I realized I never talked about the actual trip from Canada to Thailand, so here we go. Considering it took 28 hours from door to door, so to speak, the children managed well. And did Becca and Keeran. Har har…

At Pearson, while we were having a snack before boarding, we spotted Santa Claus! He was having a snack too! I suppose the reindeer were on vacation leave, since he ended up boarding the very same flight as ours. He must have been on vacation too: dressed casually in a red trousers and suspenders, green sweater, and his beard needed a little grooming.

The first leg, a thirteen-hour flight to Tokyo was mostly uneventful. Aside from just a few families, and Santa of course, there was an inordinate number of scruffy backpackers and self-important business folk. They were everywhere! See?

Sneakily taken prior to take-off from Toronto

Alaric, though technically “business folk” himself, couldn’t act self-important if he tried. You can’t possibly be all hoity-toity when you’re sitting next to your kids, and supervising meals in a tiny space, and praying for as few spills as possible.

During this flight I watched Rock of Ages; it turned out to be a really good remake of the stage version, which I had the pleasure of seeing in Toronto a couple years ago. Tom Cruise does well in roles where he’s obnoxious and self-involved, yet privately tortured, because he’s hiding his true kind-hearted nature. And yes, I did roll my eyes while writing that sentence.

The kids had a ball, what with their own little TV screens, headsets, and choice of programming. I’m so happy it doesn’t take much to entertain these two. And we never heard “Are we there yet?” Ok, hardly ever.

On the Tokyo-Bangkok leg, which was half the flying time as the first, it was more comfortable: odd, though the size of aircraft and seats were the same. Maybe it was the surprisingly comfortable headrests. Or maybe it was that the cultery in economy class was real. I haven’t seen real cutlery in economy since… well, never! Or maybe it was the beautifully dressed flight attendants. The women flight attendants were immaculate, in a structured silk-edged sarong, blouse and sash combo. Their make-up was done up like it was a pageant, and hair teased, shellacked and coiffed into perfect chignons.

Anyhoo, we made it safe and sound, in one piece, with no delays. What more can a non-business backpackless traveller ask for? Oh yeah, an airport welcome sign just for us!

Welcome, Mister Aralic!