Thailand Day 1: Travel

Thai Travels, S01E01.
Based on a true story

In the magical realm of clichés, every journey starts with a single step. In my case however, it usually starts with a taxi ride to the airport. My itinerary for the day was to fly to Kuala Lumpur (KL), kill 4 hours there, then fly to Phuket, get to the hotel there and meet up with Kate and Hannah (remember those names, as those are the people I travelled with).  

AirAsia got me (and ‘several’ others on board) to KL safe and sound and on time, which by all definitions should be considered a minor miracle. However, as AirAsia is a cheapline (a word I just made up, combining ‘cheap-ass’ and ‘airline’ – you’re welcome!) we landed at KL’s Low-Cost-Carrier-Terminal (LCCT) which, don’t get me wrong, isn’t exactly a wooden shed out in Malaysia’s countryside, but does not warm my insides either. Actually it did, because passengers have to walk like three fucking miles in the heat to get to the actual terminal.

The hike of TERROR!

In any case, after a much needed bathroom break (see below) and immigration, I got a taxi to the proper terminal to hang out there and you know, have a good time (food, free WiFi, window shopping and a visit to the ‘viewing area’ from where I saw my first Airbus A380). Contrary to a lot of people I know, I don´t mind airports (unless it’s that hellish beast in Jakarta). I like the idea of not really being anywhere. Yeah, it’s waiting, but it’s always waiting in anticipation of what’s to come.

With relief comes great responsibility.

The 'good' terminal

Just cruising...

Back at the LCCT, I met an Indonesian guy named Hock, his wife, kids and extended family (a party of 12) who were on their way to Phuket as well. Their English was limited, so all conversations occurred in Indonesian. I have to say, I did quite well. So proud of myself and thankful to my teacher Tika!

Hock and me

Hock's kid had a penchant for funny faces

Evening fell over us and as the Hock family and I boarded the plane in a darkness that was fighting off all the artificial lighting of the airport unsuccessfully, I finally felt a real sense of vacation.

I love night flights.

At Phuket airport, I said goodbye to the family, thanked them for the fun hours and found myself a taxi to take me to the hotel where Kate and Hannah were waiting. That taxi ride was strangely soothing – I put in my earphones, trusted the driver to get me where I needed to go and I looked out the window at a city unknown covered in darkness. (The whole scene really reminded me of this song - listen to it!) By the time I got to the hotel, it was already eleven so I had been travelling for twelve hours straight. After saying hi to the girls, Kate and I went out to get some food where we ran into this amazing bar-bus.

Ready to serve you any cocktail you want!

Dreading the wake up at fucking early o´clock the next day to take the ferry to Koh Phi Phi, we called it a day. This day of travel definitely got to me as it was the night that I dreamt about inventing a revolutionary backpack and being awarded a prize for it. How I keep on living with such a mind, I don´t know.