Saturday the 6th December saw our departure from Palolem. The stay on the beach was like a final sigh of relief and was a great way to end the India trip. The Chattai Huts that we stayed in were great, there are no permanent structures allowed so the people that run these places re-build them each year for the start of the season. There are so many options to choose from for accomodation, lots on the beach which might have been nice as o
urs was a little away from the beach. I'm also not sure how the Chattai compares to others on the beach for prices, so if anyone's thinking of going it's probably worth researching a few.
The gentleman that ran Chattai, Charlie DeSilva, was really friendly and laid back and made us very welcome. Although the morning before our departure I had broken the shower and went to let him know, and during our conversation he happened to mention that the on the 6th of December all airports in India had been put on high alert due to a threat of a terrorist attack that had been received by India authorities. This did feature intermittently in my thoughts until we landed in Mumbai the following day. I'm glad I have complete control over my nerves.
We arrived in Mumbai airport at 3pm in the afternoon and then the wait. Jo's flight was at 2am and mine was at 6am the following day. This was gruelling. We had no other choice unfortunately, due to the uncertainty of our plans this was how it panned out. Mumbai international airport is being revamped so there is a serious lack of anything, the seats are all metal and there is no way of reclining. This was all ok for about 9 hours, then Jo went to get her flight around 1am and the next 5 hours couldn't have passed more slowly.
I hadn't eaten since the flight from Goa and I was just exhausted. I also wasn't happy to fall asleep as I was on my own. A fight also broke out at the departure gate between a group of Indian men; it turned out that there was some disagreement about whether chairs were meant for people or bags. At 5am I'm really not sure it's worth fighting about.
Anyway, once on the plane I dozed intermittently between tea and more flight food and was just glad to arrive in Bangkok! If I'd had more than an hour's sleep I might actually have jumped and done a small celebratory dance.
Jo met me with my bag which was initially confusing as I wasn't sure how she'd managed to get there and get my bag - this was partly due to my malfunctioning brain. We got on our way and jumped in a taxi with a taxi driver who spoke no English, had no idea where he was going and over charged us by about THB 350. I was too tired to argue and just wanted to get the hostel as quickly as possible.
After a number of detours we finally found the place and it's a great hostel in a really handy location: the Lub d hostel on Decho Road. I fell asleep almost immediately after sitting down and it really felt good. After about 3 hour's sleep we woke up and went in search of food, the hostel provided a very handy map of all the places to eat within about a 20 minute walking distance and we soon found some noodles. This was the first non-aeroplane food we'd eaten in nearly 48 hours and was very welcome. I had this deep-fried noodle dish with this omelet on top with gravy.
The first night in Bangkok had sated my appetite and for that I was grateful.
urs was a little away from the beach. I'm also not sure how the Chattai compares to others on the beach for prices, so if anyone's thinking of going it's probably worth researching a few.The gentleman that ran Chattai, Charlie DeSilva, was really friendly and laid back and made us very welcome. Although the morning before our departure I had broken the shower and went to let him know, and during our conversation he happened to mention that the on the 6th of December all airports in India had been put on high alert due to a threat of a terrorist attack that had been received by India authorities. This did feature intermittently in my thoughts until we landed in Mumbai the following day. I'm glad I have complete control over my nerves.
We arrived in Mumbai airport at 3pm in the afternoon and then the wait. Jo's flight was at 2am and mine was at 6am the following day. This was gruelling. We had no other choice unfortunately, due to the uncertainty of our plans this was how it panned out. Mumbai international airport is being revamped so there is a serious lack of anything, the seats are all metal and there is no way of reclining. This was all ok for about 9 hours, then Jo went to get her flight around 1am and the next 5 hours couldn't have passed more slowly.
I hadn't eaten since the flight from Goa and I was just exhausted. I also wasn't happy to fall asleep as I was on my own. A fight also broke out at the departure gate between a group of Indian men; it turned out that there was some disagreement about whether chairs were meant for people or bags. At 5am I'm really not sure it's worth fighting about.
Anyway, once on the plane I dozed intermittently between tea and more flight food and was just glad to arrive in Bangkok! If I'd had more than an hour's sleep I might actually have jumped and done a small celebratory dance.
Jo met me with my bag which was initially confusing as I wasn't sure how she'd managed to get there and get my bag - this was partly due to my malfunctioning brain. We got on our way and jumped in a taxi with a taxi driver who spoke no English, had no idea where he was going and over charged us by about THB 350. I was too tired to argue and just wanted to get the hostel as quickly as possible.
After a number of detours we finally found the place and it's a great hostel in a really handy location: the Lub d hostel on Decho Road. I fell asleep almost immediately after sitting down and it really felt good. After about 3 hour's sleep we woke up and went in search of food, the hostel provided a very handy map of all the places to eat within about a 20 minute walking distance and we soon found some noodles. This was the first non-aeroplane food we'd eaten in nearly 48 hours and was very welcome. I had this deep-fried noodle dish with this omelet on top with gravy.
The first night in Bangkok had sated my appetite and for that I was grateful.
No comments:
Post a Comment