We left home yesterday after school and drove up to Sydney for the bought as we had an earlier departure today.

Coincidentally Ben had the night off work and so he came down from Newcastle to join us for dinner. We visited our regular Japanese restaurant which has become a bit of a staple before it trips.

It was a rushed morning and we were out of the rooms by 6.30 and headed to the airport. Emily was tasked with working out where we were meant to go and how to check in. After some initial confusion given the crowds she figured it all out and we made it to our check in with heaps of time.

The flight in itself was quite uneventful – except for the time when Tom’s headphones got tangled in the mechanics of the seat and multiple flight crew were required to rescue it. It was a long flight and the kids spent the time watching movies and drinking more soft drinks than they should have.

On arrival in Bangkok, immigration took a really long time, however it meant that by the time we got to the baggage carousel our suitcases had arrived. We had to wait a while for our driver to arrive and then it was another hour to the hotel. The room is quite spacious up on the 34th floor with quite a view of the surroundings. The kids were excited going through every cupboard and finding all the treats and robes and slippers that were hidden away.

The challenge on the first night is always to keep everyone awake till a normal bedtime so they don’t wake up too early. We went down to the cafe in the hotel for dinner and it was a real challenge to keep Thomas from falling asleep. At least we don’t have an early start tomorrow.