Escape from Sydney

APL loved Sydney, but it was time to fly to Bangkok to meet up with Karin's family. We would be traveling with them through Bhutan, and then staying together in Phuket.  The Hyatt arranged a taxi for us, to leave at 8:30 AM. During our drive to the airport for our 11:00 AM departure (cue foreboding music), I asked Alexander what he liked most about Australia. His response was, "The train, the bus, the cars, the taxi, the ferry, and the zoo." 

Unfortunately, there was a stalled car in the tunnel on the way to the airport and traffic was severely backed up. We had left with plenty of time for our 11:00 AM flight (mooohahaha), but being at a standstill in a tunnel when you have a SYD-BKK flight is a tad stressful. Plus, while stuck in that unfortunate traffic, the following thought popped into my mind: "Had Karin not said, at one point, that our flight was at 10:00 AM (cue terror music)?" I did not share this disturbing thought with my wife and son, but I did begin to think hard about a Plan B.

When we finally emerged from the tunnel, it was about 9:10 AM. We were behind schedule for our (ahem) 11:00 AM flight. The taxi driver expedited and we arrived at the airport at about 9:20 AM. I threw the bags on a cart and we shuffled into the terminal. When we finally found where Thai Airways was supposed to be, we found... no one. Not a single passenger was there. And the screens were no longer even indicating that it was Thai Airways. Inhale. Exhale. If we missed this flight, we would miss the flight to Bhutan... which would be seriously problematic in that there is one sole airline that flies into Bhutan and only one flight a day into Bhutan.

We scanned the area and found one solitary person cleaning up a desk. I rushed over to her. "Is this Thai Airways?" I asked. The woman looked up, startled. She paused, clearly perturbed, and asked, "What flight are you on, Sir?" "We are on the Thai Airways flight to Bangkok." Her response was not ambiguous. "That flight is closed, Sir." 

I had seconds to decide on an approach to getting this CSR to join our Team-To-Make-The-Flight-to-Bangkok. I chose my strategy: "My son and I are in business class and my wife is in first class." 

I cannot know for sure that our booking class changed our fate that day, but after I said that, she immediately called someone at the gate and requested that someone be sent back to get us. She also called a ground crew person to come get our bags. She took our passports, hurriedly checked us in, tagged our luggage and stroller, and told us she could not guarantee that we would be able to board. A minute later a ground crew person showed up and personally took our bags directly to the airplane. The gate rep then showed up and told us to follow her. I scooped up APL and we made a bee-line for security. She took us to the front of the line. Following security she took us to immigration and whisked us through that as well. We then jogged through the entire airport. Could it have been a kilometer? It felt like more. We arrived at the gate at minutes to 10:00 AM, flashed our boarding passes, and walked onto the plane. The door was closed behind us and the plane started to taxi. Some good adrenaline that morning!

Any flight would be great after a near miss like that. What a relief. I am sure it was Karin's fault.

We arrived in BKK, hopped into a cab, and drove into town to meet Karin's family. It was a  long drive, and cost about US$55. I have since researched BKK transport and there is a train into the city - which we will use when we are departing. It is not worth driving into the city for an overnight.

We met up with the family, had a snack, and went to bed.

Here is a tip about hotels in Bangkok - there are many many luxury hotels - as in, by my anecdotal-at-best research, Bangkok has the cheapest luxury hotels in the world. For example, we are paying $207 for our Four Seasons room when we leave - including dinner and breakfast. That is by far the cheapest Four Seasons hotel in the world. And it looks beautiful.

Other than appreciating its appearance on our way to bed, we did not get to enjoy the room in Bangkok. We arrived, went to sleep, woke up at 4:00 AM, closed our bags, and left the hotel for the airport. 

The flight to Bhutan was beautiful.

Bhutan is legendary for a few reasons. Aside from its assertion that it focuses on Gross National Happiness instead of Gross National Product, it is probably best known for charging tourists US$250 per person per day to be in the country. That does sound expensive. And it is very effective at deterring mass tourism. But regarding it as a tariff is somewhat misleading; if you read how the US$250pp is applied, it could actually be your total cost while in the country. The itinerary we created was not limited to $250 per person per day because we stayed at the Amankora properties - which are incredible (for more about Aman, please see our Aman in India experience).

Bhutan was fantastic. I will attempt to convey some of that magic by sharing our experiences in upcoming posts.