Sydney to Bangkok

I had set alarms for 5 am but I woke at 4:30 am and was surprised when the Fitbit on my wrist vibrated at 4:40 am. It sometimes has a mind of its own with alarms. I lay for a while before getting up to switch off the now unnecessary alarm on my phone.

By the time I had dressed the others were moving. We ate cereal for a quick breakfast, with coffee for Majella and me, and then completed our preparations for travel. A little before 6 am Nick drove us to the nearby station where we waited a few minutes for the next Metro to the city. At Central Station we found our way to Platform 23, waited a few minutes, and rode the train to the airport.

Checkin and bag drop went smoothly. Before long we had passed immigration and security. There was no requirement to remove anything from bags for screening and for once my bag, with my camera and electronics, was not pulled aside for more extensive checks.

Once through security Majella headed for the MacDonalds store that Harry had been so keen to check out. Lucas had been too and we assumed Ben might be but he was less enthused.

We backtracked, entered the Qantas Club, and sat to wait for boarding. Majella and I helped ourselves to regular treats of fruit salad, pastries, and coffees. Ben was not hungry at first but was eventually tempted by a couple of croissants.

Soon after 9:30 Majella spotted the ‘Go to gate’ message and we headed off to board. Our late booking had meant that I could not get 3 seats together. Majella and Ben were seated on the aisle in the middle set of 4 seats and I had a window seat nearby. Boarding happened reasonably quickly but then there was some delay and we were about 15 minutes late departing.

The flight was pleasant enough. Departing and arriving in daylight meant that we had no real need to sleep though that was a possibility if we wanted. Majella and Ben seemed to find things to amuse them in the entertainment system. I made a start on reading the book, That Deadman Dance, that we will be discussing at book club in mid-January. We were served drinks with snacks, lunch followed by ice creams, chocolate, and early dinner with dessert. It was a lot of food for a day spent sitting but all tasty though filling.

Despite a slightly delayed departure our flight arrived in Bangkok a little ahead of schedule. There was a long walk to immigration where we presented at the desk for visa on arrival and were assured that Australians did not need it. Majella had to try a couple of times to have her fingerprints scanned but once that was done we passed through immigration easily and went to wait for our bags. They eventually arrived and we passed through customs without delay.

I checked the instructions for where to go for our hotel shuttle and we walked the length of the arrivals waiting area. Once we found the right location we had a 15 minute wait before the shuttle arrived. It was packed tight but soon had us at the hotel where we checked in and were advised that we should take the 5 am shuttle for our morning flight to Siem Reap. Reception also passed us a package from Wide Eyed Tours which we opened as soon as we reached our room. It had a copy of our itinerary, a booklet about Thailand, and 3 metal water bottles.

Once we had settled into our room and I had completed online checkin for our flights to Siem Reap we went out for a walk. I had seen some market stalls along the main road as we approached the hotel so we walked back there. Majella was tempted to buy a fresh-cooked roti with banana but we had all eaten enough on the flight to not need more food.

We walked back to the hotel and had a drink in the cafe. Ben had coke and Majella and I shared a Belgian wheat beer with coriander and orange – her choice. Back in our room we showered and prepared for another early morning. We will need to be up in time for the 5 am shuttle.