Thailand Trip - 2018 - Day 1

It feels wrong to say this is day 1 of Thailand as we technically don't arrive until tomorrow morning however it is day one of the trip, so let us just go with it.

When the alarm went off at 5am, my first thought was confusion - why is the alarm going off when it’s Sunday.  I almost shut it off but then, thankfully, remembered that we were travelling to Thailand today and the car would be here to pick us up at 5:55am.


For the next hour or two we were just relaxing in the Emirates lounge which is nice but I think it feels more functional than luxurious.  I think my favourite lounge still remains Virgin Club at Heathrow.


The flight didn’t feel terribly long.  It was quite exciting, although we have been on the A380 before, we haven’t been on the top deck.  The space was good and it felt like we were pretty much alone, just the two of us.  


We started with a wee glass of Champagne (at 9:15am in the morning!) but then I didn’t continue to drink too much although there was plenty on offer.  In our cabin, the toilets were at the back and it felt like quite the walk to get there but there was a section just before that was like a lounge room with bar and nice sofas so pretty nice.


I watched a movie call The Circle with Emma Watson and Tom Hanks - totally recommend it.  It was incredibly thought provoking and very current with our interactions with social media and the continued trend of the social media platforms becoming your digital fingerprint and identity - how many of us use the “log on with facebook” feature now to save creation of yet another profile on yet another social media platform.


Watch it - incredibly powerful and it should give us pause to just stop and think.


The remainder of the flight was a bit less exciting - listened to some music, tried to watch a film about A.A. Milne about his relationship with his son, Christopher Robin but just couldn't get into that one.  It is rare that I stop watching a movie when I’ve started so perhaps not on my recommended list.


I snoozed for a while (which meant we missed the afternoon tea) but then came into land in Dubai and it’s 21:03 local time, 17:04 at home and about midnight at the end location.  We leave Dubai for Phuket at 23:00 local so a couple of hours to enjoy a sip of Champagne and take in the airport.  This airport is massive - it is like one huge shopping mall rather than an airport terminal.  For me, that sums up my impression of Dubai which originated a few years ago when we spent 3 days here between Hong Kong and home.

I’m grateful for the opportunities Steve and I have to travel and experience different cultures, food and of course - weather!!!!