Barb and I have arrived safely in Almaty and have the shortest leg of our trip to go. Here are some of my observations from the trip so far.

• I am a much better traveler than I used to be. I have learned how to keep myself entertained during the long trip.
• It is unwise to serve cabbage in an airplane meal.
• Traveling to Kazakhstan in September is far better than traveling in July. I had a whole row to myself on the second leg.
• I sleep better when lying horizontally than sitting in a chair.
• When the majority of the world (drive/walk on right side) and those in the UK (drive/walk on left side) collide in one airport collide can be the appropriate description.
• Playing slap games on an airplane when you are over 18 can be found slightly annoying by other passengers.
• An airport is a good place to get homework reading completed.
• The trip through the UK (one six hour flight, a seven hour layover, and a seven hour flight) is much more efficient than my past trips through Amsterdam. It also helps that it was cheaper.
• I am ignorant when it comes to the coins of the UK. I had a handfull of coins that I had received in change and needed to buy something that I thought was half a pound. I finally held up a coin and asked the seller what it was. When she said a pound, I guessed that it would cover the item that she said was 50 something (which I have figured out is similar in meaning to cent).
• I am also ignorant when it comes to the rules for tipping a waiter in the UK.
• Mary Poppins is still a great movie, especially the “I love to laugh” song!
• Knowing the end of a movie decreases the stress/anticipation of the rest of the movie and is a little challenging out of context. They started the movies on our first flight about 30 minutes from the end. Since I had never seen “Letters to Juliet”, I didn’t know that it was not near the beginning, although I had my suspicions when people started falling in love and having weddings.
• The letter “r” and the word aisle, can sound similar when spoken with a rich accent. At five in the morning I found myself trying to figure out how big a plane was that would have “r” as a seat position until I figured out she had asked if it was okay that I had an aisle seat.
• If you work the check-in desk it is useful to know that most of the rest of the world puts their month in the middle when putting dates on important documents. As the passenger I shouldn’t have to explain twice why my visa is valid.
• The UK takes their tobacco warnings seriously (see picture below).