Dec 12th and 13th The Final Leg

Sunday 12th December    Another Lazy Sunday


Another lie-in until 08.30 in my lonely king size bed and by the time I had a long shower and slowly got my act together it was 09.30 before I got myself down to breakfast. They do the best crispy bacon here so, I had double portions.

Following breakfast I went for a quick stroll outside and found that it must be extremely humid today as I very quickly broke into a sweat. This decided me to have a lazy day in preparation for my flight to the UK tonight. I had been going to visit the “Chatuchak Weekend Market” as advised by the “Groovy Map” guide but, the thought of battling my way through hoards of sweaty bodies in this hot, humid atmosphere just did not appeal.

Back in my nice cool air-conditioned hotel room, I finished yesterday’s Blog, inserting a selection of last night’s photos and then got it published, so that I am now fully up to date before flying home.

That took me until 12.00 and I spent the rest of the day storing up a few Zeds, reading and surfing the Internet, still searching for appropriate Christmas presents. Finally, at 3.30 pm I made Skype contact with Eileen what is the final time before getting back to the UK.

Following our great chat I had another shower and completed packing by 5.30 pm then watched TV for a while before requesting that my bags be collected at 5.55. Checking out from the hotel turned out to be a bit problematic as they had made a mistake with reckoning the bill and had also failed to order my car to the airport although my confirmation voucher clearly indicated a round trip. However, all was eventually sorted out and I arrived at the airport at about 7.30 pm. This, of course, is well early but there was an early check-in operating and I was soon relieved of my large case and issued with boarding passes through to Manchester.

The next hurdle was passport and security control where I was relieved of my belt and shoes before they would let me through. I was having to hold my trousers up to stop them slipping to my knees. (Did I tell you I’ve lost weight during this trip?) I was now on the departure gate side of the airport so sought out somewhere to sit and get something to eat where I could also draft this Blog. The Silom Village Restaurant served a very nice Thai meal although they tried to give me a beer that I hadn’t ordered. The only thing left to do was to wait for boarding at 11.40 pm.

Bangkok Airport Check-In Hall

Shrine in Bangkok Airport Check-in Hall

The "Correct" Name of Bangkok Airport

Bangkok Airport Departure Lounge

Monday 13th December Arrival Is Often Better Than Travelling

At long last it was time to board and I found myself in the fortunate position of being in an aisle seat on the centre block and having the seat next to me vacant. This meant that I was able to spread out and relax more than would normally have been possible so I was actually able to get a couple of hours sleep during the flight and the 13 hours eventually passed without too much pain, with the aircraft landing at Heathrow and coming to a stop at about 05.50. I therefore had 2 hours to make the transfer from Terminal 3 to Terminal 5 through the bus transfer and security checks which seem to be interminable.

However, after about 75 minutes I had successfully jumped through all of the hoops and completed the obstacle course and was seated at the appropriate Terminal 5 departure gate, although somewhere along the way I had lost my hat.

Almost inevitably there was a delay to our departure and by the time we were airborne from Heathrow we were 40 minutes behind schedule. However, at this stage I was past caring because I was now on the final leg to Manchester. The aircraft made up a little of the lost time and we landed at Mcr at 09.20 so, by the time I had collected my large case and found my way outside, it was 09.40 and I had actually arrived before my daughter Samantha who had kindly volunteered to pick me up.

After a 15 minute wait, I saw what I thought was Samantha’s car pulling into the pickup point but was confused to note that there seemed to be 2 people in the car. However, I was absolutely delighted to find that Eileen was the other person and I rushed to hold her in my arms. It seems that the two of them had hatched the plan, to meet me together, some 3 weeks before and I had not even remotely suspected. But, I was absolutely over the moon and the discomfort of the long-haul flight was forgotten in an instant.

The journey up the M6 and onto the M55 was all but lost in the joy of being home and the excitement of catching up with Eileen and Samantha and we arrived home in what seemed to me, to be no time at all.

The rest of the day passed in something of a blur until, all too soon, Samantha had to drive us to Preston railway station so that Eileen could catch her train home where she needed to be for the following morning. I managed to stay awake during the return trip home and until Eileen phoned to confirm her safe arrival but then, the long day and jet lag made its presence felt, and with my Antipodean Adventure finally complete, I made my weary way to bed. Good night all, I hope that I haven’t bored the socks off you. It has been a brilliant experience for me in which I visited some amazing places and met many great people, amongst them, many Australians who thought that what I was doing was great and something that they wanted to do if they could ever find the time.

In the next week or two, I will try to put together a summary of my adventure with a few of the statistics and publish that as a footnote to the Blog. Should anyone wish to know anything more, please feel free to contact me directly on johnwb@aol.com and I will respond as soon as I am able.

You may be relieved to know that I have now cut the beard down to size as one of the first things on arrival home. Here are before and after pictures for you amusement.

The "Wild Man" look

Cut Down To Size

Thank you all for accompanying me on my travels. Signing off for now, I’m off to deal with that Zebedee character.

Saturday 11th December - Bangkok Tourist

Bangkok Tourist

Rose at 08.30 which, given the time difference from yesterday, meant that I had about 6 hours sleep last night. Showered then wandered down to breakfast in the Concorde Restaurant.

I finally managed to get hold of a LAN cable and so, was able to connected to the Internet. I then published yesterday’s Blog and dealt with a few e-mails.

At about 10.30, the weather improved somewhat, with the sun threatening to break out, so I decided to head off and do my first tourist stint. On the way out I took some photos of the Hotel and then walked up the New Petchburi street to get to the MRT (Metro).

The View From My Hotel Room - Including Smog

The Hotel Dining Room - The Cascade Restaurant

The Hotel Amari Atrium Foyer - With Christmas Tree

The New Petchburi Road - Just Outside The Hotel Heading For The MRT

Not having much advanced information I chose to go towards the river and ended up at the Bangkok Railway Station (Hua Lamphong) just off the China Town area.

Bangkok Railway Station - Hua Lamphong

I spent some time wandering around the little back streets were there are hundreds of street vendors, most of them producing hot food off the back of a small barrow. Eventually I stumbled across a golden temple which I believe is called ‘Trainmit’ or ‘Golden Buddha.’

The Golden Buddha Temple

The Golden Buddha Temple - "Traimit"

By this time it was getting quite hot and steamy so, I headed back to the hotel for a cooling off period and also to be available for my Skype session with Eileen at 3.30 pm local time. After a little difficulty getting started, possibly because I had just had an automatic update to Skype, we had a lovely chat which is the penultimate one before I get back to the UK.

I followed this with a short session with sister Valerie, just to bring her up to date with my transit since leaving her at Adelaide yesterday.

Another shower and then heading off down town to try and see some of the night life (from a distance, of course), then it will probably be an early return to the Hotel and a nightcap in the Mingles Pub. Well, they still owe me a free drink.

Following advice from the “Groovy Map” guide, I made my way t the Silom Road area where there are sleazy bars, bright lights, a night market and lots of people. I imagine that it would be very easy to get lost here but, somehow I was able to keep track of my whereabouts as I was wandering around. Apart from the usual “attractions” it is obvious that Christmas is just around the corner although the displays I saw didn’t seem to have much to do with religion.

Christmas Display in the Silom Road Area

Santa Claus and Happy New Year

Christmas Tree Display in Thaniya Plaza

The "Attractions" in Thaniya Plaza

I eventually found myself a seat at a roadside bar and watched the world go by while sipping a ‘Tiger’ beer. I soon found my way to the ‘Patpong Night Market’ where thousands of tourists are being hustled by thousands of stall holders, all of them calling “look, look,” and trying to offload every imaginable souvenir nik-naks including, “genuine” Rolex watches for a “bargain” price. Those who know me will find it difficult to believe that I somehow managed to resist all overtures to part with my money.

Entrance to Patpong Night Market

Patpong Market Stalls - I Somehow Managed to Pick A Quiet Second

A Large Scale Food Operation

Having had my fill of the Silom Road area, including another pint of ‘Tiger’ at an Irish pub on the corner of Thaniya Plaza, I again followed the advice given in the guide and made my way to the ‘Little India’ area on Sukhumvit Road which, is on the way back to the hotel.

Christmas Display In The Sukhumvit Road Area

 However, this area didn’t have the same attraction and in any case I was feeling very hot and sticky, so after a short time I returned to the hotel and had a final drink in the Mingles Pub before retiring at about 11.30 pm. Good Night All.

Onward to Bangkok

Friday 10th December    To Bangkok


Rose at 07.30 on this, the final day in Australia. Shower, and then to breakfast where Valerie cooked me the ‘Full English’ as a final treat. It’s a good job I don’t do this often.

After breakfast I completed my packing and cleared out all the unwanted stuff, which was not actually as much as I had anticipated although I am going to have to carry my coat.

Departed Willunga at about 10.30 as Valerie had to do a couple of errands on the way to the airport. Arrived at the airport at approximately 11.30 and checked in fairly quickly and was booked right through to Bangkok. Bid Valerie farewell at 13.15 and boarded the flight to Sydney.

Adelaide Airport Main Concourse

JB At Adelaide Airport - The Positioning Of The Sign Above My Head Was Purely Accidental

Arrived at Sydney on time at 15.45 local time and was transported by bus to the International Terminal where I had about an hour to wait before boarding the Bangkok flight.

At The Departure Gate - Sydney Airport

Although only an 8 hour 40 minute flight I was really glad when we landed at about 10.30 pm local time. Having negotiated immigration and customs I exited into the main concourse and was greeted by a young lady with a hotel placard who took over my luggage trolley and shepherded me to a hotel limousine which then transported me in luxury to the hotel where I arrived at 11.30 local time which is 7.00 hours ahead of UK time. Feeling pretty shattered but want to get the Blog drafted before I turn in and I am waiting for the hotel to provide me with a LAN cable so that I can get Internet Access.

Bangkok Airport - Arrivals Concourse

My Room At The Amari Atrium Hotel - Bangkok

Aus Day 81 - The Last Full day

Thursday 9th December    Aus Day 81


Rose at 07.30 after another night being disturbed by dog barking. Shower and breakfast but was then at a bit of a loss wondering what to do with myself as I didn’t have much to do until lunch time when Valerie is cooking a lunch for 6 of us.

Valerie found me something to do, moving furniture and peeling a huge pile of potatoes. I also did my last lot of laundry and started my final packing. The main item, of course, is the wine I bought yesterday which I individually wrapped in bubble-wrap and then cushioned between towels and soft clothing. I can only now hope that all will be well and that they survive intact. I will have to ditch some of my summer weight clothing to accommodate the wine but I don’t have a problem with that. Most of it is well old, anyway.

For those of you who are not acquainted with it, I have included a photo of Willunga House, where sister Valerie lives and also included a photo of the dining table all set for our lunch.

Willunga House - About 40 Kms South Of Adelaide

Table For Six Please!

The lunch turned out to be very pleasant with excellent food, and lovely company, mildly lubricated by very drinkable wine from the local McLaren Vale wineries. The lunch stretched out until about 5.00 pm and was a very pleasant way to spend the afternoon.

7.00 pm saw me contacting Eileen on Skype and we had a good chat but won’t be able to talk again until Saturday as I will be travelling between Adelaide and Bangkok. The trip back to the UK is one I am now ready for but not looking forward to. I am beginning to go right off airline travel. Still, it has to be done so let’s get going.

My next Blog will also have to wait until Saturday when I should be able to bring you some news and views of Bangkok. So until then Good Night All.

Aus Day 80 - Farewell to the Van

Wednesday 8th December    Aus Day 80


Rose at 07.30 after another night being woken at intervals by barking dogs, mossies or, heavy rain. Shower and breakfast then Valerie drove me to the Kay Brother’s Winery where I purchased 4 bottles of their Rare Muscat which I had been lusting after for some time. I am going to have to be very careful how I pack them to ensure safe arrival in the UK but, hopefully all will be OK.

Some of you may recall me talking about “Fruit-Fly Quarantine” in the Blog on Saturday 4th December (Aus Day 76). Well, I have received a request to clarify what this actually means. What is doesn’t mean is that you have to catch them and keep each one in a little box for a specific period of time.

When crossing State Borders such as from the Northern Territory into Western Australia and from Western Australia into South Australia transportation of any form of fresh fruit or vegetables is illegal and can attract hefty fines. Plant pests and diseases can spread from one part of Australia to another through the movement of fruit, vegetables, plants, flowers, plant products and soil. The regulations are designed to prevent the spread of such pests and diseases. The above hyperlink should provide you with any further information you wish to see and I hope this answers the original question.

At 1.30 pm I set off in the camper van for the final time to deliver it to the depot in North Adelaide arriving there at 2.40 pm, having refuelled on the way. The depot was incredibly busy to the extent that I had to park my vehicle on the road because there was simply not enough space to drive it into the depot yard.

However, once I actually managed to get someone to attend to me, the hand over was relatively simple although I did present them with quite a list of things which need attending to. By this time Valerie had arrived in order to ferry me back to Willunga although we stopped off at Adelaide Market and a friend’s house for coffee, on the way.

We got back to Willunga just in time for me to establish Skype contact with Eileen thereby rounding off a good day.

I apologise for having no photographs today and will try to do better tomorrow. However, I have now all but completed my Australian travels and only have to wait until Friday before I fly out from Adelaide to Bangkok, via Sydney and then from Bangkok on Sunday night to UK, arriving home (weather permitting) on Monday morning.