Well, that’s it!  We’re home, back in chilly Melbourne.  At least the sun was shining today when we landed, quite unlike last night when we took off from Bangkok!  Our last day in Khao Lak was really a packing up and saying goodbye day.  The kids had a last swim and Dan collected his tailor-made shirts.  We tried to have a last drink at Peter Bar but unfortunately were defeated by the high tide, so settled with a drink at the hotel instead.

Our transfer to Phuket airport was at 1.30pm. It takes a little over an hour to get there from Khao Lak, and as always the drive there provided us with plenty to see through the minivan windows. We were taking a domestic flight up to Suvarnabhumi International Airport (the main airport in Bangkok). There was quite a gap between the arrival of our domestic flight and the departure time of the international one. However, this wasn’t an issue – Suvarnabhumi is MASSIVE! By the time we got off one aircraft, walked a massive distance to baggage claim to get our luggage, then found our way to the International departures area we were able to check our bags in.

The airport is very well signed, and all staff that we interacted with were extremely helpful. We quickly went through immigration and found ourself in a huge shopping complex. All the luxury brands were there, as well as other shops hoping to tempt you with last minute duty free shopping opportunities. There were also some fun things along the way – statues, fancy video screens – and by the time we had a light dinner it was time to make our way to the departure lounge.

The plane was late boarding and taking off – there had been thunder and lightning for some hours. Eventually we were in the air at around 11.00pm Thailand time, and attempting to sleep. Our flight landed in Melbourne shortly after 11.00am Melbourne time after a relatively uneventful night. Dan and I didn’t get much sleep – the air conditioning on the plane was freezing, and on a budget airline no blankets are provided – but the girls seemed to snooze for most of the night.

Immigration and customs at Melbourne was straightforward too, as was the taxi ride home. We were struck by how tidy and ordered the streets and traffic are here – it’s surprising how quickly you become used to the busyness and disorder and relative mess of Thailand. There were good things awaiting us at home – my latest copy of Threads magazine, Dan’s 50th birthday present from the girls, a warm shower and favourite toys.

The rest of the day has passed in a jetlagged haze, unpacking, doing some basic shopping and putting the washing machine through its paces. It’s hard to believe that this time yesterday we were still in Thailand. As Clare said before she popped up to bed tonight “I don’t think that I was home-sick while we were away, but I am a little bit Thailand-sick now that we are back”. Yes, we all miss it. What an incredible family holiday. There are lots of other things that I’d like to share about our time away and thoughts that I have about travelling overseas with a family and will hopefully get to that in another blog post soon. In the meantime, keep your fingers crossed that the planets will align for us and in 2016 we will be able to visit Chiang Mai, Cambodia and Laos! Thanks so much for travelling along with us. Your interest and encouragement has been wonderful.