Day 2 & 3

20.06.23

After a slightly disappointing Lounge experience at Terminal 2, I’ve been in there before but now it’s a little shabby, they charge for premium drinks and food options are limited. Still it is a great deal easier and probably cheaper than hanging around and eating and drinking in the airport. I chilled for a while then It was time to walk the 350 miles to my Gate!

I arrived in plenty of time for a very relaxed, calm boarding procedure! Hats off to Singapore Airlines. I had pre selected an aisle seat,  as I like to wander around a lot and hate being hemmed in, my seat was great, the food was ok, the film I watched was good; “Living” with Bill Nighy. Then it was nap time, I did struggle to sleep properly and got restless legs early on, but think I ended up dozing for around 6hrs which is miraculous for me! (Thanks Marsha!)

We landed in Changi Airport in Singapore exactly on time, well done again Singapore Airlines. The airport here is one of the best in the world and as I’m going to be here for so long, I’d done some research and knew they had a pool, gardens and other entertainment options. 

I was still feeling a little tired and discombobulated but had a slow stroll through Terminal 3 then took the Sky Train to Terminal 1 to track down the pool!

OMG! Well, what a bloody marvellous sight to behold, an outdoor rooftop pool with a bar, changing rooms, towels with entry at £15 which I think is worth every penny! 

I had a fabulous swim, cooled down and stretched my muscles; Heaven 😍 It’s busy but not super crowded, the music is great, the air is fresh, the bourbon is cold! Joy. ❤️

I managed to while away 4hrs, swimming and chilling. 

I then had a little mooch around, popped into Tiffany, not sure they were thrilled with my slightly crumpled, frizzy haired, pyjama wearing look! 😂

Then I checked into my lounge and hour early to try and get some rest. Unfortunately  there were no reclining chairs, only the massage chairs which were taken! But I had a glass or 2 of bubbles and curled up in a chair and snoozed for approximately an hour before being woken by the guy cleaning the food area. I moved to a far corner of the lounge, curled up again, drifted off to then be woken again by power tools and hammering!! It was now 3am! 😬 I grabbed a cup of tea, and a slice of toast as I was starving and tried again. Finally gave up at 5am, when I had to leave the lounge! 

The airport was lovely and quiet and I made my way the 1000 miles to my boarding gate! (Why are my gates always so bloody far away!) Where everything was calm and serene, this serenity continued on the flight which was half empty and quick, 2hrs. 

Finally I arrived in Bangkok! Yippee 🥳 

What is it about approaching the customs check that makes you believe that you’ve somehow acquired a criminal record, forgotten to obtain all your necessary paperwork or inadvertently picked up a kilo of cocaine since you last checked your bag!! 😂 suffice to say I sailed through to find my case straight away, result! 

Next bit was to find the free shuttle to take me to the correct airport….nailed it!! 

As an explanation, for this, I thought I had booked my connecting flight to Chiang Mai from the large Suvarnabhumi International airport, where I landed only to discover 4 days ago that actually I had somehow managed to book it from the smaller Don Muang airport across the other side of Bangkok! Luckily I had enough time between flights to commute between airports.

On the shuttle bus I Chatted politics to a lovely Australian guy called Richard the whole way, fun. 

I had checked in online, so simply dropped my bags off, breezy! 

A 3 hr wait, a 2hr flight, a 20min taxi ride and I should be at my first destination and my first bed since Sunday night. 

I hit a wall! About an hour before the final flight and I literally can’t keep my eyes open! Sooo tired 🥱 

The final leg is a doddle, only an hour and I snoozed most of the way (pretty sure I dribbled at some point! Classy) as it’s a domestic flight collecting luggage and leaving the airport were speedy, I’m in a taxi to the hotel and arriving at the hotel inside 30mins. 👍

After 40hrs of traveling I am finally at my first destination! 

And Relax!!