Bangkok - Arrival

We arrived in Bangkok at 3:40, tired but well fed.

Despite a brief moment when the check in monitor gave us a glimmer of hope that we may have some extra legroom, we were crammed into a massive sardine tin with cattle class space to manoeuvre. Tesco farm hens would have looked at us and smirked (if one can smirk with a beak) before flapping their wings in the luxury of their massive barn. We had the inordinate pleasure of being seated half a metre from a screaming shit, regaling us with piercing shrieks just because he could, whilst Gilly was lucky enough to be positioned in front of a toddler who kicked her seat back every ten seconds.

There was a point where we thought things may go wrong when the check in assistant in Heathrow said we needed to have an onward flight. We don't have an onward flight until April which is obviously outsidde the 30 day window for visitors. Luckily after a phone call to check, she said it was OK. We need to be in Laos by November 10 at the latest but otherwise the Thai authorities didn't care. We got a taxi to the Sivarin Guesthouse which is a nice, fairly basic place by UK standards but I suspect a bit pricier than many of the tourist flophouses which are bound to be dotted around.

Had a second crisis when Gilly found her camera lens coated in a weird sticky film which may actually have come from the camera itself. Easily wiped off but a little worrying. Mine appeared to be unharmed so we at least have one camera if the worst happens to hers.

Looking forward to the breakfast in the morning, hopefully followed by a trip to the palace. Right now though, I'm mostly looking forward to sleep.