BKKROP
Dec 2, 07, 4:29 pm
In my part of the world it is holiday season, which among other more important things means it's the time for family and of giving, and in my life, all those overseas trips where I have been buying "goodies" from every country, it all comes together. I work towards this every year, the one month of the year when the shops go crazy. In Australia, there is the local frequent flyer program, and on it has been a thread " the glamour of the international traveller" which has produced some interesting reading. Loneliness, missing family, snow/heat, long flights, away during illnesses, great food, bragging rights, things we all can understand, what glamour I hear you say.
I wondered how we all felt on this board about the travel we do.
For my part, I love it, I love the smell of aviation fuel and come alive and energised the moment I enter an airport. I am no good entertaining myself so the worst part is the hotel room, I hate going back to it, and will often sit for hours on the terrace of the hotel watching the world go by. I always miss those BKK getogethers by a day or so, and I always think how much fun it would be to swap stories and have a drink and be amongst people who love the same lifestyle as i do.
On the travel part, I am changing. I don't worry about the food on the plane anymore, I am more interested in getting the seat I prefer, On the plane I don't want to talk, I want to sleep or be entertained, and it's where I catch up with the latest movies so I get cranky when the same movies are on the return flight. I am not a drinker but I do enjoy that glass of champagne, I hate lining up at immigration, and I am always only one behind that person who doesn't have a visa and you see it happening in front of you as the supervisor is called and you know this is going to take some time. That 100ml plastic bag set up drives me to distraction, I know the rules but they always find one bottle somewhere I forgot to put in the bag and I am always being caught out with a pair of nail sissors.
As I use BKK as a hub, I enjoy flying with Thai, sure I have tried all the others, but Thai is like an old pair of slippers, I know what's wrong with them, I know I can get something newer and better, but they are reliable. I've left MEL an hour and a half late and arrived in Bangkok on time, other airlines don't do that. I've ordered Lobster thermidor and got a seafood curry, where else can I be surprised like that. We had the change of aircraft too, it was "fun" not knowing until you entered the cabin which 747 you were on, then we were given the 346 and we thought all our birthdays had come at once, then they switched it. Now we have the 777 with hardly any premium seating and we feel we have to hide in the lounge until the last moment so the rest don't see us.
The best part of this board has been keeping up to date and passing on the latest, however, sometimes I will keep a secret entry/exit for a couple of flights just to savour it, but ultimately everyone gets to hear about it and they close it down, it's a game and we have to stay one step ahead of them.
Do you remember the things that annoyed us this year. How about pj's, I for one tried them once, it was all too hard and the floor in the toot was wet anyway, but don't give them to us, well, how about those little draw string bags, what part of them do we use, I usually take them home intact for the juniors to play with. How about our BD, the new airport, the spa centre, and the one we all hate..... when we are denied access to a lounge, that's what hurts us the most. We all know the rules, whose *A, who should give us access and they stand there with our BP and say nope you're not coming in here, I can feel the blood pressure rising even typing about it.
I wish you all the best for this holiday season, for the Aussies on this board, have a merry christmas and a happy new year and to those in Thailand, thank you so very much. To the regulars on this board, it's been enjoyable and so much fun because of your input. Think of me whilst you are sitting under that tree in Thailand (or for TK, read New Zealand) sipping a cool gin and tonic, staff shortages means it's all hands on deck, I will be working my butt off now until 2008, maybe, bye.
I wondered how we all felt on this board about the travel we do.
For my part, I love it, I love the smell of aviation fuel and come alive and energised the moment I enter an airport. I am no good entertaining myself so the worst part is the hotel room, I hate going back to it, and will often sit for hours on the terrace of the hotel watching the world go by. I always miss those BKK getogethers by a day or so, and I always think how much fun it would be to swap stories and have a drink and be amongst people who love the same lifestyle as i do.
On the travel part, I am changing. I don't worry about the food on the plane anymore, I am more interested in getting the seat I prefer, On the plane I don't want to talk, I want to sleep or be entertained, and it's where I catch up with the latest movies so I get cranky when the same movies are on the return flight. I am not a drinker but I do enjoy that glass of champagne, I hate lining up at immigration, and I am always only one behind that person who doesn't have a visa and you see it happening in front of you as the supervisor is called and you know this is going to take some time. That 100ml plastic bag set up drives me to distraction, I know the rules but they always find one bottle somewhere I forgot to put in the bag and I am always being caught out with a pair of nail sissors.
As I use BKK as a hub, I enjoy flying with Thai, sure I have tried all the others, but Thai is like an old pair of slippers, I know what's wrong with them, I know I can get something newer and better, but they are reliable. I've left MEL an hour and a half late and arrived in Bangkok on time, other airlines don't do that. I've ordered Lobster thermidor and got a seafood curry, where else can I be surprised like that. We had the change of aircraft too, it was "fun" not knowing until you entered the cabin which 747 you were on, then we were given the 346 and we thought all our birthdays had come at once, then they switched it. Now we have the 777 with hardly any premium seating and we feel we have to hide in the lounge until the last moment so the rest don't see us.
The best part of this board has been keeping up to date and passing on the latest, however, sometimes I will keep a secret entry/exit for a couple of flights just to savour it, but ultimately everyone gets to hear about it and they close it down, it's a game and we have to stay one step ahead of them.
Do you remember the things that annoyed us this year. How about pj's, I for one tried them once, it was all too hard and the floor in the toot was wet anyway, but don't give them to us, well, how about those little draw string bags, what part of them do we use, I usually take them home intact for the juniors to play with. How about our BD, the new airport, the spa centre, and the one we all hate..... when we are denied access to a lounge, that's what hurts us the most. We all know the rules, whose *A, who should give us access and they stand there with our BP and say nope you're not coming in here, I can feel the blood pressure rising even typing about it.
I wish you all the best for this holiday season, for the Aussies on this board, have a merry christmas and a happy new year and to those in Thailand, thank you so very much. To the regulars on this board, it's been enjoyable and so much fun because of your input. Think of me whilst you are sitting under that tree in Thailand (or for TK, read New Zealand) sipping a cool gin and tonic, staff shortages means it's all hands on deck, I will be working my butt off now until 2008, maybe, bye.