my feet there I am sure it will be easier elsewhere. I can probably survive on khatchapuri if push comes to shove. ;-) Also, since we all have to be super healthy and consume our five a day, I can probably buy fruit/vegetables in either supermarkets (where available, no language skills needed) or from street stalls (point, smile, proffer money). I suppose it's more of an adventure. I do feel a bit ashamed of having to just hope people speak English but it's not as if I can learn the language of every country I visit.

2103 Switched to what I hope is Warsaw time, one hour ahead of London. We were scheduled to arrive 2120 and fly out 2240. I don't think we're more than half an hour late judging from when we took off, it should be OK. No idea how big Warsaw airport is, but at least the expedia booking confirmation doesn't mention a terminal (it does for Heathrow) so I might hope it's not too huge.

2206 At gate 24 waiting for Tbilisi flight.

Was leaving plane at 2140, so we landed only twenty mins late. Plenty of time. Following signs etc to baggage claim/exit (no transit option there) I popped into a toilet and then to passport control. Seemed a bit odd in transit but who knows. Woman checked passport and waved me through. Fortunately I asked about being in transit and she told me to go back; turned out I had missed a (fairly obvious in hindsight) 'U-turn' into a security checkpoint for transit before the bogs. Probably because of the toilet and passport excursion, I was last in a queue of about 10 people. Which didn't move. Most of whom had apparently never thought that maybe taking their belt off would be a smart move before going through the metal detector. I took my stuff off and shoved it in bag in preparation, but that just left me in a timeless hell of uncertainty. (I exaggerate slightly, of course.) There was only one metal detector etc with about five or six staff. They were ridiculously thorough. One bloke got taken off and put in a machine that puffed air at him; solely through Chubbard happening to mention this last night I suspect it was a drug test thing. Really worried I wasn't going to make the flight, tho of course I had loads of time. (In my defence, some flights departing 10 mins earlier than mine were already showing as boarding.) I set the metal detector off anyway and got felt over (not too unpleasantly, if thoroughly), which turned up nothing beyond a non-metallic hanky and piece of paper I had left in one pocket thinking they wouldn't matter. He didn't find anything which would account for me setting off the detector.

Didn't get 'dressed' again immediately after security, legged it to gate 24. They don't coddle you with signs pointing to gates '16-26' or the like here, you just wander around and hope gate 24 is past gate 20. Got 'dressed' here at the gate instead.

As it happened of course I had loads of time but that security checkpoint did my head in. Fuck knows why it is necessary, it was for transit passengers only, but I guess I'm just a simple moron who dislikes nuisance and inconvenient security theatre and doesn't appreciate the vital work done in our Wars on Terror and Drugs.

(And no, it had nothing to do with my final destination. All transit passengers had to go through, and the gates on the other side have flights all over.)

Flight over here was in a 737 of some variety, the flight on to Tbilisi is smaller, just two seats either side of the aisle from the seating plan.

Reading Tau Zero by Poul Anderson on Nook, interspersed with Spike Milligan's "Monty: his part in my victory", an old and very slim paperback I picked up from Skegness last weekend, since I hadn't read it and it was small enough to fit in my jacket pocket should that be desirable (convenience, weight out of bag, whatever). Also continuing with Round the world on a wheel on phone, as I was reading that over last few weeks in London. Obviously should conserve phone battery but now for example taking the Nook or the paperback out of the bag feels like a bit too much of a faff, mainly in terms of shoving it back if we suddenly start boarding, which is ridiculous but there you go.

Battery at 44%.

2222 Sticking with Warsaw time on phone but put wristwatch onto what I hope is Tbilisi time.

Oh, now I realise why I thought I wouldn't sleep on the flight. It lands at 1am London time, not 7am!. Boarding.

2234 On plane. Woman sat next to me but she's not fat. Can't help thinking seat might actually be bigger and roomier than on previous flight. Slightly worried might not fit bag into overhead locker but it went in OK.

2307 Safety card is for 'Embraer 190 200'. Just got given a chocolate wafer bar like on the first flight (we got nothing else then, except a glass of water). Ah, the announcements are intelligible on this flight whereas they were too quiet on the previous one. I suspect they might charge for food; I did see a woman eating a packaged bap type thing on the previous flight but neither I nor bloke next to me got offered anything. Tis OK, I am not really hungry and I can have breakfast in Tbilisi, possibly at the airport, possibly elsewhere.

Had quick look at guide book on how to get from airport to town. Buses run from 7am, taxis are USD15-18 (assuming the book was ever right and inflation has not kicked in). I suspect a 5am taxi may run at a premium. I checked last night, sunrise is about 7am. Frankly I don't fancy being dropped off by a taxi in the dark, at the hostel or elsewhere. I am not overly optimistic about there being anywhere open at the airport at 4-5am but I am inclined to stick around there (even if I just sit somewhere with no food/coffee) until maybe the first bus - I have time to chance it on the bus, if I feel adventurous - or even if I get a taxi to wait until 630ish when it should be starting to get light. We'll see how it goes.

Going to switch to Tbilisi time now.

0140 Just had announcement, we will probably get there early and land in two hours. Not exactly fantastic news but I suppose sitting around in the airport is probably slightly more comfortable than sitting on the plane.

0350 Landed. On bus just off plane waiting to go to terminal. Cool but not really cold. Felt tired on plane, sat back with eyes closed but didn't sleep.

Not going to chance a bus into town, too much could go wrong and I am probably too tired to cope well with problems. However, I will probably wait for onset of daylight before getting a cab.

0403 Landside. Passport control queue short and if the guy was a little unsmiling no problem. Walked through green nothing to declare channel at customs no problem. Lots of people around, somehow I expected it to be dead at this time in the morning.

Very much in favour of not getting taxi til dawn, the chances of the hostel allowing me to check in at say 5am seem virtually nil, so there's no advantage and some real and some psychological security to sticking on here for a few hours.

Need to get some cash.

0422 At cafe place in airport, waiting for slice of khachapuri (sp) and a black americano. 11 GEL, 13 with tip.

Withdrew 480, wandered a bit. Guy offered me a taxi but said I wasn't ready yet. There is this place and a Burger King. Went to BK since thought this place wouldn't do food, but I don't think BK had food. I asked if they had food, guy on counter referred me to some managerish woman who clearly didn't understand me because she said 'only Pepsi'. But there was no food at all waiting on the racks so I think they weren't open for food. But this is much nicer actually, and at least I'm trying the local food. I paid with a 100 note to get additional small bills, if (more like when) I get another I won't try the same trick again.

Can't nerve myself to say 'gmadlob' (to waitress or to passport check guy), I just said ".thank you". Food and coffee here.

0430 Khatchapuri pretty nice; it is "bread baked with cheese" and it tastes pretty much what you'd expect it to taste like. I suppose five quid for the coffee and khatchapuri (the latter only 4 GEL, so that makes it 7 for the coffee plus my 2 tip) is not exactly super cheap but not exactly going to break the bank either.

I wasn't doing it anyway but I haven't precached a map of Tbilisi on my phone so that's another reason not to take the bus; I wouldn't be able to use GPS to tell me when to get off. Do wonder if it's silly to be waiting here at the airport but for reasons already discussed I think it makes sense.

A guy is smoking at a table across the room. How exotic!

0446 Score! There is open wifi here. Going to send this now then...

Oh, I am reviewing the PDF which goes with the video Georgian lessons to try to refresh my memory, and with luck I can study up the remaining lessons over the next few days.