One Night in Bangkok
A few weeks ago, in March 2021, I had a flight to Bangkok. Oh how the times have changed.
When I had a Bangkok flight in the past, it was a feast to celebrate, with joyful anticipation. I would leave with an empty suitcase, which for the return flight would be filled with exotic fruit (not durian though, that one I would clandestinely smuggle in my hand luggage. The stench was too great to risk having my suitcase offloaded. Then again, it stenched up our crew luggage compartment in the passenger cabin. But now, agricultural laws forbid the import of exotic fruit anyways. Gone are those glorious times). The highlight of the Bangkok trip would be the cardboard boxes full of beautiful orchids we would return with. Mr Tom’s was our supplier, bringing our orchid orders directly to the airport for our return flight. Each orchid stem would be carefully fit in a cannula filled with water. I’d buy between 50 and 100 orchid stems, they were much appreciated gifts back in Switzerland! Mr Tom lived off us airliners. I hope he’s doing well now.
Once arrived in Bangkok, me and my colleagues would be super busy. Each of us had a full schedule of exciting tasks planned. Be that foot massages, day spa retreats, sightseeing tours, shopping for silks, fruit and orchids, visiting the night flower market, culinary exploits, dental treatment and foot massage again, or all of the above. Foot massage, sigh: A blessing for jet lagged crew feet. And to be found at every corner in the city. In that way, the two night (and previously 3-4 nights) layovers were very busy with our usual Bangkok adventures. Bangkok used to be one of the most coveted layovers in our company, as we would get to stay at a luxurious hotel for a few days in this kaleidoscope.
But then came Corona…
And with it came a 12 hour layover in an airport hotel under room arrest. Upon landing, our temperature was screened at three checkpoints in the airport and two at the hotel. Our bus driver was wearing a full body protective plastic suit in addition to his mask. The bus was clad in plastic wrapping as virus protection measure. Once arrived at the hotel, a bewildered BA crew was checking in in front of us, otherwise there were hardly any guests in the hotel. The lobby floor, the handrails, the elevators, the guest floors, the guest rooms, the chairs were all covered by a hard plastic material to avoid contamination and to allow easy disinfection. The employees were all wearing full body protective gear, masks, and goggles or visors. Meanwhile the airport and hotel staff was beyond gracious to us. They even provided us with free breakfast from room service, served in plastic covering and put on plastic-covered chairs in front of our rooms by room service, with the utmost social distancing effort.
It was alienating in the sense that we felt, what is going on here that isn’t going on back home? Why are they that cautious? Should we be, too? Do they know more than us, are they better prepared? All those questions crossed my mind. In the end, the measures seem to work. Asia seems to be more proactive on this level, the virus containment and the discipline of everyone playing along.
At least, I got a room with a full view onto the departures hall of the airport! For an airport aficionado that’s not bad, right?
Out of sentimentality, here are a few pics of the magnificent Suvarnabhumi Airport which I took in better times:
Categories: Airports
