Well, I Never...

While folks in the U.S. and Europe and some other places around the world were kinda sorta getting back to relative normal in summer 2021, my country of accidental residence — Thailand — was experiencing the worst of the pandemic.

The government didn’t call it a lockdown but it basically was… a 9pm curfew, takeaway only from restaurants, potential fines for not wearing a mask indoors and out.

Even public parks were closed.

This not-lockdown began four days before my 50th so my big milestone birthday celebration was put on hold.

And this year for my birthday, I got a fat helping of covid.

So again, no birthday blowout. Whomp. Whomp.

BUT in early March of this year, I did something I’ve never done before: I flew Emirates first class, from Bangkok to London via Dubai.

It was as luxurious as I could have imagined. The bubbly was flowing, it seemed, from the moment I sat. The cabin crew was so lovely, including a gorgeous flight attendant from Senegal.

(The crew from Bangkok to Dubai was considerably better than Dubai to London.)

The legroom was ridiculous. The food was not amazing but it was pretty good. There was fancy candy from Denmark.

The shower spa was surreal; you get only five minutes of hot water but you can linger in the space for a half-hour, which seems generous. Good thing I had the time; it took five minutes for me to figure out how to turn on the water. Hilarious but unpublishable footage exists.

If by chance something crazy happens that disrupts my next birthday, no one can ever take away my experience of getting too tipsy and taking a mid-flight shower on the Emirates A380.

It remains to be seen if this has ruined me for budget travel. Eek.

#emirates #emiratesa380 #firstclass