An Unexpected Stay

But wait! Something is missing here. Oh yes, the return flight! But why is the return flight so significant that it deserves its own post? I'll happily tell you!

Journey back home

Our return flight had a layover in Singapore again. So we flew from Phuket to Singapore first, from where we were supposed to continue to Frankfurt. Unfortunately, our flight in Phuket was delayed. I started to get more and more anxious because I knew we didn't have much time for the transfer. Exactly 1.5 hours, to be precise. If the aircraft didn't take off soon, what would happen to our connecting flight? Eventually, boarding started and we took off towards Singapore. Along the way, I kept nervously checking the time. The flight from Phuket to Singapore landed much too late. It was going to be very tight! Luke tried to calm me down and insisted that the connecting flight wouldn't leave without us, but I didn't really believe it.

Close, but no cigar

As soon as the plane landed and we were finally able to disembark, we started running. A Singapore Airlines staff member was already waiting for us at the gate, rushing us to our connecting flight. There was also a family of four who wanted to go to Frankfurt with us. The airline lady was really trying hard to get us to our flight on time. Unfortunately, all the rushing was in vain: the gate was already closed. It had just closed. The plane was still there, but the gate was closed. How incredibly frustrating! So much for the connecting flight not leaving without us...

Stranded

And now what? We were temporarily stranded in Singapore. I hadn't really expected this. Since this was our first long-haul trip, I didn't really know what to do or how to react. Luke remained calm, thankfully. In retrospect, everything was actually not so bad. We were given a new flight scheduled for 10 hours later, and also a hotel room where we could rest during this time. Of course, all at the airline's expense. I was just so caught off guard and simply exhausted that I couldn't think straight anymore. I had to let them know at home that we would be arriving late.

Another hotel stay

We were then taken to the hotel where we rested for a while. Later, we also had a delicious dinner there, and at around 9 PM, we were picked up from the hotel again to board our return flight.

Not again!

Apparently, someone had miscalculated the time and ordered our taxi too late, so we actually arrived at the airport one hour later than we were supposed to be there! All the passengers had already checked in, we were the last ones...it was like a curse! Maybe we should have just stayed in Singapore....fortunately, we still managed to catch the flight, but then we had to ask a few people on the plane if they would be willing to switch seats with one of us, as we only got seats that were not next to each other. Luckily, an older gentleman agreed to switch seats with me, as he preferred to sit by the aisle anyway. So the journey back finally started and we could breathe a sigh of relief. Unfortunately, we were rebooked to Lufthansa for the replacement flight and did not get to experience the service of Singapore Airlines anymore. And I can only say that it is far superior to Lufthansa's! Apart from the fact that the seats were very uncomfortable and the legroom on Singapore Airlines was much better, we hardly got anything to drink on the entire flight. Lufthansa is definitely not bad, but when you have a direct comparison with Singapore Airlines, everything is a bit worse ;)

Anyway, despite all the hardships, we arrived back in Germany safe and sound with a tan and many memories in our luggage. And that's how you learn firsthand about all the things that can go wrong!