Categories: uncategorized
Date: 07 November 2006 05:14:39
I thought a 45 minute Thai foot massage would be a great way to start my flight so I did that while I was at the airport waiting for my departure. That should have been a sign of good things to come but I was severely mistaken. I had an awful day of travelling.
My flight from Bangkok left at 12.35am (yes, AM). We sat on the plane for about an hour when we boarded because they told us there was bad turbulence that we were trying to avoid, well, it didn't seem to make much difference because it was a very bumpy 13 hour flight from Bangkok to London. As a consequence, I didn't get much sleep. We touched down at Heathrow and then sat on the plane for 45 minutes because the airbridge wasn't working, just the thing you need after a long and bumpy flight. They eventually got one of the manual stairs and we walked out, at dawn, onto a very chilly tarmac.
At Heathrow, it was the first day they had bought a new security measure in (all liquids into a small plastic resealable bag) so I waited for about 45 minutes in a line to get through security. I then had my sunscreen (yes, it's very dangerous) confiscated from me because it was 150mls and not 100mls or below.
I then had a 4 hour wait at the airport for my connecting flight to Amsterdam. This actually turned out to be almost a 6 hour wait because the plane was delayed for an hour and then we waited for 45 minutes for a tug to push us from the gate!
By the time I got to Den Haag (via train to Amsterdam) and went to bed, I had been awake for the good part of 45 hours. Needless to say, I slept pretty well.
On the up side, I am staying with lovely people and almost have a whole floor of the house to myself (bedroom, bathroom etc). They have even said they will pay me an 80 euro babysitting allowance which they receive from the embassy (I offered to do it for free considering I am staying with them but she insisted).
When the rest of the household wakes up (I was up at 5am and it's now 6.12am), I will get myself accustomed to my surroundings and go from there.
Very exciting, I'm finally here!