Home at last!
I finally got home last night (Sunday) - a full 24hours after I was supposed to arrive! When we got on the plane in Bangkok at 3am on Saturday the cabin crew seemed somewhat flustered and disorganised, 20 minutes later we get an announcement from the Captain that the First Officer has taken appendicitus and was getting medical treatment so they were trying to get a replacement...another 20 minutes pass and we get a similar message from the Captain but this time stating that they have to get a co-pilot flown in from Dubai (a 6-7hr flight)...another 20 minutes and we're told to get off the plane and they stick us in a hotel for the night. They duly fly in another co-pilot who doesn't arrive till lunchtime and by law he has to have 12 hours rest before flying again so our flight is scheduled for 1am on the Sunday morning. Man we were so bushed! We killed a bit of time on the Saturday by going for a foot massage and we were given meal vouchers, but I really don't want to see another airport for a while. We arrived in Birmingham about 12.30pm yesterday, Melanie headed back to her home there and then I had to wait until 7pm for my flight to Belfast - it was great to hear Northern Irish accents again!

I had an amazing time away and I've definitely not lost my appetite for travel, but boy is it good to be home!