August 9: Finally we are all at the summer cottage and there are only a few days left before it is time to leave. We are trying to enjoy the last of the Swedish summer and everything that goes with it: grilling, drinking a glass of wine, playing in the garden and feeding the neighbor’s escaped chickens. We have now had time to meet family and friends down here and are just waiting for time to go by a little faster..

The day before leaving we tell the children that tonight is the last time we will sleep in Sweden for this year. We adults think it is awesome, because how often do you get this opportunity in the middle of your working life. The children instead take it with a kick in the heels and continue to joke throughout the evening with ”now is the last time we brush our teeth, shower, clean” etc. But instead of finishing the sentence with ”in Sweden” they say FOREVER and laugh.

Finally we are standing there at the bus stop on Thursday, August 13, packed and ready. Everyone has a backpack with 6 well-chosen kilos in it. We have chosen to travel only with hand luggage. Partly to be able to transport ourselves faster and easier by bus, train, and plane within the countries we will visit. Partly because it symbolizes the lifestyle we are trying to achieve on the trip. That is, simplicity.

After a shorter bus ride and a slightly longer train ride, we end up at Copenhagen Airport, Denmark. After a small misunderstanding about prices and the value of the Danish currency, which ended with us having to pay 2200 SEK (232＄/199€) for a hamburger plate for us and the children, we were finally allowed to board the plane. Apart from a quick stopover in Austria, we were now on our way to Thailand and Bangkok ✈️

Andreas: Flying is not difficult, but flying comfortably is another matter. We booked a night flight so that we could sleep during the flight and wake up rested in Thailand. Sabina and I probably slept a couple of hours each. Penny and Loke tried to sleep in the uncomfortable seats with varying success. But Johannes, 15, boarded the plane, took his seat and slept like a log after 20 minutes. 30 minutes before landing I woke him up and explained that it was time to wake up, we were landing soon. The grunting response I got back was “why didn’t you wake me up when they brought the food”. Typical teenagers, they are always hungry and sleep almost all the time! 😂

Almost exactly 24 hours after we got on the bus in Sweden, we land at Bangkok airport. Finally!

Bang! The wall of humid heat that hits our faces when we leave the cool temperature of the airport is brutal. The mix of humidity, heat, lack of sleep and exhaust fumes makes it hard to breathe. We’ve been in tropical climates before so we know that you acclimatize, but it’s still going to be a tough first day.

Since the internet on our mobile phones doesn’t work in Thailand, we chose to use the airport’s WiFi to download the Bolt app and try to get a taxi to our first accommodation. We quickly got a response from a driver who could drive us and who would be there quickly. It wasn’t the easiest to find each other as the internet worked with variable quality, especially when we walked outside the doors at the airport. But once we found our car, it went very smoothly, we got the whole family in without any problems and arrived at the accommodation without any mishaps or delays.

The accommodation in Bangkok was booked via Airbnb and was a simple room with really just beds and a toilet/shower, the only thing we actually needed for our tired and warm bodies! After we left our bags and rested for a short while, we were all really hungry to find some real Thai street food.

Hello Bangkok and good night!

//Sabdreas