offerendum

I saw you rented your car at "Master Car". On their website they have a link to Sixt. Is your car a Sixt one? I ask because I think your car is above average for a Thai rental car and I always prefer Premium-cars.

ChristianKiev

Saturday, May 30, 2020

Rainy season meanwhile hit Pattaya, a lot of roads flooded due to heavy rains and thunderstorms, temperatures down to high 20’s/low 30’s – but very humid, more like in a sauna.

Also, the pool of our villa tended to overflow, especially since the water from the roof flows into it like a waterfall.


But we had other things in mind, performing our last shopping, manicure, pedicure at Terminal 21,


a light lunch, before starting to pack our belongings. It’s always a surprise, that – even you bought nearly nothing – suddenly an additional suitcase is filled.

At 1700 we had all our belongings packed into the car, waited for the landlord to arrive, to check how much we would have to pay for electricity, return the keys and get the deposit back.

When she didn’t arrive by 1715 I gave her a call. Luckily, because she totally forgot. We agreed to meet at her office which was on the way to the airport. This mistake had a positive effect – she couldn’t check electricity, so it was free. Sunset was just beautiful when we drove the highway towards BKK:


Next stop: SIXT, to return the rental after 7’200 km. Normally the SIXT off-site airport location closed at 1700, but they were friendly enough to wait for us until 1930. The car was checked, the deposit returned, and we were transported by their shuttle service to the terminal.

Wow, that was empty !




At the entrance of the terminal body temperature was screened before we received a purple sticker, showing everything okay.

Also, inside the terminal there weren’t too many people.


Just the rows with the few flights were filled. Lufthansa check-in took place at row G, the queue at the Eco check-in was packed, moving extremely slow.


We straight went to the FIRST Class-/Senator check-in, where a very friendly lady took care of us.


Passports were intensively checked, of course she wanted to see our onward tickets to Minsk. Surprisingly, after some checks, she checked all our luggage directly to Minsk,


no immigration in Germany, waiting for opening of Belavia check-in landside.


Beforehand we were informed that immigration in Bangkok could take up to one hour, because it would have to be checked if we’re really falling under the Visa exception, not having to pay a overstay fine.

The reality was very different. Fast track immigration was empty, our passport was checked, a photo made, before an officer confirmed the correctness of our stay. All in all, including security check, this process required less than 5 minutes.


Airside we were, like in a ghost town, all shops except Duty-Free closed. As, of course, all airline lounges.


At the very end of the terminal we found 2 operating restaurants, selected the Thai one.


Inside the airport seems to be outside Thailand – because all social distancing rules, the alcohol ban inside restaurants, isn’t existing.

So, I had my last Thai prawn omelette, the girls some drinks.

Of course, even at an empty airport, Lufthansa has the farthest gate, E9. Social distancing at entrance to the waiting area ? Zero ! The guy behind pushed us forward.


When scanning our boarding passes, we got a nice surprise: because Eco was overbooked Vika received an upgrade to Premium Eco. Sometimes it’s good to have a Gold Card.

The waiting area was split in Eco and Business, to make the boarding process in groups easier. 2230 Business Class was called and we made our way to the aircraft, where we were waited by a friendly crew, took seat at the middle-block of row 4.

Yes, Lufthansa Business Class isn’t up-to-date, this we could feel in the following night. Due to the V-shaped layout of the seats and the very tight space for the feet, you always come into body contact with your neighbour. This is totally fine when traveling with your partner – but I really wouldn’t want to feel the feet and legs of a stranger in the night.

There was no welcome drink, no hot towels, just nothing. Just an announcement that the service would be limited to Covid-measures, that the crew is sorry for the circumstances, that they would ask us to wear our masks during all flight.

Well, that didn’t work: already straight after sitting down, the first passengers removed the masks. After dinner you hardly didn’t see a mask anymore.

In time we were off, ‘Goodbye Thailand !`, it was certainly a good choice to stay here – but now it was time to leave.

When we reached cruising altitude, dinner was served, no choice, just a tray with vegetarian Ravioli, salad and fruits.


At least warm rolls and bread were offered – we observed some passengers grapping their choice by hand, which the stewardess clearly denied.

To our surprise even alcohol was offered by glass, a service other airlines presently don’t offer.

I watched a movie, had a Baileys, which made me sleep within 10 minutes.

As Valentyna told me the next morning, due to my healthy sleep, I missed the beautiful thunderstorms over India in the night.

I just woke up after 7 hours of sleep, when the flight crew turned on the light and breakfast was served. Again, tray service, scrambled eggs with spinach and potatoes, cheese and yoghurt –


accomplished by freshly brewed coffee.


Before time we reached Frankfurt airport, I spotted the northern runway, where, according to photos I saw, a lot of Lufthansa aircrafts are parked. To my surprise it was nearly empty, just 4 lonely aircrafts standing there.

But it was a strange feeling to drive along the non-operational Terminal 2, where a lot of aircrafts were parked.

Finally we docked at Terminal 1, had to wait 15 minutes, to give the loaders time to unload the luggage, so not too many people without social distancing would have to wait for their suitcases.

While deboarding our passports were checked, then we were able to go to the transit area (transit counters non-operational),


pass German security control (they even were friendly) and went down to our gate, where we would have to wait for nearly 9 hours.

Lounges still closed,


we found a nice spot near our gate and, more important, a smoking lounge – 9 hours of waiting!

Since the airport is empty and Wi-Fi free, there’s nothing to complain, food and drinks available at McDonalds.

SKT-DK

So you finally made it out! Hope the rest of the trip goes smoothly too!

ChristianKiev

Even SENATOR, I'm normally not the biggest fan of Lufthansa, the Business Class substandard, First Class not available to all destinations.

But 5* is not only about the hard product, it's also about the soft product. And Lufthansa in these difficult times really performed.
- I reached the hotline always within less than a minute
- the changed tickets without problems, even Valentynas, which was an Award ticket
- rerouting at very moderate cost
. mostly very competent service agents

Our return tickets were up to Kiev. And when I cancelled the segment from Frankfurt to Kiev, especially with the Award Ticket, I guessed the segment will expire. But, no ! The service agent kept it active, as an open ticket, which we could use within a year.

Also the Lufthansa staff on our flight from Bangkok to Kiev, was more then friendly, but not over-friendly as you have it sometimes with THAI. They were helpful, proactive and very service oriented.

Thanks, Lufthansa !

Yemona

Somewhat sad to see this trip report coming to an end, what an epic journey it has been. Thank you for the efforts, and esp. all the inspiring food pictures.

DFW_CK

Glad you are almost home, safely. Sad to see this trip report come to a conclusion.

IluvSQ

Keep us updated until you all get home, and then I hope to meet you at the SGS next year.

ffI

+1
What am I going to do in my lunch break from now on? Wait for your next trip? After 3 hrs of non-work at a PC, this was my break.

Graek

I'm a silent forumer. And I think this is my very first time to comment on a thread. I just want to say that I feel so sad that this trip report is ending.

Roble

Graek - I concur …. this had been my 'vacation relief' recently. I wish they would return.

sonomawine

Thank you for the non-stop entertainment and boredom break. I will miss this epic trip report!

cockpitvisit

Not sure why you decided to leave Thailand already, since Ukraine seems far from normal yet. But since you wanted it this way, I am glad it worked out (at least, till now).

Interesting that LH interlined baggage with Belavia - I thought they stopped interlining baggage some time ago, but maybe they are being extra nice due to covid-19...

So did you choose against staying at a hotel landside?

Must be a nice Senator perk to be able to travel with two(!) young ladies and have both of them receive special treatment

arkellvspressdram

Yes I've really enjoyed reading about your adventures, companions, meals, travel booking sagas, accommodation booking and eventual surgery thanks for your reports. Can you just carry on reporting in the same style on your day to day life? Or maybe go get stranded somewhere else when you have a bit of spare time?

ChristianKiev

Sunday, May 31 & Monday, June 1, 2020

9 hours at an empty airport, with nearly no shops and restaurants open, even no Duty Free and Lounges, can get quite boring. At least, due to the low number of travellers, it was very clean, including the public washrooms.

I really never have visited Terminal 1B so extensively,




even found the outdoor visitor’s terrace, something I never mentioned before. Quite a nice feature on a sunny day, very quiet with nearly no operations on the airfield.

The information screen for all departure flights was very fast to ready, mostly air trains, flights just filling one single screen.


1 ½ hours before our flight to Minsk it got chaotic at gate B47.


Since there were so many people waiting for help, I decided to have a look what was going on.

It seemed that nearly nobody had a boarding pass for flight B2 894, therefore everybody was waiting for somebody to arrive at the counter. But the main problem was, that most transit passengers had their checked luggage only directed to Frankfurt, that they would have had to pick it up and check in again. Not easy when you’re holding a non-biometric passport from Belarus or Ukraine, aren’t allowed immigration.

The two ladies did their best, at least holding Business Class tickets we didn’t have to queue up.


During my observation it became obvious that 2/3 of the passengers were holding Ukrainian passports, so were on their way back home transiting Belarus.

The Belavia B737-800 arrived quite early, we were positive about a punctual departure.


3 individuals were deported on this flight, the German police, interestingly without mask, watching them.


1440 boarding started, we were allowed to enter first,


Business Class filled 7/14, Eco seemed to be completely booked.

1455, at departure time, boarding was still in process – but it got worse: the Frankfurt Airport baggage handling system had a technical problem, the ground staff had to search for all luggage manually. We got really worried about our luggage, because presently there would be no delivery for at least the next 15 days.

Finally, with a delay of 1 ½ hours doors were closed and we pushed back. By luck at present times there’s no waiting for other aircrafts to land or take off. We passed a lot of grounded aircrafts, had a fantastic view towards the stored planes near the new terminal under construction.

Up we were in the sunny blue skies over Germany,


I even got a glimpse on my old company laying below us.

The B737-800 of Belavia was very now, spotless clean, in perfect condition, the stewardesses having the friendly mother-like charm of the Soviet Union.

Up in the air we were served a small dinner, again, as you would expect it from a Soviet airline.


I remember Aeroflot in the 90’s, when the food exactly looked like this, before it was changed to a more modern style, which doesn’t give you the same taste and feeling anymore.

With such a dinner 50 grams of Vodka, even for me, are obligatory. How good the airline is, you may find out how much they understand are 50 grams – and Belavia was top notch.

After this historical meal I read a bit in the magazine available, called the ‘Union State’, dedicated to the 75th victory over Nazi Germany, praising the progress of Belarus and its bigger partner Russia.


To be honest, I took it with me. Better you can’t get the impression a modern, but capitalistic Soviet Union.

’50 grams’ of Vodka make me sleep within minutes, and so I slept until we reached the airport of Minsk, which I visited first time more than 20 years ago.

In contrast to most airports in Russian and Ukraine, ‘Minsk National Airport’ is a prime example of ‘Socialist Modernism’, built from 1977, entering operations in 1983. Yes, it got some makeup, but basically, it’s the same airport I visited many years ago.


The airport layout is a bit chaotic and you have to find your way. I needed first to go to the Visa counter, before passing immigration. German citizens can enter and leave Belarus Visa-free, but only via Minsk airport. Since I needed to leave Belarus by car, I had to get a Transit Visa.

We located the counter at the very end of the corridor, the officer informing us that the Transit Visa would cost 180 Euro. Wow, that’s a price tag for a 24-hour Visa. Since I was not willing to pay this amount, I asked the officer if there officer in Russian language if there would be another, cheaper alternative. To my surprise the answer was ‘Yes’, I would have to pass immigration under the Visa-waiver regime, visit the consular office landside, located at the 2nd floor – there it would be slightly cheaper.

We cleared immigration, picked up all our luggage, which luckily arrived. Then outside, handed our belongings to the waiting driver, met our Swiss friend (Casanova), who planned to drive with us to Ukraine. To our surprise he informed us, that he changed his mind, would not be willing to perform self-isolation in Ukraine, and therefore would stay in Minsk.

Then we had to search for the consular office – which wasn’t easy, because nobody knew about it. Finally, we went to the police station, asked, and got help. A very friendly officer guided us to the office, which we would never ever have found ourselves.

But the office was closed, nobody knew when the responsible person would return. The police officer called somebody, who then called the lady running this office, who then arrived within 5 minutes. My passport was taken, I had to go to a bank on 3rd floor, pay 20 Euro, and got my passport with Transit Visa when I returned.

Wow, 20 Euro instead of 180 !

Out to the ‘VIP Limousine’ (420 Euro for transport to the border and from the border to Kiev), a high-end Mercedes Viano, we ordered, stored our luggage, said our Casanova ‘Goodbye’ and left.

For just the three of us it was very comfortable, we enjoyed the Belarussian landscape in the dawn.


Valentyna, who never has been to Belarus before, expected something quite similar to Ukraine, was surprised. Everything is clean and organized, the villages show much more wealth then they do at home, the houses in good condition, the fences painted. Even along the well-maintained highways you’ll find no rubbish, no plastic bottles.

After a small pit-stop for water and snacks


we drove quickly south towards the Ukrainian border, the driver carefully watching his speed, since speed-cameras were set up all the way.

At 0030 we reached the Belarussian border point, our driver had to stop right before, not to come under the 14-days-quaranteen regime.

We had to take our luggage and walk in the cold night towards the passport control booth, some 400 metres.


Within minutes we were stamped out, walked our way towards no mans land.


Here we had to find transportation to the Ukrainian border control point, some 6 kilometres away.

While waiting we were honestly surprised that more people, especially orthodox Jews, were leaving Ukraine, than entering.


To find a transport wasn’t easy, especially with our amount of luggage. Finally, an empty Mercedes Viano stopped, asked if we saw the group of 9 people he should pick up. Since there was no group of 9, I saw my chance, not to wait in the cold any longer. So I just told him that a group of 9 just left some minutes ago – and we had our ride, paying 15 Euro per person.

Unfortunately, on the way the driver picked up another group of 4, Ukrainians who were working at ‘Meyer Werft’, one of the big cruise liner producers, on their way back home to Uman. Now the car got really packed – but at least warmer inside.

When reaching the Ukrainian border post we had to wait in line, a lot of cars in front. Now we had to be passioned, the engine switched off, so no heating at 10 degrees, no toilet around.

While all cars and minivans were waiting, all bigger and smaller busses were passing us, directly inside the control area, without any wait. While the Ukrainians stayed calm, I slowly got angry – so obvious that the bus companies are bribing the border guards, not to wait. Therefore we had to wait that there was a loop in between the busses.

After 4 hours of waiting I went out of the car, switched on the video function of my mobile phone, went directly to the border guards and filmed how they’re waving the busses in, we still number 3 in line.

One border guard went really angry, requesting me not to film. But I know that in Ukraine you do have the right to record any police order border guard action which seems to be illegal.

Then I called the hotline of the border authorities, which number is written at a big board, to report any irregularity. The friendly offer requested the exact border point ands our license plate, promised to check up. And, funnily, 10 minutes later, the three cars were waved in, the arriving bus had to wait.

Inside we had to get out of the car, hand over our passports, then it was controlled by the officials that we all activated our ‘self-isolation App’ with our phone number. Also, the detailed address where we would perform our self-isolation as registered.

Social distancing inside the car or at the border: Zero point zero !

After our passports were returned, we left the border area, 6 hours after we left Belarus, drove to the next petrol station, where our transport back to Kiev was waiting, another comfortable Mercedes Viano.


The first 100 kilometres the landscape was similar to Belarus, just the road much worse, the villages poorer, most fences collapsed and the fields in poor conditions. Vika, as usual sleeping, didn’t mention too much.


After 3 hours we reached Kiev in the peak of Monday morning rush hours, so another hour until we reached home.

I informed the ‘self-isolation’ App that I reached the point of residence, entered all details and funnily received the massage, that I still would have 10 days of self-quarantine. Strange !

After we were heavily greeted by our ‘daughter’ Valentyna repacked, ate some lunch, then drove with Gina and our housekeeper straight onwards to Odessa, where she would perform her self-isolation, and some renovation of our apartment.

Vika had arranged a train ticket back home to Dnepropertshinsk at 1730. So, she stayed with me in my apartment until at 1630 my driver brought her to the railway station.

When Valentyna arrived to Odessa at 1830, she activated her self-isolation, the App also showing just 10 days, such as mine.

In contrast to us Vika activated her self-isolation at midnight, just after her arrival – the App showing 14 days.

This is where this lengthy trip report, far longer than originally planned, comes to an end.

It was a very special experience, very interesting, for sure the best we were able to make out of the current situation. Nevertheless – I hope something like this will not happen again.

I thank you all for reading and commenting ! I hope you did have some fun reading our adventure and it would have been a pleasure in case it helped over the travel-free time.

offerendum

What a chaos at the border!