It’s time to leave Europe. Chao ensues. People are sobbing, scrambling, angry… It is a washing machine of human emotions. We are at Paris airport.
For a story on our experience at Paris airport view this blog from my girlfriend below.
Some 30 hours later we touchdown in Bangkok. The airport experience here was a total contrast. It was pleasant and easy. For anyone who has visited Bangkok will know that a peaceful experience is short lived, Bangkok is amazing, but peaceful is not an appropriate word.
And it wasn’t long until we experienced this. The chaotic traffic, the impossible task of weaving in and out of traffic, the blatant ignoring of the white lines on the road were on full display. And amongst the blur of it all after 1 hour we miraculously appeared at our accommodation. As I step out of the taxi it seems like simultaneously sweat droplets begin to form on my skin, it isn’t long until my t-shirt resembles something that has just been taken out of the washing machine.
I am not too fussed, as my first thought is a fresh shower and a big sleep after 30 very long hours.
Not so fast.
We hoard our luggage to the door. The door won’t open. I calmly look around for a button, it is almost like my body is reminding me to be slow, to preserve the tiny amount of energy I have left. I find the button, it requires a code. I go back to my airbnb screenshot, bingo, the code! I type it in. ba-bam. No! I type it again. no. sigh. 10 more times, and no success.
If I ever have Airbnb trouble I go through my trusty steps. The next step is to find the phone number and clarify with the manager. I find the phone number, I call it, the sim card isn’t working! and no phone reception. Ouch! At this stage it is around 38 degrees from the cement, we are 30 hours into our travels with severe jet lag and on a completely different continent with an opposite time zone.
I find the wifi password for the new airbnb and jump onto it, barely raising a signal from outside but enough to call the owner.
I call him, it is 9am Bangkok time, he lets us know that check in isn’t until 2pm. My heart sinks. How will we actually survive these few hours! Luckily for my girlfriend and I we were experienced travellers and had built significant resilience. However this would test us.
We walked 1km to the Siam Square shopping complex, for a moment we forgot about our 30 hours of no sleep. There were people everywhere. Dressed in amazing clothing, shops full of everything you could imagine for as far as the eye could see and colourful billboards… and most importantly, loads of delicious food!
Our first meal back in south east Asia, wow, what a contrast. But it felt great.
After receiving a little perk up from our food we decided to randomly jump in a tuk tuk and go for a little tour. It was fun. We began to immerse ourselves into the joy of Thai culture. Smiles, Thai-english, humour, and kindness.
Before long it was time to return to the airbnb and check in. This time we were able to walk inside the lobby. However the air conditioning was very basic and hardly made a difference to the outside temperature. To our dismay, our airbnb had been delayed until 4pm! 2 more hours.
At this stage we’re up to 35 hours without sleep. I begged the manager to ensure 2 hours maximum and we both fell asleep in the lobby.
After a huge rest in our room the very next day we decided to explore, we fell in love with Bangkok city. We extended our stay from 3 nights to 7 nights we loved it so much. But 7 nights was enough in a big crazy city… And we were craving the island life again.
Part 3… to be continued, back to island life and a return to slow travel….
Brendo