We're Back!

My daughter and I are finally home after a frustrating wait to fly out of Thailand. Thanks everyone for your good wishes and thoughts. A belated welcome to BATW bloggers.

Like the many thousands of other tourists, we are just pleased to be home (sleeping will be good). There were big cheers on the plane as we touched down in Sydney.

We were really lucky to get on a Thai Airways flight from Phuket. The boarding selection process was rather strange to say the least. It felt like we were waiting in line (for four hours) to get entry to some exclusive club. Some people were given boarding passes and others were rejected. I am unsure what the selection criteria was. Everyone was desperate. I was ready to throw myself over the counter and fall at the feet of the airline staff and beg - thankfully it didn't come to that. It was obvious that money was changing hands and people were paying extra to bribe staff to get boarding passes. It's the way things work in Thailand so it's hardly any surprise that this may also be the way the Thai Government does business and the reason so many people want a new government. I really do not blame the demonstrators for the action they are taking and hope it gets resolved soon. Thais are truly beautiful people with permanent smiles on their faces. Life is not easy for them and it was an eye opener for me on many levels.

However, at the same time it was very frustrating for travellers mainly because of a lack of information. It seemed the airlines were only looking after their Business and First Class passengers. They were provided with hotels and meals yet all other travellers had to fend for themselves. Times like these brings out the best and worst in people so it was interesting to watch how people dealt with the situation. It's amazing just how many people fly in and out of Thailand on a daily basis. The country relies on tourism so this crisis will have a long term impact.

I did worry for a while that Thailand may be my new home. When wandering the streets I came across this sign - I thought it was an omen of things to come. How funny is this?

So what was a girl to do but sample the delights of Lilly's Bar - it was so hot, really hot and I had time to kill you know how it is.....besides, I hold the philosophy that you have to taste all the cocktails on the menu before you can decide which one you really want to order......we all deal with a crisis in different ways...

I will resume posting and visiting your blogs in the next few days. Let's pray that no more people get hurt from grenades and that all travellers are able to make their way home as quickly as possible. Other than this little hiccup, I had a truly wonderful holiday and will go back to Thailand one day. I really want to see Bangkok (and its shopping centres) in all its glory.

Life is back to normal again or as normal as Lilly's Life gets........