Everything In Transit

After 3 inflight meals, 4 movies, 3 white wine spritzers, 2 beers and approximately 3 and half hours sleep, I've finally touched down in Bangkok!

The flight from Heathrow was a luxury. The plane was so empty that everyone had 3 seats to themselves, allowing me to lay down and rest against several pillows. I flew with Jet Airways, an Indian airline who looked after me well, topping up my white wine without even having to ask. After 8 hours, I changed planes in Mumbai.....and the somewhat relaxing flight went downhill from there! Mumbai was busy, and the sticky heat crept up on me, making me extremely uncomfortable. I had to dash through customs and run to the gate in time to board my second flight.....a boeing 737 with considerably less space. The flight from here was 4 hours and I didn't want to be awake for any of it. So I took a sleeping tablet and slowly drifted off.

After a stressful summer in London of working and exploring possibilities for the future, I noticed that as soon as I became airbound, my problems seemed increasingly further away. On the flight I learnt something very important. Escape through travel works. Almost from the moment I boarded my flight, life in England became meaningless. Seat belt signs lit up, problems switched off. Broken armrests took precedence over broken hearts. By the time the plane had landed, I'd almost forgotten England ever existed.

From the airport, I boarded the Sky Train straight to the city centre. I was sat opposite a boy of my age who looked stressed and furious, punching his ruck sack repeatedly. I decided to ignore him incase he turned out to be strange, but when we both left the train he asked if I was headed to the Koh San Road....which of course I was. His story unraveled in the backseat of the taxi......he'd made it all the way to the airport after 9 weeks of successful travel, ready to head home, when he noticed his passport was missing!

We parted ways on the Koh San Road where I met my friends from school Marcus and Gordon, who had just arrived from India. This was quite literally back-packers-paridise. The street was full of friendly welcomes and cheap purchases. We sat together and enjoyed our first 'Chang'..... the first of many!

After a quick catch up, we decided to head to the river and take a Klong Tour which was beautiful. It was a gorgeous day, around 30 degrees and the sun was shining. We had a longtail boat all to ourselves to take in the sights of Bangkok and then wandered the streets of the city, admiring the colourful markets and dining on Chicken Pad-Thai.

I'm finally starting to feel tired and the monsoon has hit! A good time to pack up and head down to the islands for some more sun....but not before I take advantage of the cheap dresses on the market! Tonight we're getting an overnight boat to Koh Tao, where our diving adventures will begin in the morning!

xxx