Ban Bang Ma Lao

Day 23 and 24 - Homeward Bound

Day 23 - 18:00
We wake up feeling very smug. During the night, I’ve had to snuggle under the duvet a couple of times, so frosty is it. Our day feels like it is going to go well. We grab some breakfast at our hotel, and head back to the room. I briefly think about packing, but read instead. We’ve the sum total of fuck all to do until our cab picks us up at 16:30, and this feels totally deluxe.

Around midday, I start to consider being a bit more organised, but Vicki suggests popping out for a beer, and who am I to deny my wife what she really wants? We womble over the road to the beach, which is much prettier than we’d perhaps thought it would be. We park at a beach bar, and watch the world go by for a while. It’s still mega-hot. The heat index is up to 47C again, and even sitting in the shade, it’s a little challenging. I grab a couple of beers from the supermarket on our way back to the room, and spend a frenetic 20 minutes getting myself packed, followed by a far less frenetic 60 odd minutes drinking Singha and watching an episode of Shogun.

When our cab arrives, it is palatial. It looks like an airline first class seat transported to a Thai style minivan. There are brandy glasses in a little rack next to my seat - but alas, no brandy into them to pour.

Once again, the check-in and security experience at the airport is a breeze. Our cab drops us at 16:50, and by 17:10 we’re ordering a beer and a sandwich in the departure lounge. We congratulate ourselves - particularly as the lounge gets busier and busier. There are 4-5 big international flights leaving within an hour of each other, and the volume of people has grown exponentially. Vicki braves a wine, and it doesn’t immediately upset her tummy, which is great news. She reckons it’s just making her feel a little tired - which is entirely understandable, given her average nightly sleep on this 3 week trip has been over 10 hours…

Day 24 - 01:50
Our first flight is a breeze. We meet a lovely guy called Junior from Lisbon, who is sharing the block of 3 bulkhead seats with us. The cabin crew taking care of us are great fun. I manage a couple of hours of half decent sleep. Vicks doesn’t, but her 3 week average will barely take a dent… We have a couple of red wines, but feel like we’ve behaved ourselves pretty well.

Our transfer in Dubai is a little over 3 hours. When we clear the connection security checks, the concourse feels all but deserted. DXB is a slightly strange airport, in that it’s a 24/7 operation, but has real peaks and troughs of activity through the day. I don’t think I’ve actually ever been here at 23:00. I know for sure that there’s a real rush of people around 01:00. We make for the B concourse, where we find our next departure gate. We pitch up at the Hard Rock Café, and enjoy a couple of beers / wines while we wait. The time passes quickly, as we’re regaled by one of the bar managers doing passable AC/DC impressions. Oooh, we need to go and board the next one…

Day 24 - 09:30
Home! The boys are delighted to see us - sort of. They’re definitely pleased to see people who are offering them food.

The flight back from Dubai is also a breeze. We have another decent companion on the block of 3 seats, who we encourage into having a glass of red wine at what is actually 05:00, but which our bodies think is weird o’clock.

About an hour out from Gatwick, I pop to the galley to drop off some rubbish, and grab us a quick drink. A couple of guys are waiting for the toilet, looking equal parts frustrated and desperate. One of them asks the cabin crew team to check the toilet, as someone’s been in there for quite some time. A quick knock later, and the toilet is flushed, and a guy emerges looking really pretty shifty. He doesn’t respond to questions about whether he’s ok. Very strange.

I mention this, because we spend 15 minutes at Gatwick after landing waiting for some customs/police officers to board They’re looking for a passenger, we know not why. Turns out, it’s Mr Shifty that I encountered earlier. He goes quietly, and we disembark.

Our fave airport driver, Andy, is waiting for us in arrivals, and the drive back to Brighton is blissfully quick. The chilly, rainy weather won’t be to everyone’s liking - but after 3 weeks of temps in the mid to high 30s, and heat index readings in the mid to high 40s, we’re really rather enjoying it…

Day 24 - 15:00
Reflections…

1) Thailand is great. Beautiful place, with some wonderful people. The food is off-the-hook good - and a real eye opener for foodies like Vicki and I. Many many dishes that I’ll recreate for us at home.
2) Jeez, it’s hot. We both agreed we need to understand more about heat index temperatures, and El Nino heatwaves before committing to another trip to Thailand (or other parts of SE Asia). We definitely ‘coped’ but had to curtail a few things we wanted to do as I think we’d have both ended up pretty sick if we hadn’t.
3) Island hopping is great fun - and the islands have such distinct characters, even when they’re only 20km apart. Koh Pha Ngan and Koh Lanta are probably our faves at the moment, but there are a ton more to explore next time we visit.
4) Koh Samui can do one.

That’s it for now.

It’ll barely surprise you to learn that my next trip (solo this time…) starts in a couple of days. See ya then xRead more