On the 23rd of September 2014 I opened my packed to the brim 30kg suitcase and squeezed in some last minute Birthday and Christmas cards my Mum handed to me.... not to be opened until the day of rule implied. My then boyfriend, Tom, lugged the purple blimp down the three flights of stairs from my Mums flat to the car and that was it.... I said goodbye to Cardiff... for 6 months... not to dramatic... I honestly didnt feel bad, there was too much excitement in the near future! First off I was heading to London to see my Brother and his lovely family, including my beautiful new(ish) Nephew.
The drive to London was pretty uneventful and then I met the family and spent a couple of hours awwwing over little Bill and explaining my limited travel plans and getting excited over photos on lonelyplanet.
There was dinner at the Hilton at Heathrow and then it was time for bed, I said goodnight to my Mum and got in bed with Tom for our last sleepover. This was the first time that some deep seated feelings started to rumble, he asked me not to go. In our two year relationship we had spent about 16 months knowing that I was going to be off... this was his first plee of "stay". Sleep didnt come too easy that night, mostly fear of missing my alarm and not getting my 9am flight. At 6 I was up, I was showered and staring at my suitcase... my travel buddy... my life... the purple blimp.
The walk to the terminal was short and strange, me, Mum and Tom wandered through the tunnel making light hearted remarks about mundane things. Then I was checked in and standing at security... I remember thinking to myself "This is it, you have to walk away now, they're waiting on you". I looked at Mum, a pillar of strength, beaming back at me "you'll be fine darling, I'm so proud of you" then at Tom, his wilting smile and that was it.... everything hit me all at once. Can I do this? Can I actually do this? I'm almost 30! I've never done this before, I've had far to long on this planet being all comfy in Cardiff... why am I leaving! My home, my friends, my job, my family everything I love.
I was shaking the entire time I walked through security, I wasnt even out of the gaze of my Mum and I couldnt cope with general decision making... Do I need a clear bag? Do I? Does my lipstick need to go in there? Nooooo.... just keep walking.
Note: always put your liquids in those damn bags!
Security tipped out the contents of my rucksack.... Oh geez... Did I actually leave scissors in my hand luggage! I'm not cut out for this malarky.
Next thing I know I bump into Cherry and Bryony, two girls I had only talked with over Facebook, a TEFL page set up by TEFL Heaven. We were all on the same course and about 9 of us were on the same flight. All sat having a bit of breakfast and 10 minutes in I feel normal, empowered, I can do this! Course I bloody can, Im almost 30!
The 15 hour flight was a bit painful, for the first leg I promised myself not to sleep as I wanted to get into Thai time asap... I spotted a 4 seater free and shared with Dan (another on the course). I watched films... lots of... before I knew it we were in Bombay. 2 hours later we we're on the final leg. YAY! I can go to sleep on this flight....... No..... no you cant... cause your seat doesnt recline... and the TV doesnt work.... Me and Sophia shared 3 seats and tried as we might to get comfortable.. sleep didnt come... so we chatted about travelling, about our "ex's" about how they had both produced a 'Photobox' to us before leaving... We became good friends.
We landed at 6am... not feeling so fresh we all bustled out of the airport and we're met by some really oppressive air... This is their winter, its 36 degrees. Blinking heck.
Confused and bleary eyed we separated out into government taxis, 800bhat to get us to our hostel... seems reasonable... then 50bhat to use the highway... then another 50bhat for the toll..... hang on a minute....
We arrived at WE bangkok early hours to be told that we couldnt check in until 2..... I'd been travelling for over a day before I could take a shower and get in a nap! We chilled out, didnt wander to far and counted the minutes down. I stupidly (now it was stupid idea) booked a private room for myself.... when I got into said room (after dragging purple blimp up 4 sets of stairs, hostels dont have lifts) I cleaned up and got ready for a nap.... I sat on my bed and listened the the bustling city that was Bangkok and cried. I cried because I was tired, I cried because the room didnt have a single bit of bunting, I cried cause the shower was cold. And then I got over it. I had my nap, woke up, met the others and the journey began.
This really was a mind dump. Good thing its only for me. Next installment Week 1!
Sx
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