Last day & return flight (March 19-20, 2019)

Now the time has come. My year abroad ends in exactly three hours. I am sitting on the Airbus A380 from Dubai to Hamburg, trying to stay awake to get into the German rhythm as quickly as possible. But let's start from the beginning:

Ben and I arrived in Bangkok late on the 18th, safe and sound. We even managed to catch a bus to our accommodation. Then we checked in again at the same place, got our suitcases back, and finally found ourselves in the same room as before. I could hardly sleep on the night of March 19th. As I lay there, it became more and more clear that the time had come. The journey back to Germany. I had been waiting for it for a long time and now it overwhelms me.

On March 19th, we only did some shopping (which turned out to be quite complex due to bargaining over the price), spent the rest of our Thai money, and packed our suitcases. After we checked in online, we took an evening stroll. Since there was a famous night market near our accommodation, we also wandered through it. It has to be said that in the evening, it has a certain charm that is missing during the day. During the day, you can't help but think, 'oh my God, where have I landed?' When everything is beautifully lit up in the evening, you just don't want to leave. Amazing. Afterwards, we had dinner with a view of the Rama VIII Bridge, which was also beautifully illuminated. Back at the accommodation, we packed the remaining things and then it was time to sleep again.

On March 20th, the alarm clock rang at 4:50 a.m. I surprisingly slept well during the night, but I was already wide awake at 4:30 a.m. We packed the last things, had breakfast, and lugged my suitcase down the 4 floors (I would also like to mention at this point that there are very few elevators in Thailand. So Ben and I often had to carry my suitcase up and down these steep stairs). At 5:45 a.m., we took a taxi and enjoyed the sunrise over Bangkok on the way. Things went quickly at the airport and suddenly we were also sitting in an Airbus A380 on our way to Dubai. Since it was the middle of the night according to German time, I tried to sleep through, which worked really well. On the approach, we had a unique view of the Dubai desert, truly impressive. In Dubai, we had about an hour to transfer. Everything went smoothly. Now we have been watching movies for hours and are looking forward to seeing our loved ones.

Looking back, the year abroad was really fun. I had many wonderful experiences, got to know many new things, and lived completely independently for the first time. There were ups and downs, but in the end, everything turned out fine. And of course, thanks to Ben, it would have been much harder for me without him.

We landed shortly after 7 p.m. and were warmly welcomed. After a nice chat, we headed home and finally to my own bed. It's cold in Germany. There is a temperature difference of 30 degrees and a time difference of 6 hours to overcome now.