Thor Viking: May 2016

Saturday, 7 May 2016

Wednesday, 4 May 2016

Around the world in 80 days

I actually didn't plan it but it is exactly 80 days since I left Birmingham to go on this adventure! If I had placed a bet, I would of course be rushing back there to claim my prize, but since I haven't, I am in no hurry to return to the Midlands.

The flight from Bangkok to Stockholm had the seat configuration I thought it would, so I got quite a bit of privacy in my window seat. I managed to sleep a bit too. The weather on arrival in Stockholm was sunny and during the day it got quite hot. Very nice!

I have certainly had an amazing time travelling around the world. There have been ups and downs, but in the end, after the event, you tend to forget the downs and remember the ups. I have met some nice people along the way, some I will stay in touch with, and I have hundreds and hundreds of photos to always remind me of this adventure. Of course, now that one adventure has come to an end, another one begins. But I won't be writing about that on this blog. I will upload some more photos soon, but apart from that, this will be my final post.

Thanks to all who have followed me on this trip. I hope you have enjoyed reading my rants and raves. I have actually enjoyed keeping this diary, a written record of this once-in-a-lifetime-journey, that I can come back and relive any time.

THE END

View my trip on a map

Tuesday, 3 May 2016

One night in Bangkok

At least half a night, 8 pm to 1 am, between flights.

The 9-hour flight from Brisbane was absolutely fine. I watched several movies for the entire flight, so the screaming baby in the middle row didn't bother me too much. It's just shocking how business class is turning into a flying nursery these days. Selfish parents who want to live a childless life with small children should be severely punished. Those of us paying good money for some peace, quiet, and serenity do not need to listen to their screaming offspring for hours on end. Even business lounges at airports are adding playrooms. I have already spotted several rugrats in the lounge in Bangkok, I can only hope we don't have the same final destination as I hope to get some sleep on the way. We arrive at 7 am tomorrow and I can't be nodding off during the day. There was an examplary dad on the train from Katoomba to Sydney. He had three kids with him into the quiet carriage, but he hooked them all up to mobile devices and shushed them when they made noise. Give the man a medal!

In Brisbane I got access to Air New Zealand's business lounge (kia ora!), which was recently refurbished and quite nice (they even had showers!). Not having eaten for nearly 12 hours, I hit the buffet straight away. Was a little disappointed with the only hot dish available being a soup, but loaded up on sandwiches. An hour after I arrived, they announced their flight to Auckland and most of the lounge emptied. And then they brought out the good stuff! Pork, chicken, rice, and a lentil daal. Clearly Asian-inspired but not very flavourful. They also brought out a very nice potato salad, no apples, no nuts, nothing weird, just plain potato, onion, mayonnaise, and cream. Yum. I had seconds.

There's nothing exceptional about Thai Airways' business class, although it's a world away from what it was in 1999, when I last flew to Sydney. Food was OK, crew was OK. Only two white and two red wines to choose between. The seating configuration on the 787 was similar to LAN's 787 I flew Santiago-Auckland, but the configuration on the 777 I'm flying to Stockholm tonight looks more interesting; the seats are staggered, so I should not have anyone right next to me. Happy days.

On arrival in Bangkok, we parked at a remote stand and as I took the steps down to the tarmac, I got a whiff of the Bangkok air. Hells bells, it was like sticking my head in the oven! 32°, the pilot said. Glad I'm not staying here. But even inside the airport it's quite stuffy. Despite it being a fairly new airport (2006), the toilet looked a bit worn and they have put a large fan and a portable air-conditioner on the floor. I haven't been to Bangkok in ages, so it's my first time using Suvarnabhumi.

The weather forecast for Stockholm tomorrow is 16° and sunny! 19° on Thursday! Lovely jubbly!

Monday, 2 May 2016

Brisbane

I knew I wouldn't like the tropical climate in Brisbane, so I only booked three nights here. I think that was about right. There is not a whole lot to see or do in the city, and I managed to plan my visit for an extended Labour Day weekend, which made it even less enjoyable.

Labour Day is of course May 1, which was yesterday. The hotel advertised in the lift that they are doing a "mini-service", which apparently does not include making beds and replacing used cups and glasses. Not only was that the case yesterday, but it turns out that today, May 2, is also a public holiday, so Australia stays home and slips another shrimp on the barbie! Nice for them, not so much for me.

I was very pleased to find there was a free bus stopping just outside my hotel to go down the hill to the CBD. It only runs Monday-Friday however, so I was waiting for it this morning, being a Monday. After 20 minutes, I went back to the hotel and was informed that today was also a holiday, so there would be no free buses. This applied to the free downtown loop as well. I was not happy at all. And arriving in the CBD, pretty much everything except a few food places and souvenir shops was closed. Two food courts and KFC were closed. Coles supermarket was closed. Hungry Jack's (=Burger King in Australia) had run out of soft drinks. I saw a McDonald's sign outside the Wintergarden centre, but there was no restaurant inside. I finally came across the golden arches again at Central Station, so I now know that a Big Mac meal is $9.90 (£5.15).

I went to the tourist information on Queen Street, which surprisingly was open, and found out that at least the free river boat should be running today. So I went on that. At least it was cooler on the water than on land, but it was a slow and boring trip. In all fairness, you can see the CBD on foot in 5 minutes, so it wasn't such a disaster that the free buses weren't running. There is a hop-on, hop off, but at $40 for 24 hours, I didn't even consider it.

Having seen Brisbane before lunch, I decided to head out to the famous Gold Coast beach. It's a near 2-hour journey by train and bus to Surfers Paradise. The weather was no better out there, so I only spent half an hour before returning to town. The good thing about that was that I only paid one way and made it back to town before I was charged a new fare!

About the plastic card then... There's a $10 deposit, which is refundable when you return the card, as is any remaining balance! So you can't lose. Excellent system. Buying single tickets to Surfers Paradise and back would have cost over $30. With the card, it should have cost just under $20. I got away with less than $10 :)

On the weatherfront, the forecast for today was 30°, humid, possibly showers. It felt less hot than that, and it didn't rain, but it certainly was sticky and uncomfortable. It was cloudy all day today, and yesterday it rained in the morning, so I haven't seen much sun my last few days in Australia.

With only a couple of fast food places open, there was nowhere to have dinner in the CBD and online ordering didn't work without an Australian mobile number. So I'm on an involuntary fast tonight! Tomorrow I will spend a few hours in the business lounge at the airport and I will stuff myself properly before boarding the first long flight. Where I will of course stuff myself even more! Thai Airways gets good reviews for their in-flight catering.

I suppose it's good in a way that I'm not really enjoying Brisbane that much, it makes it easier to leave tomorrow. Had I been having a great time, I wouldn't have wanted it to end. Don't get me wrong, if I could stay in New Zealand for ever, I would not complain. But in terms of travelling and constantly being on the move, I think I have just about reached my limit.

So it's time for Dorothy to leave Oz. There's no place like home, there's no place like home...