One night in Bangkok

The song from the musical Chess says: ‘One night in Bangkok and the world's your oyster’. But that night was at the end of a very long day which went something like this …

Jean Batten's plane and a Lord of the Rings statue - must be Middle Earth!

Alarm went off at 4.30am! Picked up by a shuttle at 5.30am and dropped off at Auckland international airport at 6am.

I had a moment when I thought I wasn’t going to get any further. The young and presumably inexperienced girl at the check-in counter was hesitant about the fact that my return flight is booked for August. ‘What are you doing between now and August? You don’t have a visa to spend 8 months in Cambodia.’ I lied: ‘I’m travelling around Asia but I had to book a return flight because many countries won’t let you in without one.’ She still phoned her supervisor, who obviously said it was fine, because she proceeded to process my reservation and give me the window seat I requested and, by some miracle – the girl was also surprised – the system didn’t charge me for my overweight bag – still 26kgs, even though I’d shed the rug, table runner, throw, winter jacket, jumpers and scarves I’d brought back from Peru!

Departed Auckland at 8.35am for the 3-hour flight to Sydney with Qantas. It was a smooth flight: the Tasman was looking flat, the clouds were minimal and the Sydney coastline looked as inviting as ever. Shame I wasn’t stopping!

Nothing noteworthy happened in Sydney. After 4 hours of walking the halls and using the free internet – Auckland airport authorities take note: FREE internet! – and eating a snack and walking some more and taking a few photos – nice Chrissie decorations! – and buying some little trinkets for Cambodian friends, I departed Sydney at 14.35pm, again with Qantas, for the 9 hour flight to Bangkok.

Congratulations to Qantas for employing a mature crew with a great sense of humour for the long-haul flight. ‘Trays! Trays! Give me your trays!’ called out one grey-haired attendant, and an announcement over the intercom from the customer service manager went something like this: ’Using skills learned years ago in Kmart, smiling Satesh will now begin selling duty-free items from the catalogue in the seat pocket in front of you.’

Surprisingly for an airline, the food was good, and they were very generous with the alcohol. I had a Bloody Mary that was more bloody than Mary, but delicious all the same. The choice of movies was pretty abysmal, though. The blockbuster selection consisted of the latest Jason Bourne film, which I watched, and one another, that was so forgettable I’ve forgotten its name.

My only complaint Qantas, if you’re listening, is that you charge passengers to reserve a seat using your online check-in system. Unbelievable!

We arrived in Bangkok spot on time at 19.35pm local time. Suvarnabhumi, Bangkok’s international airport, is huge, bustling and efficient. Thanks to the baggage man who rescued my bag from going on to Cambodia a day early – and mine wasn’t the only one he rescued. And thanks to the hotel collection process, which seemed chaotic initially – my instructions were to go to the collection point at gate 4 on level 2 – but my name was there on a sign and within a few minutes I was being whisked off to my hotel.

The hotel was fairly ordinary but the bed was hard, the shower reasonable and the aircon working, which met all my requirements for a good night’s sleep. And after that one night in Bangkok, it was a short one-hour’s hop here to Siem Reap, Cambodia, a place familiar and welcoming, and a return to where my world travels began when I first volunteered here in December 2009. Only time will tell whether the world really is my oyster!

New Zealand holiday: week three (and a bit)

I got back to Cusco this afternoon but my wonderful New Zealand holiday is still very fresh in my mind, especially as I've just been looking at all my photos. Here are my images for week three ... and I cheated a little by adding a couple of extras.

366/105 April 14, 2012

Though I didn't actually take this one but appear in it instead, I did take others of the same tree and I liked how my green tshirt makes me kind of blend in. And what a tree! It's at the bottom of my friend Rosie's garden in Titirangi (in Auckland, New Zealand) and is a kauri tree. This one may well be as much as 1000 years old, judging by its size. Just magnificent!

366/106 April 15, 2012

Taken inside Auckland Art Gallery yesterday ... looking at the lovely marble bust, and at the old part of gallery building and at the lovely trees in Albert Park beyond. The gallery currently has a splendid exhibition entitled From Degas to Dali which I enjoyed with a couple of friends. It was the first time I had seen the new extension to the gallery, which is a magnificent building in itself.

366/107 April 16, 2012

This is a flower from the metrosideros family, of which 12 are endemic to New Zealand. The most common here is the pohutukawa, known informally as the New Zealand Christmas tree as it produces its brilliant display of red flowers (made up of a mass of stamens) at Christmas time. This miniature variety is flowering now and provides a wonderfully colourful display.

366/108 April 17, 2012

The path around the Community Centre in Titirangi is lined with tiles made by local school children and designed to show aspects of life in the village. This is a good example of Titirangi, a beautiful tree-lined suburb on the shores of the Manukau harbour. The area has long been home to artists and other creative people, so these children probably have creativity programmed into their genes.

366/109 April 18, 2012

I went out for a long long walk this afternoon, partly through the tree-lined streets of Titirangi and partly around the bays that line the Manukau harbour. This was my view at about 3.30pm, and from here I walked straight ahead then turned left, crunching over oyster shells, sliding over muddy ancient lava flows and checking out rock pools. Bliss!

366/110 April 19, 2012

Another day of shell crunching today - I only have one full day of holiday left and it's busy with more friend catch-ups, so I was determined to hit the beach one last time today. I love the feel of the sand between my toes, and the smell of the salty sea, and beachcombing along the high-tide line. Pure delight!

This old tree has obviously seen better days, with barnacles and other beasties growing on it, but what wonderfully tangled roots it has.

366/111 April 20, 2012

On the last day of my holiday in Auckland I think it's appropriate to highlight the city's most well-known building, the Skytower, reflected here in another of the city's skyscrapers. At 328 metres, it's the tallest man-made structure in the Southern Hemisphere and, from the viewing platforms, you get breathtaking views for up to 80 kilometres in every direction. You can go up it, eat in it, and jump off it – and, I don’t mean anything suicidal by that. It’s one for the adrenalin junkies – it’s called Skyjump and basically you’re attached to a wire, then lowered off the side, very fast, 192m straight down. Not for me!

366/112 April 21, 2012

I couldn't resist one last beach picture before I left New Zealand and I thought this was so cute, with the kids' scooter and trike parked by a post at French Bay.

366/113 April 22, 2012

And I just had to add one more New Zealand photo before I left the country. This is the Percival Gull, the tiny plane that Jean Batten flew solo from England to New Zealand in 1936. It's on display at Auckland International airport and seems particularly appropriate as this was the beginning of 2 days spent flying half way across the world, from Auckland back to Cusco, though obviously in much bigger planes!