Wotae: 20.02.2020
Today was our last day in Thailand. We spent the day packing, getting a suitcase for Samuel, enjoying the day by the pool, and making sure Zwergi sleeps well so he can handle the journey home. At 5:30 pm, we went to the airport, where we repacked, packed, and sorted everything. Then to the check-in counter, we couldn't check in online for Vienna, these passengers cannot be checked in. Maybe that was a sign to stay a little longer;-) Then a little oopsie happened, a discreet stinky diaper massacre, including changing clothes and necessary stroller cleaning. Luckily, the suitcases hadn't been checked in yet and we were able to take everything out. Only Joe subtly panicked, we might miss the flight. Then came my surprise, I remembered the airport with 3 shops and so small. Now it reminded me a little of Parndorf and seemed huge to me. But here too, as well as at Koh Samui at the ferry, a great children's area where Zwergi could let off steam again. Why we don't have that here, or just everywhere, is a mystery to me. When we got to the plane, the next pleasant surprise, the plane was normal-sized and of normal age:-) For that, I forgot my phone in the stroller in the excitement, but I actually managed to bring it with me, otherwise it probably wouldn't have survived the temperatures. The flight was calm again, very short, and the food was really delicious this time, even though it was spicy.
In Bangkok, the running around started because we still hadn't checked in for Vienna. So we raced about 5 km back and forth through the airport (probably really a few kilometers as big as it is and we were probably walking around for an hour) until we finally got to the right counter. When we arrived at our plane, thanks to Zwergi, we were one of the first to get on the plane and found that our seats were not as great as hoped. We had legroom, but we couldn't fold up the backrest between us. A baby bed was planned, but we were not allowed to use it because according to the overly precise flight attendant, Zwergi said he is too tall for it and it is not safe. So I could only support my legs on the wall in front of me and make sure he could lie and sleep on me somewhat comfortably. I couldn't really sleep like that and it wasn't particularly comfortable either, but then I managed to get at least 2-3 hours of sleep and felt somewhat rested at least. Zwergi slept pretty well from the 11.5 hours, about 9 hours.
At the airport, I found the sign in the toilet funny, asking to throw the toilet paper in the toilet, after a month of prohibition that you are not allowed to do that under penalty. The dear Sonja was so kind and picked us up and to our surprise, Zwergi accepted the rear-facing child seat in the car without any problems.
Now back, today is already 2 days later, we still feel the time change. In the afternoon, we can hardly keep our eyes open, without coffee, I can't guarantee anything and Zwergi woke up at 5 o'clock in the morning yesterday and in the evening and afternoon, despite sleeping twice, he is also very tired like us right now;-) But tonight he slept blissfully from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m., so we hope that Samuel will take over our time again soon. We were up at 4 a.m. for that, but we can easily handle it with coffee.
For Joe, work started again yesterday and he spent the day at the UNO City on Project Zero.
Our conclusion on Thailand: Thailand is simply amazing. Cheap, beautiful, exciting, relaxing, friendly (Today I automatically smiled at a Chinese woman at Lidl and Samuel too, the woman was completely confused and we actually chatted just like that, when does that happen in Austria). The 4 weeks were not too long, we could have lasted another week, especially because it took almost 3 weeks for us to recover from the stress of normal life and I could sleep normally again and Joe also got back into a normal rhythm. And even Samuel managed to adjust to normal times.
For us, Thailand is perfect with all the pleasant details like food and having the laundry done with a child, and we hope to come back again.
At this point, a huge thanks to Thomas Ebbenauer from Columbusreisen Mauer, who put together such a great trip for us with the best hotels. Ebbe, you are the best!!!! Thank you
Wishing you all the best. Kind regards Karin&Joe&Samuel