Day 70 – 71

Friday

It was pretty hard getting up so early! But I made it.

My taxi is on time and check out is easy. Off we go. 

The weather looks ok when we leave Phuket Old Town but as we head towards the airport the sky gets darker & darker, then the heavens open and it’s torrential rain! After driving for another 10 mins the traffic slows, then stops, the road ahead is completely flooded! Everyone has to turn around and travel on the wrong side of the motorway to bypass the flood, this is a little chaotic and scary! The flooded road is totally impassable, water is almost waist height! At this point I’m not sure we’ll get through as the levels are rising on our side of the road quite rapidly! 😬

We make it, Just! Luckily we are almost at the airport. I’m not sure if this storm will have a knock on effect for my flight but fingers crossed 🤞.

Check in is a breeze, security a breeze, the flights on time, the flight is great, I arrive safely in Bangkok with no problems! Fantastic Job Thai AirAsia!

I grab a nice and cheap taxi to my hotel, 150tbht Bargin!

The hotel is a short drive away and is lovely, my room is great. It’s just for one night so all good. 

There is a Mall across the road so I decide to go and try and get some food, I’m starving and I think it’ll be cheaper than the hotel.

Crossing the 6 lane road out front is a terrifying mission 😮 but I survive!

The Mall is pretty big, with lots of food options, unfortunately this kind of throws me, I’m tired and hungry but just can’t decide what I want to eat! Lots of noodle options (nope) lots of Pork options (another Nope) the longer I prevaricate the hungrier I get, the more I can’t decide! 

I finally opt for a restaurant with a salad bar, but there is a wait,m the girl says I can have a table when the the next one comes free, so I wait patiently, a table becomes free and a group of guys behind me just March up and sit down at it!! I’m like, WTF! I decide to leave, go to the hotel and fuck the cost!! Risk my life crossing the road again! 

But the hotel restaurant is an oasis of calm and tranquillity! And as if that isn’t balm enough for my hangrey soul they also have Khao Soi as a lunch special!! 😍❤️ it’s a really reasonable price as well. 

It arrives and it is one of the best ones I’ve had in Thailand!! So scrumptious! I’m a happy camper!! 

The pool here is also pretty lush! I have a refreshing swim and chill by the pool and gardens for a while. Passing the time watching cranes fishing in the waterway nearby and wondering why there are literally 100s of dragonfly’s spiralling around the top of the hotel? 🤷‍♀️

Dinner is back at the hotel restaurant, another lovely meal. 

Then off to my bed!! 

Saturday 

My flight for Doha isn’t leaving till 20.25 and I need to check out of the hotel room by 1pm so the day is spent marking time, reading and waiting to leave. 

Bangkok Airport is pretty busy and I have arrived quite early for my flight, no surprise there! This was o I could take advantage of the hotel shuttle service. 

Qatar Airways allow me to check in and drop my baggage early, which is great. Once again a pleasant experience with check in and security. Bangkok is a large airport, so I locate my gate then have a mooch around the shops before finding a nice little bar and having a beer. 

This bar seems to attract a lot of western tourists and I end up having a lovely time chatting to various groups of people; a couple from Plymouth, flying to Heathrow. A nice guy flying from Sydney to Manchester, with a 9hr stopover in Bangkok 😬 A guy flying to Edinburgh, then onto Aberdeen. It was a lovely way to pass the time. 

My flight is delayed by around 50mins which isn’t a huge issue. 

I’m seated next to another nice guy from South Africa, the flight is OK, my screen doesn’t seem to work very well, so movie watching is a little challenging! But overall an OK flight. 

I arrive in Doha and it’s pretty Chaotic! Loads of people rushing for connecting flights, it’s seems like loads of flights have arrived at the same time and everyone is frantically trying to get to their connecting flights. 

I find my gate, my flight is on time which is fabulous, I have 1 hour before departure, so I go to the loo before going into the departure lounge. 

When I get to the departure lounge the fun really starts!! 

I rock up, present my boarding pass jokingly suggest that any upgrades would be gratefully received! She smiles and says unfortunately the flight is full so that’s not possible, that’s fine but at least I tried. 

Then she looks at my boarding pass, looks at her computer, speaks to a colleague, turns round and says to me

“I’m sorry but you are unable to board this flight as it’s fully Booked” 

I’m gobsmacked! Of course I can board the flight I booked it 6 bloody months ago!! She is adamant that I can’t. I really don’t know what to say to this! 

She tells me to go and speak to Customer Service which and see what they can do. 

There is no point arguing with her as she can do nothing to help, so I leg it the 500 miles to the Customer Service desk, forgo my usual manners and English propensity for politeness and barge to the front of the queue. I explain the situation to some guy, who checks the system and again says, yes I’m sorry but the flight is fully booked so you can’t get on it! I just about lose my shit! I know it’s booked, because I fucking booked a seat, 6 fucking months ago and now 40 minutes before departure your telling me I can’t fly? WTAF! 

I tell him I have a connecting flight from Gatwick, but because it’s not with Qatar they don’t give a shit! 

I ask when the next flight to Gatwick is and he says tomorrow at the same time, so 24 fucking hours away! Are you shitting me? 

Then he starts dealing with someone else’s lost property problem and I’m thinking, seriously? So I interrupt and tell him to focus and sort out my issue, get me back in my flight! He explains that, no that is not possible at all! He looks again and suggests I fly to Heathrow via Rome on a flight leaving in 7hrs….are you actually serious?! Absolutely, no way is this a workable or acceptable solution. 

By now I realise that I have Zero chance of flying on my original booking,  especially as it leaves in 15 mins and the gate is mikes away! 

I ask to speak to a manager. He directs me back further into the Airport, I suggest he gets the Manager to come here, he says that’s not possible, of course it’s not!! 

I storm my way through the airport back to where to the area I arrived in. Ask where the manager is, someone points out a man in a grey suit. 

I March towards him, he’s about to walk away, so i demand to speak to him. He ask me what the problem is, he then gets it with both fucking barrel’s! No swearing, no shouting but I am livid! He takes my boarding pass and says he will go and see what he can do. 

After he leaves, I get chatting to 3 women who are also waiting, they too have been bumped from the same flight. They are all Arab Woman, I point out, it’s interesting that it appears only Woman travelling alone or without a man have been bumped off the flight!! 

The staff are not being particularly helpful. The WiFi in the airport is totally shit, you can’t make calls on WhatsApp and the WiFi drops out every 5 mins. This makes it extremely difficult to contact people. 

I demand that they find seats for us all and also provide us with bottles of water. They do this. 

Three of the woman are given letters for compensation and placed on flights to Heathrow in the morning. Another is placed on a later flight with her 2 daughters. They are expected to just hang around the airport, I tell them to at least ask for an Airport Lounge Pass. 

The manager offers this option to me. I once again explain that I have a connecting flight from Gatwick. Is he going to pay for the transfer from Heathrow to Gatwick? That’ll be a No! 

By now I’m extremely tired having been awake for what’s seems like forever, I’m stressed, upset and cross. 

I tell the manager, that he needs to find me a hotel for the night, provide me with refreshments, and get me on the next available flight to Gatwick. I point out to him the interesting fact that it’s all females that have been bumped off the flight, no single males! He tries to say it’s a random selection, I don’t fucking believe him! 

He comes back to me after 10 mins. I now have a hotel room, the hotel is inside the Terminal, with a food voucher of a decent amount, he has booked my into the Gatwick Flight leaving tomorrow at 1.40am, he has the good sense to upgrade me to Business Class! This is all very nice, but doesn’t compensate for the stress and massive inconvenience caused by the Qatar airline’s disgusting practice of overbooking flights! 

I find my hotel, it’s OK, at least their WiFi is good! It’s staffed by males, who are not particularly kind or helpful. 

I’m feeling dizzy and sick, so I just drink some water and go to bed. 

QATAR AIRLINES YOU ARE DISGRACEFUL!

More to follow!!