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Last weekend was supposed to be a quiet one. Just spent around the house preparing for winter. I had a big pot of pumpkin soup on the stove, Giant was sleeping after a long day cleaning the gutters on the roof when I got a txt msg about self check in times. I stared stupidly at my phone for a moment thinking I havent got any flights booked, and quickly logged in to check my email. Apparently I had six hours to get to the airport to leave on a very early flight to Bangkok, which I had no memory of booking at all and after searching back through several hundred emails I found it.
There was no mistake - the flight left just after 1am and for reasons known only to the gods of champagne i had booked return tickets arriving back here less than 36 hours later. I looked at the date I had booked it, the day my racehorse won her first start and gave me a very nice cash bonus. The whole episode was a blur, probably because all race wins are celebrated with much champagne and the most amazing rush of endorphins when you see the ugly foal you bought on gut instinct cross the wining post. While I had no recollection of booking the flights, it was too late to change them so there was only one thing to do. Get Giant out of bed, give him a quick condensed version of events and well, get to the airport.
Luckily my teenage sons were staying with their friends for the weekend, so that left only the cat and the boxer brigade to look after. A quick call to my mother and after much tut tutting about being irresponsible she agreed to stop nagging because I was frantically running out of time and come and feed the four legged crew. Giant was wondering around trying to wake up mumbling things like..this has to be a joke..your kidding? Bangkok? Now? You hate bangkok? when are we coming back? WHAT?? But that means I will have to go to work 4 hours after getting off a plane.
I phoned a cab, fed him full of coffee, fished around and found our passports and grabbed my backpack. Giant pouted petulantly in his half awake state about needing clothes and sundries and stormed off to pack a bag. He managed to grab a couple of changes of clothes including the obligatory workout gear and grabbed my bag only to find my BCD was still in there. We were having an indepth and unnecesary conversation about scuba diving in Bangkok city when the cab pulled up.
We finally made it to the airport when I remembered I had left the pumpkin soup on the stove so rang mum again which didnt do much to improve her mood as it was now midnight. Im always in trouble with someone.
Midway throught the flight Giant looked at me and said...."Have you actually got anywhere for us to sleep arranged?" ..oops overlooked that detail too.
Nevermind. We finally made it to the madness of bangkok in the morning with the city in full swing and sat down at the airport while I googled the accomodation site I use and found somewhere suitable. Suitable and my style are two different things. I scan read facilities and found a gymnasium listed and clicked and booked. In Bangkoks tallest building, the Baiyoke Sky hotel, all 88 floors of it. We were on the 66th floor. We are both deadly afraid of heights. We decided we had no choice but to make the best of this suprise trip to bangkok, and we did.
Heading out to Khao San road area we wandered around exploring checking out little soi's seeing where they took us and finally ended up at the Grand Palace. Giant asked for the camera so I reached into my bag and .....it wasnt there, in the rush it had been forgotten. Damn! We both said we would buy one at the next camera shop we saw and headed to the Emerald Buddha and grabbed a tuktuk (because of giants old legs) to check out some more Wats and find somewhere for a late lunch.
Neither of us are big city people, and the hustle and bustle of Bangkok was a huge jerk from our lazy weekend just a few hours back. We grabbed lunch and Giant said he wanted to find a pharmacy as his indigestion pills had also been left behind. I asked if he could grab me some hair oil and off he marched while i sat and watched the traffic and the human tide passing in the shadow of the skyscrapers.
He came back with a very bemused look on his face.
The lady in the pharmacy had indigestion pills but when he had asked for hair oil she responded..No Have. A typical thai response. He asked for a small bottle - This time her response was more emphatic..No HAVE...He tried a third time - Conditioner Oil? - and her response?
No HAVE! Why YOU want?? NO..HAVE...HAIR! She punctuated each point by poking her own head.
She had a point...a very good one. He has a shaved head. I guess it just goes to prove that even if you are 6'4 and full of muscles and come from a land down under..the little thai lady running the pharmacy is way smarter than you are 😊
We made it home safely - if never having done any shopping at all because we are both scared of big cities - and took in a wonderful organised tour from the hotel lobby (way overpriced but hey, everything about this little jaunt was a suprise) around the bangkok floating markets, ate a lot, slept a bit and laughed heaps. Just as we were leaving to head back to the airport i remembered to turn my phone on...a text msg from my son - "Mum, can you pick me up from Jarrads house?"
Ooops...id forgotten to tell him. I sent back..."Yes son, on my way, leaving bangkok in 3 hours".
Sometimes, you just gotta roll with it :-)
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Home and Away
Bob Carlsen
That's the carziest story I ever heard of.