Round The World and other travels

A frequent flyer's collection of trip diaries

This is: Tasmanian Devils (2010)

Return to Summer (well, actually ... )

As a new day and a new month started at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport, I was still relaxing in the First Class Lounge.

Little more than half an hour into the new day, however, it was time to be transferred to the gate for my London flight.

(Link to flight log in side panel)

I transferred to Terminal 1 by bus and settled in for a long stay at bmi's newly refurbished domestic lounge, recently rebranded as The London Room. I was slightly annoyed with myself when it became apparent that bmi had scheduled extra Edinburgh flights, presumably because of the BA strike. I wished I had predicted this possibility and checked prior to leaving Australia. There was nothing to be done now, however, as my luggage was already booked onto BD56. I felt a little better when I heard someone else saying that the extra flights were already full. I consoled myself by thinking that it was nice to see bmi gaining some welcome extra revenue and got on with the business of catching up on this diary. 

(Link to flight log in side panel)

Back in Scotland, my journey home proceeded without incident. As I drove home, I couldn't help noticing the leaden skies and the poor temperature, considering that it was now June and the summer solstice was a mere three weeks away. But then, I told myself, nobody chooses to live here because of our amazing climate.

Once again, a hugely successful trip was at an end - one that had taken me from alpine Italy, through the Middle East to Australia, dodging volcanoes and strikes along the way. I had revisited one of my favourite cities, discovered the Blue Mountains, met up with a great friend and spent a week getting to know Tasmania. We'd travelled many hundreds of miles on the island's roads, given up the usual luxury hotels in favour of a simpler lifestyle, experienced Tasmania's stunning natural beauty and savoured its fresh, local produce. And it had all been wonderful, from Stresa to Strahan. As I arrived home, I wondered how I would ever manage to settle into a normal working routine the next day.