30-11-08 last day at Bangkok - what a day...

This message is again by Ingrid, written from Phuket airport (yes, I arrived!!)

30-11-08
I thought having received an Air France phone no. accessible 24 /24 hrs 7 / 7 days a week, but that was another illusion ... I contacted Florence, whose uncle has some special relations with Air France and who managed to give me a no. which was at least accessible on Sunday between 6.30 a.m. and 22 p.m. i.e. +33892 702 654.

6.30 am French time is 12.30 pm local time, so I had to cancel my boat bicycle tour starting an half hout later. Happily the manager Co insisted that I had to come (he is loosing a lot of business because of the current Bangkok problems ...) and would take care of my Air France needs.
In the meantime I already left the hotel for a walk in the area, what else to do? I wanted to visit 2 wats (temples) nearby by foot. But I have to admit that I did not feel well, it was too quiet on the streets and I felt too European, too visible. And that proved to be true: all in the sudden a crazy young man grasped my breast in a dark alleyway (stupid me to go there anyway ..) and then I had enough of all of it and decided to return to the touristy area of Khao San in the Banglamphu district, the area where my hotel is situated. I sat down in the Starbucks - proof for Arjan of my distress .. - had an espresso, read in my Lonely Planet and tried in an internet café to find a flight to get out of Bangkok via whatever airline. No success and all in the sudden the message of Co to catch his tour. I had little time left to get there in due time, but feeling miserable I said myself "Go for it".

So I did and in the taxi I tried to contact the Air France no. Unfortunately after a couple of rings it went dead. I gave Florence my already cancelled flight details for the tomorrow flight and she managed 1) to put me on the flight of December 4th (which according to me is useless, the airport is still blocked and it will take at least 1 to 2 days - and more if there will be a bloodshed if the protesters will be removed - to kick off the operations) and 2) to make a note in my file that Air France would contact me as soon as another Air France flight is organised from the military airport approx. 200 kms from Bangkok.
Florence confirmed me that the flights from the military airport are organised via the embassies. Not knowing which embassy is taking me into charge; I decided seeing both of them physically tomorrow.

Florence learnt that tonight 2 Swiss and 1 Australian flight is leaving from the military airport, but I talked today to a Danish air hostess who confirmed that she is flying out tonight from the military airport with Scandinavian Airlines. But indeed the number of flights from this rather small airport is limited because of its size. She urged me to contact Air France; I will go to see them tomorrow as well. (Florence, again many thanks for all your help; I made you doing overtime during the night ....).

I joint the tour and meanwhile I received Florence's messages which I answered in between the Wats, markets, long tail boats, quite funny. Please click on this link www.covankessel.com and look for the details of Boat Bicycle Tour 1 to see what I did (available in English and in Dutch).

I returned at the hotel around 6.30 pm where I wanted to have a 2 hrs massage. Fortunately, the saloon was closed, so instead I went to a nearby Internet café to work on the blog, read my emails, check the sites of the Dutch and French embassies, and there ...... I found this incredible news :

"30 november, 16.20 - Belangrijke mededeling voor KLM-passagiers
Van KLM is vernomen dat een KLM toestel vertrekt 30/11 12.00 uur NL. tijd AMS- Kuala Lumpur - Phuket (HKT). Verwachte aankomsttijd in Phuket - in principe - is 14.00 uur lokale tijd op maandag 1 december. Beoogde vertrektijd vanaf Phuket is om 19.00 uur lokale tijd op 1 dec. Tijd vertrek onder voorbehoud i.v.m. afhandeling passagiersstroom.Het KLM kantoor geeft voor deze zaak geen apart telefoonnr. af voor aanmelding passagiers, maar stelt dat KLM passagiers verblijvende in Bangkok zich in persoon vanaf nu (16.15 uur lokale tijd op zondag 30 november) dienen te melden op KLM kantoor. Adres: 20th. Floor Vorawat Building 849 Silom Rd. Bangkok. U wordt verzocht uw baggage niet mee te nemen naar het KLM-kantoor. Na melding zal de KLM u verder informeren.Kantoor zal vandaag tot in de avonduren open zijn. KLM regelt tevens busjes. KLM verzoekt KLM passagiers niet op eigen houtje naar Phuket te reizen. GEEFT U DEZE INFORMATIE OOK DOOR AAN MEDEPASSAGIERS VAN KLM."

Same information confirmed at the same time by Patricia, Dutch colleague. I contacted Arjan to find out if 1) this applied as well to Air France flights and 2) if the KLM office was still open (in the meantime it was already 7.30 pm). Yes, both was OK, so I had to run. Running out of the Internet café I could not find the address of the KLM office, back again to the internet café, and again in the street to find a taxi. 2 taxis turned me down for a me unknown reason (one feels itself so disabled if you do not speak the local language ...), so I ran to my nearby hotel to get the address noted down in Thai language and get me a taxi and explain the driver the address. More success, the driver was apparently not happy for a for me unknown reason, but got me rather quick to the KLM office. There, panic again, huge crowd standing outside!! Am I too late?? I ran into the office, get up to the 20th floor and there I understood that other airlines were doing similar solutions, so the people outside were simply waiting for their buses to be transported to the Phuket airport.

Quickly I got the confirmation that I could be boarded, what a relief!! But according to the internet instruction I did not take my luggage and we had to leave in a couple of hours. I left my passport with KLM so that they could arrange my ticket and took another taxi to drive back to the hotel, pack my luggage, take a shower and pay my hotel bill. Back again to the KLM office to pick up my passport and boarding card (a simple KLM-blue coloured card with just a no. on it and a print-out of my connected flight from Amsterdam to Paris).
Everything arranged at 11 pm we had to wait another 2 hours till 1 am 01-12-08 before the bus started to drive for its approx. 12 hours drive.

You can image my relief, I was so happy to get out, even if it is via a long, long way, but at least I can escape Bangkok!!

OK, I have to leave you right now, apparently I have to board for the Phuket - Kuala Lumpur - Amsterdam - Paris flight.