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The Escape – Part III : Daniel and me took one look at each other, then ran off.

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This is a miniseries on my recent experience, a holiday to Thailand.  Firstly, I had to mentally break away from office/western automaton mode.  Hence my first moments are musings on where things are at in my life.

Part I of this miniseries can be found here, and Part II here.  My main theme returns when the holiday ends.

; . ; . ;

ESCAPE TO LAMAI, Koh Samui – Part III

ozMy first coffee of the day, on the plane from Melbourne to Sydney, was so flavoursome that I ordered another after sculling it.

“I don’t even know why you drink coffee, Mum,” Daniel said when I finished my second cup with a  sigh of (disturbing) relief.  “It’s bad for your system – false alertness.”

“I want to be alert,” I told Daniel, “Until we’re safely there.  And it’s yum.”  He left it at that.

I really don’t know where Daniel comes from sometimes.  I am no health freak yet he is so health aware – never has energy drinks, likes tea/peppermint tea, and drinks alcohol only on occasions.  The occasions aren’t every weekend, as can be at teen age – but literally occasions. 

The Law tells me my son is not allowedto drink until he’s 18.  As his parent, I should not condone drinking.  To my view, it is me not the government who is The Law in raising my son.  I see Daniel is mindful of what alcohol is – a relaxant, temporary euphoria, addles your brains and, as he once said to me, gives you a shit sleep”.  I have faith in Daniel’s inner wisdom, which I see in his everyday conduct of life.  Not always do we need be told to not do, rather see where we might go.

 ~

“Allowed”.  A most curious word. 

I was not “allowed” to do many things, being a Catholic raised girl, teen – and even affected me in womanhood.  When I drank to my eyeballs and screamed on the dance floor LET’S MAKE SOME NOOOIIIIIIIIIIISE!!!!!!, swinging my hips with all my sex in every direction; that was rebellion against having to be quiet, polite and not speak up against what happened to me, and happened to me.  I have made so, so much noise since I left my childhood – but only while drunk. 

Seeing Daniel with his choices of health, and vision for his future – neither of which I possessed as a bulimic, self-loathing teen, I think more that we need be “allowed” to realize our selves, guided by positive and inspiring adults. 

~ > ^ > ^

Sitting on the plane, finishing my second cup of coffee and ready to watch a movie, I felt I was standing a few steps inwards a path of joy and beauty, which is not found through mere survival of your life – survival of people in your life, circumstances, the job you’re in – but rather, by taking of braver steps into the world. 

After about 20 minutes into our flight, I recalled that having been delayed in Melbourne, we’d likely miss our connecting flight to Bangkok.  As the thought seared panic within, an announcement came overhead that Qantas was aware there was “about 100 passengers” with connecting flights and they were doing all they could to obtain assurance we would each be received at the other end.  Pleasant though the hostess’ voice was, I thought how devastating it would be if the connecting flights were not willing to wait…

About three hours in, we were informed that all persons had been promised their connecting flights would wait.  THEN, I began to fully relax.

^ > ^ >

bugIt was something like nine hours, the flight to Bangkok.  Hating sitting in an office daily, I wasn’t sure how I would handle the journey.  However, I readily relaxed by the Qantas service, movies, and the comedy channel.  In some parts I was outright giggling up there at 40,000 feet, and sense of holiday slowly overtook my anxieties.  I had a small nap and finished off with a documentary by David Attenborough covering his decades of filming animals, his adventures, and the adventures of the wildlife around us.  We see so little of what goes on on this planet.  There seems to be level upon level of life on Earth.

> ^ > ^

After about seven hours in the air, hurtling at speed toward another country, a hostess approached me and said, smiling, “You have a connecting flight to Koh Samui?” 

“We do,” I said, “And I’m so anxious.”  

“Well, you can relax because the ground staff at Bangkok have contacted us and told us there will be an assistant at the other end, to show you the way.”  I was astonished.  This was truly wonderful.  I had watched an in-flight information presentation on Thailand and learned that we needed not only to go through customs, but also immigration.  I had no idea how long either of these processes took.

“Oh thank you,” I said.  “Daniel – we can relax now!”

“Yes,” the beautifully pleasant hostie said, “It’s a good sign that they’ve contacted us – you know, not the other way around.  So they’re aware of you, and they’re waiting for you to land.” 

The hostess relocated Daniel and me to the rear of Business Class.  She wanted to bring us fully forward so that we could be at the exit upon the “seatbelts off” indication, but said Business Class was full, so that was the best she could do. 

“But as soon as the indicator shows, just leg it,” she told us.  “Push your way through.  Get to that door.  I’ll be there.”  This appeared a difficult proposition to a polite person like me with a habit of giving way, but if it meant the difference between catching our flight to Koh Samui and not, I was willing to be considered “a rude woman” by people who did not know me.

I impressed upon Daniel the need for swiftness. 

We waited,

we taxied,

we idled,

and “ting” – the indicator showed.  I jumped up with my backpack a burden to my proportions and easily rushed past the first two rows of seats before people could even think to stand.  “Excuse me, it’s an emergency,” I said.  “Excuse me – an emergency.”  People couldn’t really resist me because at the same time as excusing myself, I was pushing my way through. 

“Believe me, it’s an emergency” I said when I met some resistance from a man and woman who obviously thought all I wanted to do was “be first” – that status which people regularly elbow others out of the way for.  I had a quick look back, and saw that while I was almost three-quarters of the way through, Daniel was still at home base with a large man in front of him.  Daniel was to the side of the man, but clearly unable to force his way past.  I said “Daniel!” as his head was swallowed by the tide of people reaching into overhead lockers, unclasping, standing waiting, facing forward.  I apologized one final time, and was at the door where the hostess was waiting.  She smiled at me a sort of “well done”, but then looked for Daniel.

Looking back into the ocean, I ached for my son to swim hard to make it to me.  He had to fight.  We had been told be push through, to “leg it”, to “get there”.  It was a painful few seconds that I stood looking hopefully for my son’s head to bob through the waves of people, and finally it did.  He joined me at the cabin door. 

With the passengers at the front seats of Business Class now in our face, and the air hostess, and there seeming to be no urgency as we were waiting on the OK for the hostess to open the door, I broke my discomfort by confessing, “I must say, I’ve never done that before.”

“Well good,” the hostess said.  “I’m glad you made it.  I was afraid you’d be too polite.” I looked to the front Business Class passengers to see if I might be forgiven for elbowing past them to get one metre ahead of them.  An Aussie couple, they easily forgave and understood, and we talked for a moment about the one passenger in Melbourne who had delayed us all by a last minute “inability to fly”. 

The hostess said she was waiting for a knock at the door of the plane before she could open it, which I found so quaint.  In this age of technology, she was waiting on a knock.

“Thank you so much for looking out for us” I said, with I think more sincerity than I have ever uttered in my life. 

Then the knock, the hostess leaned down to look through the small square window, and she opened the door.  We were met with a smiling Thai lady.

“Oh good,” the air hostess said.  “These are the passengers you called about for their next flight.”

“Next flight?” the Thai lady enquired, looking puzzled.  ”Called?”  Daniel and me took one look at each other, then ran off.

Copyright, Noeleen


Tagged: Culture, drunk, journey, Lamai Gym, life, muay thai, panic, searching, thai boxing, Thailand, Thoughts, Travel

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