Thailand JUNE 2024

Thailand - Day One

Before we start, just to clarify, up until a month beforehand we weren’t going to Thailand. So, you may wonder, how did we end up here? Are we lost? Did we take a wrong turn? Did the plane divert? Or are we just stupid? No, we were all booked to go to Iles de Pines, New Caledonia, but due to civil unrest, riots and the small matter of the airport being on fire, we had to pivot. Thailand? Why not.

Our flight was Auckland to Singapore. We landed late and had to speed walk through the airport to our onward Bangkok flight. Not fun when you’re tired. And, also, why does the Favourite Husband always need the loo when we’re in a hurry?

It’s only a 2.5 hour flight from Singapore to Bangkok which was good as we were ready for a lie down and feeling the heat.

It was great to arrive and make our way seamlessly through the airport. Unlike our luggage. Which did not.

An hour spent in lost luggage trying to explain the cases and the luggage tag codes that were on our App, whilst grappling with a language barrier and fatigue was tiresome, but not the end of the world. And we have learnt three things for future travels; photograph your luggage, screenshot your luggage tag codes and buy AirTags for your bags.

As part of our booking (we had upgraded to a Club Room with airport transfer) we had a private taxi that took us to our hotel which was over an hour away. This was a Godsend as it was one less thing we had to organise or think about. He included fierce air conditioning and bottles of cold water and even offered a comfort stop. It was dark and late, but Thailand doesn’t sleep so it was amazing to see all the nightlife, especially the food stalls. I like food. You can tell this by my body shape. Food is essentially my hobby, hours and a fortune have gone into my commitment to it.

We got to our (very fancy) hotel, the Dusit Thani in Pattaya, checked in and went straight to bed. After around 18 hours of travel we were exhausted. And dirty. One of the problems with living in New Zealand is that everywhere is so far away. (Obviously not “everywhere” but you get my drift.) This was one of the best first night sleeps I have ever had in a hotel! I don’t know if it was exhaustion or the crispest of white sheets and mattress from heaven … but we woke around 6am feeling refreshed, although reluctant to have to put the same clothes back on.

We were first at breakfast. Some may think (fairly) that it was our greed that led us, others would say it was jet lag/good night’s rest. Who cares.

With our booking we had breakfast above the Club Lounge inclusive. Breakfast was, simply, a feast. You can have pretty much anything you can imagine. Durian for breakkie? Sure. Pancakes, of course. Dumplings? Why not.

The Favourite Husband raised a quizzical eyebrow at my choice of bacon, pancakes and chicken red curry at 7am, but he definitely had food envy when I begrudgingly let him have a tiny taste.

Day one anywhere new usually involves racking up a mind-boggling number of steps as we insist on walking a half marathon, or “getting our bearings” as we prefer to call it. Today was no different, except it had to include buying some shorts at the very least as our luggage was still enjoying its own little holiday, somewhere else.

The heat and humidity forced me to not only buy some shorts but some jandals too, style no longer mattered, also some toiletries - as basic hygiene always matters. The other thing that mattered at this point was trying not to overheat. I’d already admitted defeat with my hair trying to beat the frizz, I was going to have to embrace it.

I’d managed to sustain blisters from my travel shoes as my feet had swollen a little and now blisters from my new jandals. My sense of positivity was waning by the hour as I watched the clock and repeatedly asked reception to chase the airline for my luggage. The Favourite Husband started to joke that the staff would all be asking if they knew that guest had lost her luggage. But I wasn’t finding it too funny anymore.

Our hotel booking included lunch every day along with a cocktail which is always a delight. The food was outstanding. So after lunch of the most spectacular chicken satay and a nap it was back out to explore, hopping on the Baht bus for 10 baht that essentially does a big loop of downtown Pattaya. A great way to observe the (chaotic) nightlife. Then it was dinner out and back to the hotel praying that the bags were there.

They did eventually turn up, at around 11.30pm. And were greeted by me and the Favourite Husband singing “Hallelujah” and appearing quite wide eyed and weirdly hyperactive. Which, thankfully for all concerned, was short lived and after a shower and clean clothes we sank back into the World’s most comfortable bed.

My observations of Pattaya in the first 24 hours is it’s hectic. Let’s call it what it is, it’s a vibrant red light district that caters to a wide array of tourists and never sleeps. It is beachfront but the beach is blowy out of season. It is hot and humid and noisy. There is a constant whirr of buses and bikes, cars and bars. Food is everywhere, on every street corner there are stalls and markets selling anything you can think of, alligator, fruit, Pad Thai and, well, insects. And we are excited to be here. We rarely stay in big hotels so this is a new experience for us and so far we are loving it.