This blog entry is going to run into trouble because through its course I’ll be writing from 3 separate timezones. The UK, Denmark and Thailand. So I’m going to just capture all the airplane travelly bits in this one, and start the next when we land in Bangkok.
Deal?
Damnit 4am is early. Its so early even when your eyelids are forcably opened, your eyes are still asleep and non functional. All I could see were the bright blurry spotlights over the bed. But I dragged myself up and into the shower, always my preferred wake up ritual.
Dawn was barely breaking as we used a helpfully abandoned trolly near the hotel to push our bags into the terminal. After negotiating the pandemonium of an “Easy” jet check in queuing and computing system, we said goodbye to the pink one at the counter for outsized baggage. We would have to collect it and self transfer in Copenhagen, our first stop. Well… our first stop is breakfast, then Copenhagen.
Arriving after an hours flight, Copenhagen immediately struck me how clean and finished everything was. In the UK it seems every airport I’ve ever travelled thru had been undergoing some sort of major repair, expansion or modification. There is always bargeboard up and temporary signage confusing and constricting the flow of bodies. Whereas here, everything is polished glass, Nordic wood and neat stone. There is plenty of space, light and it’s easy to navigate. Its a striking difference.
We followed the signs to collect our pink bag, walk it to somewhere else, check back in and hand it over again. Then we got rechecked by the same passport controlliers and re-entered international waters to swim through the sea of shopping experiences available. I momentarily gravitated towards the Lego store before Aimi said she wanted a neck pillow for the long haul flight. I tried it out and wasn’t impressed so I’ll do without. We also got some Thai food at a place called Wok. It was really good as far as we could tell.
Now came the leg to Bangkok and I’d recently been given a tip to test out that might make the journey more enjoyable. As I got on the flight I was greeted by the hostesses and made a point to have a brief chat and present them with a tin of chocolate biscuits to share around. Aimi ducked away with embarrassment of course as soon as I opened my mouth. They thanked me and once all their routine jobs had been done they delivered to our seats what must have been a 1st class tray of cheese and biscuits, a dessert and 2 glasses of champagne. It was a really nice gesture, especially as, while a little preferential treatment would be a nice exchange, I had no expectations of it.
Now as I write this, I’m standing in the isle of the aircraft while all around me people are watching movies, sleeping or looking at me quizzically. I’m 6ft 2in. I’m going to stand like an awkward penguin in the corner. Its far more comfy than sitting when you’re my height. But I wont bore you by repeating my previous complaints, you can read my previous works for the full rant, if you’re interested…