Sidestory: The Thailand Temple Trip ~ Returning Home

21-Oct-2026

Half an hour past midnight, the gate opens, and we get to board the plane, which today is an Airbus A350-900 (35B).

In the end, not too many people showed up for the flight, which results in a jackpot for me: I got my row all to myself. That's gonna make sleeping way more comfortable.

As the plane starts moving out onto the runway, I notice that this one features a belly cam in addition to a tail cam. There's also a third camera feed available (actually "Camera 2"), but that one only results in endless loading.

And then it's time for takeoff! The conditions couldn't be more ideal! The sky is clear except for a few high-altitude clouds, giving me a great view of the lights of Bangkok as I take off, and the half moon hangs low in the sky like the eye of midnight.

We take off towards the southeast, and then circle around to the north, which gives me a great view on the airport from the sky. The separate building at the very right is the satellite terminal from which I departed.

And here's the lights of Bangkok seen from high above. Goodbye oh land of countless shrines and temples! I didn't enjoy the heat, but I did enjoy the culture.

Roughly half an hour after takeoff, a midnight meal is being served. This is a tasty chicken curry, but what really makes it special is the box it's served in: Unlike the typical aluminum containers, this one is served in a nice cardboard box. Haven't seen that before. Incidentally, this is just after we crossed over the border to Myanmar aka Burma. And also, since I don't have seat neighbors, I can simply use the space to my left as a handy extension so the meal won't have to be so cramped.

The last thing I see before going to sleep are the lights of Yangon (ရန်ကုန်).

After that, I wrap myself in the provided blanket for what I think is the first time. And that's despite me wearing my fox jacket. I don't know why, but it just feels really cold. Maybe it's because I've become so accustomed to the heat of Bangkok. Or maybe it's just that there's so few people aboard the plane.

It's still not super comfortable, but I think this is still the best sleep I've ever gotten on a plane. I wake once during the middle of the long night to find that we're crossing above Afghanistan, where a loose string of lights seems to follow the course of a river or something.

By the time I wake up for good, we're making landfall from the Black Sea at the border of Bulgaria and Romania. First light can be seen as a faint shimmer in the east, but we're yet keeping ahead of it.

It is there that breakfast is served. Nothing Thai anymore, sadly. Just an omelette with sausage, potatoes and beans, served in a boring old aluminum tray. Still tasty though.

And now, we're running down the countries. First we cross over into Hungary, and then into Austria, still keeping ahead of the encroaching dawn.

And then we're already about to land at Munich Airport. This time, I take a video of the bellycam feed to get a truly unique angle on the experience.

Once on the ground, I take note that it seems to be pretty cold outside. It must be at least 20°C colder than in Bangkok. That's gonna be a bit of a shock to my system there.

Anyway, as we approach the terminal, I get to watch the whole docking procedure from a total of three angles: Tailcam, bellycam, and my window.

Unboarding goes faster than ever, again courtesy of there not being many people on the plane. I think I need to remember this time slot for my flights in the future. It's a way more relaxed experience than flying in a crowded plane.

 

Anyway, here we are in the winding and sterile hallways of Munich Airport again.

 

Passport control is blissfully easy here on my home turf, and I even manage to claim my luggage in no time flat.

 

And then I'm out of the airport, and into the cold temperatures outside just at dawn finally settles over the land. Fittingly, they seem to be building an XMas market here right now.

Then it's down to the S-Bahn station, and taking the S-Bahn back home. Again, not much going on here, but now I appreciate having both space and proper seats.

Looking out along the ride, I get the feeling that I've skipped right past autumn and directly into early winter.

From the station, I take the bus back home. 

And as chance would have it, when I get off, I stumble across the only type of Bolt I've known before going to Thailand.

 Anyway, here we are back at the Fox Loft again.

 Toledo is waiting for me at the door, and Jamie joins him soon after.

 

Now, let's assess the damage. We got puke on the bedroom carpet...

...more puke on my bedsheets...

...a partially ripped-off wall calendar...

...as well as poop on the windowsill. Not ideal, but nothing I can't fix either. So that's basically okay.

On a more positive note, both mousies survived the trip home, and have now found their home in my little shrine together with the snail, cats and Buddha.

 

That leaves one more thing to be taken care of: My ongoing rabies vaccination program. My next scheduled shot would be on Sunday, so I decide to pay a visit to my physician and plan things out. Here's how I was hoping this would go:

• I go to the doctor's office and explain the situation to the reception
• I get given an appointment for my next shot, and potentially have to pick up the vaccine at the drug store

And here's how it actually happened:

• I go to the doctor's office and explain the situation to the reception
• The lady at the desk frowns and tells me to go sit in the waiting room
• I wait there for about half an hour until I get called to the doctor's room
• There I explain everything to the doctor again
• She frowns, and says she's never had a case like this before, and proceeds to make a really unprofessional impression on me
• In the end, after some back and forth, she gives me two prescription slips for the vaccine and tells me to come in on Monday for my next shot
• I go to the drug store to pick up the vaccine
• However, they say that they don't have the vaccine, and that it is, in fact, not suppliable, so they tell me I have to go back to the doctor's office again and discuss alternatives

It is at this point that my mental capacity is exhausted, and I decide to go back home instead. So now here I am, with two prescriptions for a vaccine that the German medical system apparently can't deliver. I've got half a mind to fly back to Bangkok and let them finish the job there. At least they have a working medical system. Just when did Germany become so shoddy? Oh yeah. Decades of CDU/CSU corruption running the country into the ground, that's when... =>,<=

I'm really not sure how to deal with this right now. I miss my Chella. I want to hold her close right now. But sadly, she's over 8800km away from me now. Still, we've made plans to meet again. Next year in spring, she's going to visit me here in Munich, and then I'll show her all the sights, and cook her lots of tasty food.

And with that, this side story has come to an end. I hope you enjoyed this little tale. Another one is sure to pop up someday, but not for a while now. So until then, be of great cheer! =^,^=