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  1. #151
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    Mendip's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by MarilynMonroe View Post
    I thoroughly enjoyed taking a gondola type boat ride along the Cambridge canals when I was in England.
    Yeah, but I bet you didn't have Reg Dingle cramping your style...


    Today's stuff nearly went into the Daily Moan thread, because it is a big moan, but I also had a breakfast and didn't know what to do.

    In the end I decided that getting back home from work to pick up the daughter is all part of our oddysey, so I'm using it as a kind of 'one size fits all'.

    I finished up work on Sunday so I could have relaxing trip back to Thailand, a couple of days in Bangkok and then up the road to Korat on Friday to get re-acquainted with the dogs and then meet up with my Welsh mate for a few beers. Flights are really busy at the moment and the connections weren't great, but what's 24 hours out of your life?

    I left my hotel on the west coast of Norway around 10am to get to the local airport for my feeder flight to Oslo. No problem and arrived at Oslo around 12:30pm, ready for a long wait for my 18:55 Lufthansa flight to Munich. It was immediately noticeable that all Lufthansa flights had a small delay... and soon the Munich flight also had a 20 minute delay announce on the board.

    I headed to the gate early out of boredom and then proceeded to watch regular delays come up on the board...



    No personnel there of course to explain anything, just delays. In started to get a bit worried about my 22:45 from Munich to Bangkok.

    This put paid to any chance of that... and we eventually departed at 21:50 with the assurance from the one Lufthansa person (dealing with a plane load of missed connections) that everything would be explained on the flight and sorted out at MUC.



    The Storbaelt Bridge en-route...



    There was an announcement on the flight explaining all re-bookings... including the mention that Bangkok bound suckers ad been re-booked on the Thai Airways flight the next afternoon, or for some poor bastards, the same Lufthansa 22:45 on the following evening. We were told to head to the Service Centre for re-bookings and hotel bookings.

    On arrival at the Service Centre... it was shut. As they were closing they shouted to us to book our own hotels and charge it back... and sort out the new flights in the morning. Is it just Lufthansa who are so bad or are they all the same now? In 30 odd years or regular flying this was a new low for me. A delay I accept, the occasional night in a hotel... but there's always been some support.

    A few people were receiving emails from Lufthansa with new flight details... but not I. By now I had a couple of friends... a Thai lady with no English but good Norwegian and a slightly simple Norwegian who, it must be said, had impeccable English. I decided to find a hotel (it was now around midnight) so headed off to the taxi rank, followed by my new friends. 'Sten' wanted to find a shuttle bus into town and look for a hotel... but I decided to find a reasonably priced place on Booking.com and get a taxi to take me there... well 'us'. I paid for the taxi... it will be on either Lufthansa or work anyway, and besides, Sten was offering the driver Thai Baht. I checked us in the three rooms I'd booked and Sten and Pon paid independently... all good. By this time Sten had had an email from Lufthansa telling him he was re-booked on the 22:45 flight to BKK... but Pon and meself had nothing... which gave me hopes that we were on the lunchtime Thai flight.

    I said we would meet up at breakfast and head back to the airport around 10am to sort shit out. I was knackered, pissed off and had no bag. I needed a shower and some sleep.

    In the morning I experienced a German breakfast.



    Apart from that anaemic looking thing in the middle it was OK... but no beans and I couldn't even find any tomato sauce. The thin sausages were almost like proper English ones.



    The seating girl at breakfast was very jolly, so I gave her my bottle of gin and bottle of Jador duty free... to save giving the security at MUC the pleasure of confiscating it. No way would that be allowed back through security after leaving the airport. Maybe I can back-charge that to Lufthansa as well?

    Some wall-art in the hotel. I thought about a pair of these for the garden but I have my standards.



    After breakfast Pon and I caught a taxi back to the airport. The driver asked which Terminal I wanted... to which I answered, "I don't know". So he asked who we were flying with... to which I also answered "I don't know". We decided on Terminal 2 which covered Thai and Lufthansa... although I was very much hoping it wouldn't be the night Lufthansa flight after arriving at the airport in the morning.



    On arrival I headed to the Thai desk, but alas they hadn't heard of me, well, us. So it was off to the Lufthansa Service desk to find which flight we had been re-booked on. I say 'we' because meself and Pon have become travelling companions... despite only communicating via my smattering or Norwegian and even less Thai we seem to get along quite well. And to be honest she would have been well buggered if I hadn't helped her along... not being boastful but she didn't have a clue what to do and Lufthansa have been absolutely appalling.

    Anyway, the Service Centre informed us that we hadn't been booked on any new flights because they were all busy today. I think the guy saw me starting to fizz as he went back to his keyboard, furiously banging away.... and found 'us' spaces on Emirates via Dubai. We had to head across to Terminal 1 to the Emirates office to sort out where our luggage has got to, but no worries, we were finally getting somewhere.

    Reg Dingle was flying his new plane in the courtyard.



    After a chat at the Emirates office we were assured that our luggage was located and tagged for Bangkok via Dubai. I kind of trust Emirates... I will no longer believe a word from Lufthansa. There's Pon in her baseball cap... it's really useful to have a travel companion to watch my bag during toilet calls.



    And that's it. I have asked work never to fly me on Lufthansa again and will look into what I can claim. I appreciate that delays happen but their support has been absolutely non-existent. Shocking, in fact. I though the Germans were supposed to be good at this stuff?

    Anyway, after security most people turn left through some automatic passport control gates, but of course EU types had to traipse about 15 miles to find the manned immigration booths. Thanks Boris, ya tosser... but at least it meant Pon had me to show her the way.



    So yes, I am now 28 hours into my travels and still have two long haul flights to go. I'm pissed off, stinking and aching with tiredness. I'm just too old for this shit. Oh, and hungry as well. A spot of lunch while waiting at the gate.



    And the money shot... reminded me of Ann, a girl with razor sharp teeth I met on Phuket many years ago.



    An hour to go until departure... what can possibly go wrong?


  2. #152
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    malmomike77's Avatar
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    nightmare, you've boosted your karma helping Pon.

  3. #153
    Thailand Expat DrWilly's Avatar
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    I bet he did more than 'help' Fon. Just make sure you lose her before you get home!










    Sten is pissed you cock blocked him!

  4. #154
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    ^^ I may reward meself with some metal cutlery!

    Boarded now and this first leg is deserted. Gin and tonics and a good sleep on the cards.

    ^ No need for that. This is a family thread.

    Pon is married to a Norwegian and heading back to Sara Buri for her father's funeral. I've put her onto my cheap taxi man. I sadly have to remain in Bangkok for a day.

    I must admit I was surprised tosee Pon's seat is just across the aisle from mine... she doesn't strike me as a drinker so will hopefully be a useful source of extra G&Ts.

  5. #155
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    trouble is it doesn't end when you land, you still have the arse ache of sorting out the refunds etc and i bet you don't get any compensation.

    The airport chaos in the UK is still in full flow but hopefull will be mainly resolved by the time you exit the UK

  6. #156
    Thailand Expat DrWilly's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mendip View Post
    I sadly have to remain in Bangkok for a day.

    Very sad. Very very sad.

    I cried a tear.

  7. #157
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mendip View Post
    he doesn't strike me as a drinker so will hopefully be a useful source of extra G&Ts.
    get on it, weds is a quiet day so you may get a row of 4 next fight

  8. #158
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    Already told Dubai to Bangkok is packed... couldn't even get an aisle seat...

  9. #159
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    fuk, oh well just endure the last leg in a pleasantly fuddled haze.

  10. #160
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    That's the plan.

  11. #161
    Thailand Expat DrWilly's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by malmomike77 View Post
    fuk, oh well just endure the last leg in a pleasantly fuddled haze.
    Secondrd

  12. #162
    Making people dance. :-)
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    This is why I'm staying inside my house for the next 5 years, possibly 10. Fok that shit.

    It's probably better that it is a work trip. Imagine it being part of your annual 2 week holiday in sunny Thailand. The first night spent in fokin' Germany trying to root a middle aged woman whose father has just died.

  13. #163
    Thailand Expat DrWilly's Avatar
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    A mate of mine has just test postive for covid while transiting through Qatar...that's fuked him.

  14. #164
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    So much negativity on here of late you lot need a karma reset

  15. #165
    Making people dance. :-)
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    Quote Originally Posted by DrWilly View Post
    postive for covid while transiting through Qatar...that's fuked him.
    Yeah fok that.

    Beheading or stoning?

  16. #166
    Thailand Expat DrWilly's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Edmond View Post
    Yeah fok that.

    Beheading or stoning?
    A week's stay longer than he thought. in a hotel room that's dry.

  17. #167
    Isle of discombobulation Joe 90's Avatar
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    Don't envy you on your marathon journey home Mendip, still it'll all be worthwhile when you see your daughter and dogs.

    Just think.of all those Cider and cheese tokens you've earned and to top it all you can work from home or wherever for that company in the future.

    Happy Days.
    Shalom

  18. #168
    Isle of discombobulation Joe 90's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Edmond View Post
    The first night spent in fokin' Germany trying to root a middle aged woman whose father has just died.


    You fooking wrongun!

    You'd be all over it like a car bonnet you slagggg.

  19. #169
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    ^ Yeah, what a sordid way to interpret our travel companionship. Two lost souls in difficult circumstances.

    She's a bit old for me anyway... I reckon she must be my age.

    Anyway, I'm in Dubai now sitting on the throne while Pon watches my bags.

    I anticipate arriving at my Sukhumvit hotel a little under 48 hours after I left my hotel in Haugesund on the west coast of Norway. Not the best journey I've ever had... but I got an extra day's pay out of it, I guess. I hope I feel a bit better for my medical on Thursday.
    Last edited by Mendip; 22-06-2022 at 03:20 AM.

  20. #170
    Thailand Expat DrWilly's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mendip View Post
    Anyway, I'm in Dubai now sitting on the throne while Pon watches

    Are you half German?

  21. #171
    Isle of discombobulation Joe 90's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by DrWilly View Post
    Are you half German?
    You made a joke, well done!

    It wasn't that difficult or was it a fluke

  22. #172
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mendip View Post
    I hope I feel a bit better for my medical on Thursday.
    Just so you know, the staff at Doctor BJ's aren't actually Doctors.

    That mapping business you're in is your true calling in life by the looks of it!

    A pilgrimage across southern England-20220619_195344-jpg

  23. #173
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    ^ Yes, very good HW.

    I've heard that Beaver Valley is a nice spot for a picnic, but you've doubtless already been there. I hope you didn't leave any litter...


    Anyway, I of course got home without incident once Lufthansa offloaded me onto Emirates. A proper airline.

    As for Lufthansa... it's not the delayed flight and missed connection that pisses me off so much as their (with hindsight) blatant lies. They knew that flight was delayed by at least two hours from the start, yet gradually increased the delay announcement by 20 minutes at a time. I have around 12 consecutive emails from Lufthansa announcing each delay... yet the obligatory 'How did we do?' email that every airline bombards you with after a flight these days is noticeably missing. They also lied on two occasions about having staff waiting to sort us out at Munich, and they also lied about having re-booked Bangkok bound passengers on the next day's Lufthansa flight to Bangkok (poor bastards) or the Thai Airways afternoon flight... neither myself or Pon had a re-booked flight. Lying bastards.

    I don't know whether any other airline would have been better or worse these days... they all seem to treat 'customers' with utter contempt while continually whining about how bad Covid has hit them. Well, 'airlines', believe it or not Covid has hit everyone, yet we don't all dump on the people we rely on to survive. I can't do much, but at least I can tell my company to never book me on Lufthansa again. A small token but at least sometime in the future one of their flights will hopefully fly with an empty seat where I would have been sat, enduring their 'in-flight service'.

    In 25 years of regularly flying between Asia and elsewhere I have missed connections back to Singapore/Bangkok on two occasions.... once with KLM when ground staff immediately sorted a hotel, all meals covered (with late check-out since my next flight was in the evening) and transport from and to the airport, and once with Ethiopian, a 'third world airline' who organised the same for a night in Addis Ababa. All Lufthansa could muster was a trolley loaded with cartons of water and chocolate bars outside their closing Service Centre and one big sign saying 'fuck off suckers, we've had your money, you're on your own'.

    I won't go on about it... at the end of the day it put me out of pocket around 400 Euros plus a day out of my life. I could easily claim it from work as travel expenses but I'll go through the protracted torture of claiming from Lufthansa since why should the company I work for pay? They will already be paying me an extra day, which I hope they can claim back somehow.

    But onward, towards my oddysey next month... my Emirates A380 to Dubai was deserted and I had 3 seats to meself. I could have had many aisle rows of 4 to myself if I wanted... the plane was less than 30% occupied.



    And take heed Lufthansa and KLM, other airlines can manage to offer something other than inedible microwaved pasta slop for a meal.



    Pure class... there's no mistaking the provenance of that METAL cutlery...



    Sadly, the second leg from DBX to BKK was on a full and cramped Boeing 777, but the staff did their best with no blatant lies offered up, en-route.

    I eventually arrived at my hotel to find that Looper had beaten me to it and spent the afternoon doing some of his dodgy DIY...



    And I hoped that Ant Robertson hadn't taken my favourite room...



    Everything feels better after a rest and a good feed. One reason I love coming back to Bangkok is the traditional food.

    The Robin Hood take out that eternal question of whether to have an egg of a pineapple ring on your gammon steak... they offer both as part of the menu.



    Money shot...



    And back in my hotel room after a gammon steak and a couple of pints of Leo things don't seem so bad. Due to the packed DBX-BKK flight I was separated from the lovely Pon at Dubai, we weren't seated together and she was some rows back. I did catch sight of her across the baggage carousel at Bangkok but amazingly my bag had arrived, and amongst the first at that. I left without saying farewell... no good could come of it. Two ships adrift in the night, never to pass again.

    But I did discover a couple of things about Pon on our journey. She did enjoy a glass of red wine, therefore wasn't a source of extra G&Ts on the MUC-DBX flight... but she wasn't averse to a bit of airline cutlery collecting!

    This was what we in the trade call a 'three spoon trip'. Not quite the full house but a close second.



    Anyway, I'm back now... let the oddysey begin!
    Last edited by Mendip; 23-06-2022 at 10:19 PM.

  24. #174
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    Welcome home and if it were me I would be all over Lufthansa. I have never heard of an airline that bad and I have been flying for 67 years starting with a two propellor plane. Get on that complaint line or section. What a shit show.

  25. #175
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    Congrats on getting back to BKK, Mendip. I'll have my glass of homemade wine tonight in your honour.

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