Our flight to Thailand was very eventful. The Qantas flight from Heathrow was practically empty but we got a raw deal buy getting wedged into a corner by an old lady who just refused to take advantage of the copious space. Takeoff was fairly dodgy, just as the wheels left the ground there was a terrible shaking and it sounded like a flap, wheel or engine was falling of the plane. There was a couple of scary seconds for a while until the undercarriage was raised and the plane got some height. It was kind of funny as at the time I was kind of relaxed and thought, wow, this is kind of interesting but it may hurt a little... Emma was a little white and thought I handled it all quite well (apart from a couple of very sweaty palms). I asked the steward what the problem was and it turned out the 747 was so light it had begun to exceed maximum speed with gear down causing some violent but altogether harmless vibrations. The shaking was made worse by the fact our seats were right above the undercarriage (which was not a sobering thought if the gear happened to be yanked from the aircraft...)
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Emma passes the time at Bangkok by playing the Sims
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Our flight from Bangkok to Koh Samui was on a Bangkok Airlines
ATR72, not exactly the most comfortable plane to spend almost two hours in. To top things off our arrival into Koh Samui was late and we ended up circling for what seemed forever as some VIPs were using the airport and it was impossible to land. All the while threatening lightening storms were closing in and my need to get to a toilet was becoming desparate. Landing was at a ridiculously high speed, either the pilot was trying to make up time or it was a seriously bad landing (or both). Either way we ended up skidding down the runway and there was quite a few concerned looks as the plane began to jackknife at 100kph. Fortunately it came to a stop and in a whirlwind of action we were in a small van on our way to our hotel.
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Our 5 star suite at Le Royal Meridian Koh Samui
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Our
hotel is amazing. George Jr. would describe it as a real shock and awe experience. It has seven pools, a private beach, spa, massage, three restaurants and rooms larger than the flat we just spent four months in. We have a private balcony with a sea view and the largest (but slightly uncomfortable looking) bath thing Ive ever seen. I have not stayed in any five star hotels before but I must say the next six days will be quite an experience...
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The largest bath I have ever seen (its almst as big as our room in London)
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