Trivandrum to Doha – 4 hours, and Doha to Oslo – 7 hours. Middle seat. ‘Nuff said.

I thought the unwritten rule was that the middle seat gets both armrests, but on the last flight I didn’t get an arm rest or leg space. The poor sleepy fellow next to me had flown from Australia and drifted off before the plane took off, snoring and losing all sense of personal space.

Waiting at Gardermoen for the flight to Stavanger I met an incredibly interesting lady living in Australia, from Algeria, had been all over the world, 70 years old, both luxury traveling on business, and backpacking. She’d been robbed in Rio, stabbed in London, married a Malay, nearly had her children kidnapped, studied in Spain, worked as a translator and in tourism – even with princess Anne and Diana. And yet, she seemed so humble and down to earth, and just a very amicable person. She was off to Hurtigruten now before visiting her mom in France for her 101st birthday!