The longest ride

Det er ca. et halvt år siden, at familien Fearrington (min svigerfamilie) og jeg, besluttede, at jul og nytår i år skulle fejres på utraditionel vis: i Asien. 8 mand skulle vi afsted, og 8 mand skulle vi blive enige om hvorhen. Selv Jamils niecer på 3 og 9 år har selvstændige holdninger, så de skulle naturligvis også være med i beslutningen om destinationen. ”Sri Lanka!”, ”Vietnam!”, ”Hvad med Thailand?”. For hvert forslag skulle der lige kvalitetstjekkes: 1) hvordan er flyafgangene? 2) er der pool til børnene? 3) er der plads til 8 mand? Osv. osv. Blev vi enige? JA. Koh Lipe it was.

Koh Lipe – en af Thailands sydligste bountyøer – skulle være the shit. Vi var dog ikke helt forberedte på noget, der mindede om en forhindringsbane dertil. Den gode energi og stråhatte i CPH-lufthavn skulle vare ved hele vejen gennem Amsterdam – Taipei – Kuala Lumpur – Langkawi og endelig: Koh Lipe. Et lufthavnsræs over flere dage med mistet bagage, squattoiletter, jetlag og konstante temperatursvingninger. Til gengæld var det en sejt squad, som var afsted. Den gode energi og stråhattene varede ved – hele vejen til Koh Lipe. Efter vores ankomst har vi til gengæld overvejet, hvorfor vi egentligt ikke bare tog et direkte fly fra CPH-Phuket og en sejltur til at binde sløjfe på. Det havde resulteret i færre lufthavnstimer – men også færre indtryk og lande at kunne sætte flueben ved på verdenskortet.

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English

Approximately one half year ago, the Fearrington family (my family in law) and I decided to celebrate Christmas and NYE in a less usual setting: Asia. We were 8 people in total who had to agree on the destination (not a piece of cake). Even my boyfriend, Jamil’s, nieces (3 and 8) have strong opinions, so they had to participate in the decision too. “Sri Lanka!”, “Or Vietnam!”, “What about Thailand?”. For every proposal, we had to check all the details regarding the flights, beaches, travel, hotels etc. to make sure it would fit all 8 people. Did we agree? Yes – Koh Lipe it was.

We heard that Koh Lipe – one of the most southern Thai Islands – was the shit. However, we did not really expect that the journey to get there would be almost an obstacle course. The good energy and smiley faces in Copenhagen Airport were to last all the way through Amsterdam – Taipei – Kuala Lumpur – Langkawi and at last: Koh Lipe. It was like an airport race with lost baggage, squat toilets, jetlag and constant changes in temperature. However, the squad was tough and we kept our heads high. The good energy and smiley faces lasted – all the way and days to Koh Lipe. However, after our arrival we have been asking ourselves, why we did not just take a direct flight from Copenhagen to Phuket and a 5 hour boat from there. It would have resulted in less airport hours – but also in less impressions, experiences and countries to cross off the list.