Day 1 - Thailand Travels

19:30
Welcome back! Hope those of you that do, had a good Easter. Hope those of you that don’t, enjoyed the time off.

Thailand this time, and with my amazing partner-in-crime along for the ride. Vicki and I have both wanted to visit Thailand for years - both since and before we got together in 2007, and yet we’ve never quite got around to it. We’ve talked about the why - we both know a bunch of folks that have visited Thailand multiple times over the years, and what they’ve told us is that it’s changed, it’s massively modernised from what it was, and that it’s not the same experience anymore. We listened to them.

More recently, and in some part due to me having so much more time to travel, we decided that our experience of Thailand would be our experience. We’ve both been to Goa multiple times, and whilst we’d not necessarily say it was the same experience of 20 years ago, we still love it. Why should Thailand be different? There are still amazing places to explore, there’s still incredible food to eat, there are still great people to meet - and what we’ll come back with are OUR memories of Thailand, our perspectives, our experiences and our judgements.

We’re on a late flight out of Gatwick, and much like our trip to South Africa earlier this year, it’s made for a pretty laid back departure from the UK - even easier this time as we’re flying on Emirates from Gatwick, just up the road from Brighton. Our cab arrives at 17:30, and we’re safely checked in, through airport security and into Brewdog by 18:30. I’m flying on Emirates quite frequently this year, so the pathway from home to departure lounge beer is becoming a well worn one for me. I now realise the bar we’re in is opposite one of the bars we used to visit c. 15 years ago before flying, when we were both a LOT more anxious about it. We spend some time discussing a fateful occasion, when after necking about a bottle of wine each in pretty sharp order, we order another to decant into water bottles to ‘keep us going’ until the drinks trolley makes the rounds on the flight. Thankfully, we’re both a lot happier flying these days. I dive into a few excellent ciders, while Vicki browses various offerings from the wine menu.

21:00
Our flight is the last out of the airport tonight. It’s a slightly strange sensation knowing that everyone left in the airport is going to the same place as you. The bar starts shutting down around us. We’re not *quite* the last to leave, but very close to it…Baca lagi