This Flight Tonight - Dubai to Bangkok

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The flight taking Nellie and Monk to Bangkok left Dubai on time and, unlike before, Nellie's assistance was not needed on the flight deck. It arrived in Bangkok at 08:00 on a cool, 17 degree, foggy morning.

Once again, Monk was very impressed with Emirates Airlines and has no hesitation in recommending them.

Bangkok Airport Tip from Monk

If you're coming in on an international flight and are transferring to another airline to go on another international flight, Bangkok Aiways (BA) to Luang Prabang in my case, baggage transfer can be a problem because the baggage carousels are beyond immigration and you don't want to have to get a visa or pay airport tax just to get your bags. Of course, none of the big international airlines will ticket you all the way through to a BA destination so your bags won't get automatically transferred to your new flight. 'Airport Information' told me to go to BA and arrange for them to physically collect my bag off the carousel. BA said I should collect it myself and bring it to their 'airside' check-in. After another chat with Airport Information, they insisted that BA should collect it. On going back to BA, they finally agreed, however, they say they can't confirm that they've collected baggage for an hour, so if your flights are tight, you might find your baggage doesn't arrive at your destination when you do. When they finally do confirm that they've got your bags, they won't give you a baggage receipt and say that the one from your original airline is valid if the bags get lost. Well I don't think the original airline would wear that. I insisted on a printed receipt showing that BA had taken over the baggage and the check-in girl wrote her name on it and confirmed that, if BA lost it, they would pay compensation. All this to-ing and fro-ing takes a lot of time and a lot of walking, especially if your incoming flight is at the other end of the airport to the BA gates - Souvarnaboumhi is a big, big airport. It's likely that this same scenario applies to many of the other regional airlines operating out of Bangkok.

Monk's Meanders

Monk thought that, after the early start on Monday, and it being a night-time flight to Bangkok, Nellie and he might sleep for an hour or so - well no such luck. On going through the in-flight entertainment screens, he found an 'Essential Albums' collection. There on the list was Joni Mitchell's 'Blue'.

Monk met Irene a year or two after Blue was released and it's part of the soundtrack to his memories of the time. Tonight, Monk played it and played it, over and over again until the in-flight system gave up and refused to respond any more.

Monk remembers singing the whole of Carey to Irene while they floated in the sea off a deserted beach at Kserokambos on the south-eastern tip of Crete in August 2004. The words 'The wind is in from Africa', and the rest of the song, were about Joni Mitchell's time at Matala, some miles further along the south coast. Irene and Monk had visited Matala a few years earlier on one of their previous wanderings around Crete but they were not impressed and moved on after just one night - whatever Joni had found at Matala had long since disappeared. Irene and Monk loved Crete and they were often drawn back, even after periods of several years' truancy.

Monk's favourite song on the Blue album has always been 'A Case Of You':

"I remember that time you told me,
You said 'Love is touching souls',
Well surely you touched mine,
Cos, part of you pours out of me
In these lines from time to time.
You're in my blood, you're my holy wine,
You taste so bitter and so sweet
Oh I could drink a case of you, darling,
And still I would be on my feet
I would still be on my feet."

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