20 hour plane ride

The 20 hour plane ride wasn’t my best experience. Instead of “Snakes on a Plane” they should make a movie called “Babies on a Plane” because it could actually be pretty entertaining. I didn’t know how to recline my seat so trying to sleep upright took a toll on my back and most of my close friends know that I have a back problem. As I got closer to Phuket with each connecting flight I was surprised to see less and less Asian people. Instead I saw American, French, and Russian tourist. It made communication a lot easier and also helped me adjust to:

1. Lack of bubble space: On every portion of the flight whether it be just getting to your seat on a flight or waiting in line to get through immigration, there was a lack of bubble space that I became accustomed to and value quite highly. I kept checking my pockets to make sure everything was there and even decided to carry my backpack in front of me instead of on my back.
2. Understanding accents: Everybody had an extreme accent that made speaking English difficult. What blew my mind was the flight attendants and everybody around me assumed I spoke English and didn’t even try to speak to me in any other language. I guess it was obvious that I’m American.
3. Airline food isn’t as bad as what you would see on the movies. You can tell the food was designed to be mass produced but they were simply made and were extremely tasty. I guess being a nervous flyer helped since I chose not to eat breakfast.
4. I used the lavatory for the first time on a plane. I hate using new bathrooms even if it’s in the nicest hotel. I just have this thing about only being comfortable using familiar bathrooms. The lavatory was small and cramped. I wish I had taken up yoga to make this endeavor a lot easier.

I arrived at 11:40 PM local time in Phuket. My step-dad who I’ll just refer to is Paw in this blog (It’s actually Pa and in Thai it means dad but I like to add the ‘w’ for my personal entertainment.) picked me up with his brother-in-law. We came to their vacation home which also is a storefront for gardening tools, pots, and potting soil. I couldn’t wait for my first meal and first full day in Thailand.