Between Stuttgart and London

I went with UWE to visit ITFS - Festival of Animated Film Stuttgart 2009 back in May this year. Here is a follow up to my previous flight journey entry, the return trip from Germany to UK.

We took off from Stuttgart International Airport in a British Airways airbus at about 5pm, the very hour when Stuttgart tends to rain heavily, on cue, most days we were there.

The storm clouds loomed closer.

And it begun to pour, with flashes and roars.

I was quite excited to take off in a storm having just seen lightnings striking monuments and cinema buildings the previous days. The spray of water behind a charging aircraft is huge. This a case when the tremendous energy needed to lift a metal bird off the earth was made visible.

Off we go, right through the pelting rain.

Rising above the skies in Germany and finally soaring above the storm,

Into a completely different world above that seemed so calm.

We entered the domain of the clouds, an ever changing landscape.

Crossing the English channel.

Back into the skies of UK.

Descending through the cloud barriers, I could almost reach out and touch those woolly giant floating sheep.

UK from above, approaching from the southeast, looks very densely developed.

Our gentle descent into more pastoral scenery.

On the runways of Heathrow.

Another plane landed as ours eased into a halt by Terminal 5.

Back inside the building on solid ground.

In Neverwhere, the premise was the existence of a London Below, where people who fell through the cracks ended up in. I wonder if there is a London Above, or any cities or castles in the air.

Ocean and Continent Crossing

On the 31 August, the national day in Malaysia, I returned.
This entry will be a photo journal entirely of the flight aboard an Airbus A380 and a Boeing 777.

At Heathrow Terminal 3 awaiting take off in A380.

Speeding on the runway...

And off we go!

UK from above. While I've always wanted to revisit Windsor and go to the castle, at least I saw it with my own eyes from the motorway en route to the airport and once more when in the air.

Leaving the skies above UK and heading towards the English Channel.

Above the English Channel. The azure water felt so still and tranquil from above. No wonder he, whose thoughts are higher than ours can sleep in the raging storm.

And into the skies above France in no time at all, while it took half an hour to cross the channel beneath the waves in monotonous darkness that seemed like an eternity.

The skies above Europe.

Into the sunset.

Arrival in Dubai, as viewed from the tail camera. One really neat feature that I absolutely love with these aircraft is the option to see from outside the plane. This was a lot for tempting for me to watch than the countless great movies, old and new provided through the elaborate entertainment system.

In the 777 awaiting take off, with delays because of heavy air traffic.

And off we go again, above star-dusted Dubai. I would like to see the dunes and sand of the Middle Easts one day.

A brand new day over Asia.

After such long hours under the dim cabin lights, the full strength of the morning sun was as unbearable as knife to your eyes. It was only later, when the sun was well overhead that I can open the blinds and look out comfortably.

This is the Eastern shores of India.

And our descent begun by penetrating the clouds that so often sheath the blue skies in the tropics.

My first sight of Malaysia after close to 20 months.

Towards the Straits of Malacca.

While these pictures can't do justice to how busy the straits actually are, I have come to understand a little bit more why this vital waterway isn't the cleanest one around.

Back to the peninsular again, this time heading north, after a turn.

Malaysia from above.

Touching down on the runways of KLIA.

A view from under the plane's nose, looking towards another aircraft directly in front of us.

The satellite building of KLIA.

I'm back!