Day 1: Leaving for Thailand
/Today is the day! We leave for Thailand! I made my dad get a doctor’s note confirming his medical conditions (deep vein thrombosis, total hip replacement last December) – anything to help our chances of an upgrade, amirite?!
I met my Dad at the airport, who I told to pack a checked bag after learning Etihad’s carry-on limit was a laughable 7 kg but includes falcons (don’t get me started on the overall weight limit theory I have…it’s discriminatory towards tiny people such as myself and I should be allowed to bring more stuff!)
So I get there with my suitcase, my backpack, and my purse…and all he has is his backpack and laptop bag. He’s just checking his backpack! He packed 4 DAYS worth of clothes and is going to do laundry every couple of days…either I’ve prepared him too well for this trip or I need to end my reign as backpackkat…4 days…we’re going for 3 weeks. Bring more undies, ya filthy animal! Looks like we’ll be shopping this trip. Luckily somebody brought a bag with extra room…
We go to the check in desk and try the doctors note – it doesn’t work for business class unless we want to pay, but it does get us exit row for the entire trip, so that’s not bad. Lots of extra leg room which is nice. Although I kind of hate it because you have to store ALL your bags during takeoff and landing, even your purse. There’s nowhere to put it. I find that really annoying. But I’ll take being able to stretch out and sleep in poor man’s business class any day.
We get to the gate with lots of time to spare and dad decides to brush up on his technology--he asked me to bring my old iPad for him to use this trip. I didn't realize he would use it to play Candy Crush...
Also, travel tip: invest in the 6some of:
- Ear plugs
- Sleep mask (make sure it fits snugly, Victoria secret is selling good ones right now)
- Memory foam neck pillow (can get at Winners) – they are SO much better than the bean bag ones you can buy at the airport.
- Sleeping pills (will knock you out and help you get on whatever time zone you’re travelling to)
- Shawl (for extra warmth)
- Cozy socks (in case your feet get cold, I recommend the wool ones from Roots or Llama/alpaca woven ones, I have a pair I picked up in Ecuador earlier this year)
Do the above and you will have a pleasant flight no matter what/where you’re seated! I was next to not one but TWO babies, and I slept the entire 13 hour flight due to the above recipe.
How NOT to wear your neck pillow, as expertly demonstrated by my Father...
Which is important, because when we arrived in Abu Dhabi, we had a 10 hour layover. Originally, we were going to stay in the airport during this one and explore the Emirate on the longer layover on our way back home, but we had such a good sleep we had energy and felt awake enough to make the most of our time, so out of the airport we went. How we did so is another story…
