The "First- Time International- Travelers" is an exotic kind of human species I must say. Let me just break this down for you. These people are the ones who won't think of enjoying the trip but definitely get tripped in framing their "strategies" of deciding the location, to deciding the Tourism Company, to the Passport and Visa procedures, online check-ins, the endless checklists, and what not!
My Family i.e. my Father, Mother, Sister, Husband and I decided our destination. It was a Phuket Island and Bangkok City Tour. This was going to be a two-legged journey to Phuket first and then to Bangkok. However, we were required to reach Phuket after a stop at Bangkok first, since there were no direct Phuket flights in our Tour package with Yatra.com. Yatra.com had arranged our stay and flights. Their package also included quick tours of the cities. We were more than ready for making this the first and most memorable international holiday of our lives!
After almost a month of planning, the travel day arrived. It was going to be a midnight flight. However, we had a wedding to attend the very same afternoon and then had to leave for the airport that evening. It was going to be pretty hectic, so we had to get our things packed and ready to go a day before our departure. As they say, the most pre-planned things can go wrong at the end moment; the same thing happened with us. We had planned to book a cab for the five of us to go together in a single cab; but to our surprise, what happened was that we couldn't find even a single 5 seater car along with a luggage carrier. So we had to book two Mini Ola Cabs and go separately. This may sound like first World problems but it would have been really fun to start our journey together. Anyway, we reached the airport almost at the same time and the very first thing which we ticked off our to-do list was hogging at Burger King right outside the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport Terminal. We were so full by the time we had to move towards the Bangkok Airways Gate. As any first timer would go, we were the first ones to reach at the baggage counter, so we had a lot of time to spare. Although, the security check and immigration process were still pending. As soon as the Bangkok Airways staff arrived, we got our baggage registered and received our Boarding Passes and then we rushed towards the Security Check Area. Past that, we raced to the Immigration Line which was a pretty huge one as there were hundreds of people waiting to leave India in their respective flights to different parts of the world. Being my very first International travel, it was turning into a really overwhelming experience, for me at least. Maybe now I will be used to it, that's what I was thinking in my mind when we were waiting for our immigration stamps to be put up. I recollect a funny memory that occurred though. As I reached my immigration officer's desk, he asked me what my name was. I said, kind of confused "Sayali.." And he struck a conversation with me! Initially he spoke in Hindi with me and once he told me that even his daughter's name is Sayali, I immidiately switched to Marathi. We actually spoke for about 2 minutes figuring out the meaning of "Sayali". I told him that I was informed in my childhood that "Sayali is a name of a flower and that I was named by my grandmother" but he was like " No, but what is the real meaning of Sayali?" and I was completely clueless. He in turn told me to find out the meaning of Sayali on the internet. we just had a bit of a laugh as he stamped my passport saying "Departure" "Mumbai CSI". Finding me engaged in a talk for such a long time , my family was actually worried as to what was I being Interrogated about?
As we crossed the immigration counter, we entered into a completely different world altogether. There were hundreds of brand-stores with their over prized shizz around us from which we couldn't take our eyes off. The area was so glittery in the shimmering yellow lights all over, that we actually were staring at everything going around. By the time we came back from our Awe-struck selves to our Normal Selves we realized, that we were thirsty and that we weren't carrying any Water bottles. So we actually went to purchase a water bottle from the food counter but we found out that they were pretty pretty expensive. Hence we dropped the plan of buying water and were in search of some free drinking water. There was free water available which had to be drunk using our hands like cavemen. We tried to awkwardly drink a sip each just for the sake of it. However, there came this sweet man who actually offered us his empty bottle so that we could drink water like normal people. It feels pretty amazing, strangers come out to help you when you are in need. We obviously thanked him for his gesture and moved on to our long stroll to the Departure Gate. It's a very long distance journey from the immigration counter to the final Gate, hence there are these escalating machine which actually increase the speed of your journey. We were already enjoying the journey. Kushal (My husband) had already traveled internationally just a year ago so we were kind of relieved that at least he knew some of the basic things that we needed in this particular travel game that we were playing.
By the time we reached the precincts of the departure gate, we had a good one hour left until our flight would leave. What do we do? We took a quick photo session of our family, cause why not? It was only a few minutes before the boarding announcements, that I realized, there was Wi-Fi around me the whole time! What a shame! I had to "talk" and not "post" all this time! "FOMO Alert!"
We were now finally going aboard the plane. Once our seat range was called out we reached then and there and finally we boarded the plane. We had obviously checked in online hence we were on our desired seats. How can we forget to talk about the infamous "airplane food"? The food from Mumbai to Bangkok was pretty decent though. Since it was Indianized for the Travelers, we could at least enjoy that meal. I was pretty nervous about my next flight food from Bangkok to Phuket though. But Come on! the first International Take off of my life, in the desired seat; with these perfect souls; I thanked God, How blessed is my life? I did my prayer and decided to enjoy the journey as it comes my way. It was past midnight and by the time we crossed India and were approaching Thailand, we witnessed the best Sunrise of our lives through the Airplane window! The transition from Dusky Sun-rise to the perfect Morning blues was so alluring! We were engrossed and stunned in the beauty of all that was going on around the plane on which no human has any control whatsoever.
We reached Bangkok SvarnaBhumi Airport really early in the morning and we were quite groggy and sleepy and couldn't wait to board onto our next flight; not to forget, we had more than an hour to spare. However, we had to get our Arrival Stamps. Although we were very hungry, we rushed to the domestic departure gate of SvarnaBhumi Airport leaving behind all the food joints which left us all hungry without water. Also there was low Wi-fi though. So, all we could do was, wait to get into the plane. Once we were seated, we were served breakfast immediately as the flight was going to be a short one. The safety Instructions in Thai- English Accents were almost like noises which we couldn't figure out. The Breakfast was one of the most bland meals of our lives we can say. If chef Gordon Ramsay would have been there on that plane, he would have gotten the cooks fired! Seriously though! The desert was actually good, in fact the only best part of the breakfast was this fruit- dessert that they served. We were really very very groggy from the early morning flights and hence we decided to catch up on our sleep and that was pretty much it because we reached Phuket within 45 minutes. But I cannot forget the mention how surreal and privileged it felt to be able to have a glance at the Sea and the various Islands from above the sky.
On the Phuket domestic airport, we rushed through the gates in search of the tour package representative who was supposed to receive us at the airport Gate and in true professional fashion, there was already our driver standing at the gate with my Name on a Board to receive us. Also, we were informed in our itinerary to be in time at all places. Our driver was going to take us to our hotel Room at Ashlee Hotel Patong. Our ride towards the hotel was almost an hour long. Thai People are very particular about timings, I must say. Our Driver showed us this beautiful scenery as we were on the road. We saw this blue sea for the very first time, just as we used to draw it in our childhood! The clear blue sky reflected its colour in the clean water making the scenery just unimaginably beautiful. We kept admiring about how the roads of Thailand were neat and clean as well as without any pit-hole. This was so unlikely to what we experience here back in Mumbai. The roads were decorated with trees leaving an aura of freshness on each and every lane. One thing's for sure, wherever we go, we couldn't help but compare Thailand to India.
Anyway, we reached our Hotel, we came to know that our check-in time was only after lunch; so we decided to grab our lunches first and then to check in to our rooms. However, the Hotel staff was kind enough to have made us the rooms available before the decided time. The temperature in Thailand was pretty much the same like in Mumbai. The afternoon heat really made us feel at home. We searched for some hotels around manually, since we did not have access to the Hotel Wi-Fi yet. We came across a F.R.I.E.N.D.S. themed restro named Central Perk right besides our hotel. My sister and I got pretty excited about it! We went to check it out but to our dismay, it was closed. So we continued our search for food. As we were strolling around, we found out there were many tourists like us who were roaming around. Thailand is primarily an economy running solely on the Tourism Industry. Anyway, we stumbled upon a big Food and Clothes vendors street called the Malin Plaza. Now had come the time when we were going to experience the authentic Thai taste. But for lunch, we decided to go for something which we are familiar with. We went for the most gullible option known to every Indian ever! Chinese food; which in my opinion was not that good. I mean there was nothing wow about it. Although, the grilled chicken was pretty flavorful. We all were so tired of the Traveling that we couldn't help but fall asleep once we got back to our rooms.
In the evening, we headed to the Patong Beach, Phuket Island.
This picture perfect opportunity was not left by my sister. She posed for a few lovely shots for the Social Media. Our entire scheduling that day was around food, literally, I mean as we reached the Shore we found a fruit vendor who sold fresh guavas, mangoes and pineapples. After gazing at the beauty of the Sea and the seamless skyline, we took a long stroll across the beach and decided to have those fruits as an evening snack. The taste was beyond delicious. The freshness, along side the sweetness, accompanied with a kick of the Thai Spices made our Travel fatigue go away instantly. We spotted a chicken Kebab Corner as well. We decided to give it a try. There were various types of barbecued meats there, both, chicken and fish. They looked spectacular! Obviously, we expected them to be tangy and spicy like the Mughlai Versions we are habituated with. But these were pretty sweet and needed a lot of external seasonings like chili sauce, black pepper and salt. It was at this point, that we decided to search for some Indian food around the town once we reach our hotel rooms. Afterall, we had to spend yet another two days here in Patong! We then began to walk back towards our Hotel and kept admiring the touristy environment around. Patong, at night, was filled with Tourists enjoying the night life in clubs and cafe`s. We came across a Juice Corner and had some Yummilicious fruit drinks like lemon, watermelon, dragon-fruit, sweet limes etc. and decided to call it a Day. A lot had happened in the past 24 hours. We had travelled from Mumbai to Phuket; witnessed many kind people around who guided us in our journey; witnessed many spectacular views from above the sky and at the ground level alike. This was turning Into a really fun vacation with family I must say. We went to sleep looking forward to the very next wonderful juncture ahead. Breakfast at the Hotel next morning!
Ting! :D
Love! <3
