2 posts tagged “flight”

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Day 14 - Home

Jun 14, 2008
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After such a long day, and such a long trip, Genevieve was pretty excited to be going on a plane again, and going home to see Nanna and Benny.

This time around, Naomi had managed to do the online check-in thing. But we got there, and there wasn't any obvious signage at one of the stations to take advantage of it. A few quick questions and we jumped the line! Woohoo!

We went through customs to Bangkok Airport's HUGE duty free shopping mall. The problem was, we couldn't really take much advantage of it, as they won't let you take large bottles of liquids on the flight. So we found a place that was offering sandwiches, so VV could eat something. We then spent ages seeing if we could find anywhere selling milk. It was getting late, and we were mindful that the little girl may turn cranky-pants very soon, very quickly. After what seemed a futile 45 minutes, we finally found a place, only to (almost) be denied taking it through at one of the security checkpoints.

After waiting at the gate, watching the scores of stereotypical Australian tourists lining up (sunburn, hairbraids, t-shirts written in Thai), we boarded. We pretty-much had the same seats as last time. Genevieve had a minor cry or three on the flight, but nothing like the meltdown on the way over. She did sleep quite a lot of the time.

Landing in Melbourne was fine. We picked up our 42 Below, South Gin and a few other things, picked up our bags and headed for customs. We had declared our wooden purchases, so there was a slight delay, but it was all good, and my Crocs got a free wash as I'd indicated they had some dirt/mud on them.

Then, it was up to the departure level (much easier there!) to meet Nanna, head to her place for a debrief, and then pick up Benny and head home.

A most enjoyable holiday for all of us - and some amazing experiences for Genevieve.

Just in case we didn't realise where we were headed

Day 10 - Farewell Phuket, Hello Bangkok

Jun 10, 2008
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We departed for Thailand with two travel/backpack jobs, and a few smaller ones (Genevieve's Dora Backpack, Genevieve's Backpack stroller, a small Backpack which essentially carried everything, and my camera bag that doesn't look like a camera bag, fresh from Crumpler.

However, we had a trick up our sleeves... errr... in our bag. We brought a spare bag which we could use, or leave there. Whatever suited. Well, we'd bought a few things in Phuket (primarily in Patong), including a tailor-made suit for each of us (OK... not Genevieve).

We had initially planned on doing the cruise on Sunday, so leaving it until the Monday put the pressure on. However, it was no pressure at all, and it was very easy to pack. We did most of the packing, and then went to enjoy our breakfast. All of our regular friendly staff were there, and they were genuinely sad to be saying farewell to us (OK... mainly Genevieve). Chef had a photo taken with her, and it went straight to his phone's background. (Yes, they WERE all really taken by her). I go to get the bags and BAM. The most insane downpour I've ever seen. Seriously... it wasn't a shower. It was like god had a huge bucket and was just pouring water on us. It wasn't so much 'drops'... more 'flow from the sky'. Thankfully, I kept the bags, and myself, somewhat dry. So, we go back to the room and do the final look around. And then, I realise.... where's "Baby pink bear"?

"Baby pink bear" had been Genevieve's constant companion for the trip. We took a bear that she didn't really care about, just in case something happened. What we didn't think about was, however, that if ALL she had was baby pink bear, then baby pink bear would BE the most important thing in the world! I didn't let Genevieve know, but the next 30 minutes were some of the most frantic of my life, as Naomi kept her occupied. Finally, after checking the room (for the 17th time) and looking through the bags (for the 29th time) I decided that :

a) if we have it, it'll turn up
b) if one of Genevieve's fans souvenired it, then no amount of searching would find it.

We said our farewells (almost to a guard of honour) and had our shuttle to the airport. After a coffee (YAY!) we boarded our plane for Bangkok. The flight, landing and retrieval of our luggage was uneventful. And again, we had the friendly smile holding a sign with Naomi's name on it.

We got about 10 minutes from the airport, and I noticed a mound in one of my cargo-shorts pockets. I give it a feel.... AND.... IT'S BABY PINK BEAR! Eeeyup, I must have put him in there for safekeeping when we finished breakfast, so we wouldn't lose him. So, for all of that time (including the flight), I had a not-so-small bear in my pocket.

The freeway system in Bangkok is astounding. They appear to just build another overhead freeway whenever they need it. So there's elevated roadways all over the place, with huge sweeping interchanges. We were tolled three times between the airport and where we were staying, so they obviously pay through the nose for the privilege. And, when you do go down an off-ramp to actually hit the dirt, it's bumper-to-bumper. Everywhere. No exceptions. EVERY road is busy. They do have a good attitude, however. All throughout Thailand, it appears that the attitude towards driving is "Well... we've all got a job to do - we all want to use this road, so let's just 'SHARE' hey?" It works really, really well - it's just a little scary at times when the 'sharing' happens at speed.

We arrived at the Pantip Court serviced apartments and settled in. The place was HUGE. So it was great to be able to spread out. Big bath. Huge living area. Big bedroom. And cable TV. So we hit the pool (please shower before you enter) and then, headed to the Night Bazaar for a look and a feed.