Story of our day
This is the story of our day. Our first official leave out of the post came to a bad start all because the airplane that was supposed to take us home could not take off due to some technical problems with the aircraft and now we are stuck in a newly opened hotel with a strong smell of fresh paint that is about to suffocate me!
We were supposed to be whisked away on a noon flight from Bangkok. Knowing the traffic in Bangkok, we were careful enough to give ourselves ample time to reach the airport within the usual 2 hour check in before the departure time. We left the InterCon in the heart of Sukhumvit at 10 am. Surprisingly the traffic was smooth thanks to the highway that goes straight to the Airport. We arrived at the airport within 45 minutes. As my entire family were travelling business and the aircraft was a small airbus A320, we were basically the only ones queing up in business so the check in was also smooth. we had plenty of time to kill before the supposed departure time. So I decided to spend time at the lounge whilst mrs went around the tax free shops window shopping. With all the travelling right on the first day from Vientiane starting from yesterday until today, I was really so tired to even move my legs nevermind galavant with your otherhalf frisking the shops looking if there was anything worth buying. I had been feeling very lethargic since I fell ill last week with this sharp pains at the lower back. The french doctor whom I had my last check up gave me some possible diagnosis of gall stone, kidney stone or possiblly liver problem if anything put together. I will definetly need to go for further check up at home to confirm what exactly is wrong with me.
Anyway, I could not fault anyone or anything up to the time when we were brought to the departure gate. We were told there would be a flight delay. So I called my dad just to let him know there would be a delay. Then came the extra topping of bad tiding, they could not fix the problem! I was told quietly the aircraft had a hydraulic problem to the landing gear and the captain would not give the go ahead to fly. Perfectly understandable as the pilot's prime responsibility is the safety of his passengers and his crew. But what I felt so aghast was that I also found out that the airline had also an ealier flight cancellation the day before and the passengers were flown at 430 am the next day. The passengers were bus loaded to the same hotel where we are staying now, stayed overnight and at midnight they were told they would need to pack and leave at 430 am! I had this sneaky feeling that we would get the same less than curtsy treatment. We arrived at the hotel with only a piece of apology note pasted on the desk at the reception telling us we will get free accomodation, free lunch and dinner. Knowing the food is not halal, we would have limited choices. So I asked for assistance at our embassy here to bring my family to a nearby halal restaurant. The entire family was obviously starving as the last proper meal we had was breakfast at 8 am and it was already 4 pm by the time we had our next meal. The restaurant called al hilal served superb thai cuisine in a cosy restaurant by the highway, which is a good 15 minutes from the hotel we were staying. Everything served, chicken in pandan leaves, steamed seabass, tom yum sea food, black pepper beef, 3 flavoured fried fish, mixed veges were just delicious which maybe because we had not eaten thai food for the last 20 months. Believe me, there is no halal Thai Restaurant in Vientiane! My kids were obviously upset initially as we would already have been in Brunei by this time but with all the good food served, all of the lingering negative thoughts were all but dissapeared as we gobbled up our lunch, high tea or maybe dinner put together.
Honestly I was not happy with the airline. I do not know if this whole situation was unavoidable. Airlines do cancel flights due to technical problems but having it twice in a row on the same route? Maybe I was just feeling tired after running around the airport like a headless chicken looking for our luggage that were left at the baggage carousel or tired after the queing up just to cancel our immigration stamps on our passports or waiting for the transport to the hotel. Maybe I was feeling hungry too, which the airline seemed to forget that we pre-ordered halal meals and serving halal meals was least of their concern when they put us up at the hotel.
After dinner, I took a long hot bath in the water tub. That at least helped me relieved the tension in the muscles. I only realised that I actually fell asleep in the tub after some water ran into my nostrils. I got out of the tub and funnily enough the last time I remembered I got up out of bed because my sinus was acting up again because I could smell fresh paint and glue everywhere in the hotel room.
Now I am fully awake at the business lounge seeing a couple of falangs playing cards. They must be in the same boat as I am, stuck in a hotel room trying to figure out what went wrong and when they will ever leave for the airport. I am still waiting for the good news when we can fly. The last I heard, it wont be anytime soon as the problem with the aircraft is now not that simple as it initially appeared to be. Well, stupid as this may sound cant they just fly in a replacement aircraft? If it is a code share flight, doesnt the other airline share the same responsibilty of at least giving this some thought?
It has been really 20 months my whole family not been home. the kids have not seen their grand parents, I am looking forward to seeing my sick mum. I miss her so much. In the midst of all this, I even forgot to tell my eldest daughter who is boarding up in brunei, that we had not arrived home yet so I just gave her short sms. I am not sure if she received it. I promised to help her draw up her post script for her law grad entry next year. It was nice of her starting her first draft by coming up with an introductry quote from me:
"my father a lawyer himself, used to tell me that a good lawyer is one that will not choose silence as his option when things are ill done....."
Well kaka amal (whom I always fondly refer to my eldest princess) "silence is never an option when things are ill done because to make us the better men, we should not live on the laurels of the praises that we get but learn to improve from the painful criticisms that we receieved" which is exactly what I am doing on my post tonight for our pride and joy, our national airline.
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