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Towards the end of September and the beginning of October you find me heading off to England to see my father for his birthday and meet up with friends old, new and renewed. Dad was 88 this year so for some reason it felt special, anyway, here is a little of the trip. The weakness of the £ means there are bargains to be had on this trip but despite this most of the hotels will be on the pricey side... How do they get away with these prices if there is such financial hardship?

It is Wednesday in Chiang Mai and it is a wet one as well, the rainy season is not giving up without a fight. The rain had stopped by the time we were due to depart for the airport but there were cautionary tales of flooding in the city near the Ping river which had led to traffic chaos as people went to look at the encroaching waters. Time to go except that I just cant find an important item that I need to have with me. Why is that? I am forever having to look high and low for something only to find it and recall that I left it there fore safe keeping! Anyway, the taxi awaits...

As expected there was a traffic jam around the bridge over the Ping river but overall we didn't have much of a delay. I expect the taxi took a different route back however as there was a significant delay on the other carriageway. Driving in Thailand hint, Thai's will just stop, double park etc. to look at something or collect something from a shop.
Having go to the airport and darkness upon us we put the cases through the xray machine and did the metal detector bit which is quite common that you do this prior to entering an airport in Thailand. Check in, Thai Airways was very easy with no queue so off we went to departures.

We flew to Bangkok by Thai Airways. We incorporated the "2nd chance" flight concept, that being should this flight be cancelled for any reason there was still a later flight we could take. Thai Air are undoubtedly a service related organisation who still do some of the things a number of airlines can't be arsed with. So they kindly checked out bags all the way to London even thought we were flying Kingfisher on the international sector and there is no apparent tie up between them (in alliance terms Thai is star and Kingfisher is a BA partner). As well as the lack of connections, we were flying out of Bangkok the morning after the flight from Chiang Mai and we had a connection in Mumbai.
The flight it self was on an Airbus A330. This is a very good aircraft for economy travel with 2-4-2 seating. The flight was good, on time and on de-planing they bussed us close to the domestic baggage facility so all in all a good trip.

We had elected, on this trip, to just "hang around the airport" rather than get a hotel. This was largely based on the mistaken idea that we would be checking into the Kingfisher flight at about 6am so why bother. The answer being it is better to go earlier and get a rest and a shower etc. Hotels near to the airport with complimentary transfers are available from £10-£20, 500-1000baht. We have had the Thong Ta Resort recommended so we will try that next time and let you know what we think. As for staying in Suvarnabhumi, it's fine if you want to eat and drink all night but the seating is fairly unforgiving and not designed for long stay use.

There is, however, a real benefit to being here all night! you can be right at the front of the check in queue so as soon as possible we were through passport control and air-side. Kingfisher fly from piers E and F so you are way down the international end of the airport. We stopped for a coffee en route to the gate where Kingfisher did their own security check prior to boarding and then it was onto the aircraft.

The first (and fourth on the return) leg of the international flights was Bangkok to/from Mumbai. As previously stated the airline we had chosen to fly with was Kingfisher and, at the time of flying they were using Airbus A320's on this route. The configuration of this aircraft is rather cramped, the seatbels showing signes of age and wear including them possibly having been shortened, layout is 3-3 in economy which is all you get as this is a single class flight. Fortunatly the flight was far from full so additional space was possible by passengers or "guests" as Kingfisher prefers to refer to them moved to empty rows. There is no in flight entertainment on the 4.5 hour flight so you may find an MP3 player and or a book useful. The food however is very good for the class of flight and you get proper metal cutlery. There is also no shortage of (responsible) alcoholic beverages, well it is Kingfisher:).
I was jumped on by a stewardess who told me in no uncertain terms that I was not allowed to take pictures and to delete the picture that I had taken. She then said I could take pictures of the aircraft but I should obtain permission before doing so. I admit to being slightly confused about this "law" and I suspect she may be too, here is a link to the info I found on the web http://www.dgca.nic.in/aic/aic7_2004.pdf . Anyway I did get a few shots and they are combined with the shots from the return visit and on the Airlines page.

MUmbai international airport is, how to say, interesting!

After de-planing those connecting to to London flight were gathered together then we walked to the flight connections where we were checked off and given security tags to attach to each piece of hand baggage that we had. You then go to security where all your hand luggage is x-rayed provided it has a tag on it (if it doesn't you may be sent back to get one) and you do the metal detector thing. Get your boarding card and your luggage tags stamped and you are away. It isn't too bad of adults but I suspect it may be not so easy if you are traveling with small children. After the formality of security you are in a very nice area with good facilities and possibly the politest toilet attendants I have ever met. There is a bar close to gates 1-4 that I am told takes Sterling but it appears that to purchase food and drink you need Rupees or to use a credit card. Duty free booze seems good value here. You can also check out Mumbai airport on the Airports page.

The second (and third on the return trip) leg on the international flight section was Mumbai to/from London Heathrow. Kingfisher use Airbus A330's on this route and they are much more what we were expecting but prior to enjoying the comforts of the A330 on the Mumbai departure you have to have your hand baggage tags examined and the is more security, no stamped tag, no departure! Once on board you can enjoy the 2-4-2 configuration this aircraft offers which enables couples to be seated together just as a pair with a window/isle arrangement. Legroom and the space between seats with the table down is very good. Each seat has  its own seat back entertainment with a large selection of movies, TV (including live TV it says) music and of course the flight map. The touch screen is functional and I would rate this as one of the finest in economy. Food is excellent and as before there are a wide range of beverages available. This is a good service and it is a shame that the Bangkok to/from Mumbai is no where near this standard.

Arrival to London Heathrow Terminal 4 was ahead of schedule. Terminal 4 is a great terminal to fly to and from, it is compact and efficient so soon we were on the courtesy bus to the car hire. I usually book through Carhire3000 who usually book me a car from the Alamo fleet but not this time, this time I got a car from Hertz so after the customary "would you like to upgrade and more than double your cost" discussion of we went to load the car and start the journey. I prefer the Alamo system to the Hertz one, with Alamo you go to a zone and pick a car, any car from the zone. With Hertz you are given a specific car to find. Just a small preference. Off we set to visit relatives, eat and drink but only until 10.30 for me, I had some fasting blood tests to do the day after.
Post blood tests we called into The Swans pub in Verwood for breakfast which I have to say was very good and inexpensive. Not only that the food service is not supposed to start until noon and this was close on an hour before that but as the staff were there, they were happy to serve up the meal. I hope to put a review of The Swans on TripAdvisor soon. September and Christmas was in the air!

Following the couple of days with the family we traversed over to Dorset for a couple of days to meet with some old friends, well not that they are old if you know what I mean. As usual we had a good time catching up on the gossip, the football and any scandal that was going around. We stayed at a place that was new to us. The decision was based on logistical reasoning. The Premier Inn Ferndown. It was OK but perhaps pricey for what you got. To read more take a look at TripAdvisor. As you may know Premier Inns usually have, well, an inn attached or close and Ferndown is no exception. It is called the Smugglers Haunt and guess what? There's a TripAdvisor review on that too. Here are some snaps of the place.

After a couple of days in Dorset we set off on the journey to the North West of England, Lancashire to be exact to meet family and friends. We decided to eat en-route with the plan to call into the Tesco on the junction of the M3 and the A34, Winchester and grab a breakfast in the cafe. Where have the cafe's gone? Tesco have gone upmarket and now seem to be offering Costa Coffee. This is a real shame, the high value self service breakfast is a loss. So off we proceeded to the Northbound Little Chef at Sutton Scotney. Review on TripAdvisor.
Our first days in Lancashire were in the Pendle area, if you don't know this area is is really beautiful and worth a visit. Our trip took us through Barrowford, Higherford, Blacko, Roughlee, Barley, Newchurch and over Noggarth Hill. We ate at the Pendle Inn, Barley and reviewed it on TripAdvisor and the White Bear in Barrowford who serve 1lb pies...
If you haven't been to the area here are some photos to give you an idea.

Whilst in the area we went to The Prairie in Burnley to meet with friends and family. I remember the Prairie as quite a smart place that many hospital staff used to go to for the occasional lunch. It received a new lick of paint around the June/ July 2011 time but whilst the good value food and drink makes it ever popular, it isn't quite the same to me, have a look at TripAdvisor if you are interested.
From there we went over to Poulton, again to meet friends. Poulton le Fylde is north east of Blackpool, we stay out of Blackpool at a very good hotel called the Shard Riverside which, as its name implies, is right by the river. They have a good restaurant but to be honest I rather like the bar and the bar food more. There is a review on TripAdvisor if you are interested.
A taxi into Poulton cost about £8 at the time of writing and that's where we went for a couple of drinks in The Thatched House, a well known real ale pub followed by a meal at the Mews Thai. Here are a couple of pictures.

The day after we were back in central Lancashire where, in the evening, we had dinner with friends at the Alma Inn Colne. Good food as always here so you can find a review on TripAdvisor. From there we travelled south east to South Normanton where we stayed at the Derbyshire hotel. The Derbyshire hotel is right on the junction of the M1 and the A38 so in terms of being in a place that makes touring around the area it has it. TripAdvisor has my review. There is also a Premier Inn close by on the same road in fact if you prefer that style of accommodation. Despite the poor weather we were able to spend some time around Matlock, Matlock Bath and Bakewell where I learnt that there was a Bakewell pudding as well as a Bakewell pie, do you know the difference?
From South Normanton we travelled the short distance to Arnold to stay with some friends and continued to see places that were new to us, in particular whilst we knew of the Tram museum, we had never been to. For a single visit the £12 entrance fee may seem steep but you do get entrance for a year if you are in the position to make return trips for that. The museum is well laid out, the trams very well kept and overall, nicely done.

The end of this trip was now drawing to a close and we drove south west to meet up on our final evening in England before returning home. The St Leonard s hotel is a couple of miles past Ringwood on the A31, it is a good place to stay and my review is on TripAdvisor. They do good food at inexpensive prices and have pub priced drinks so the total package is usually good value. the morning after we said our farewells to friends and family before arriving at Heathrow for the trip back.
Kingfisher check in was pretty good and the waiting time non existent so another gold star for them and the compact terminal 4 seemed to make security pass pretty quickly too.
We raided the duty free and boarded the aircraft. To avoid duplication I haven't repeated the international flight copy again.
The next day (it works like that Thailand is GMT+7) we were back at Bangkoks Suvarnabhumi airport where having traveled the kilometer or so to baggage reclaim (aided by moving walkways it should be said) we went up to the 4th floor to check in for our flight to ChiangMai. 
This prompts a question I would love to know the answer to:-

• When you leave ChiangMai on Thai airways, transfering to another flight even with a different airline departing the morning after your domestic leg with Thai you can book your bags all the way to London. On the return trip you can not. Does anyone know why? Do the Thai's have better IT than the Brits or is it that Heathrow check-in just can't be arsed?

Before checking in we packed the the booze we purchased in Mumbai duty free so as to not fall foul of the 100ml rule and off we went to eat a little Thai food. Once we had had our fill, we went domestic airside where I went for a beer.

And so on to the Thai service to ChiangMai, once again using an Airbus A330 but this time a little older than the one we came down on, still it was comfortable.

So that concludes this trip. Posted on 19/10/11 last updated on 20/10/11.
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