(Daniel) I got up early this morning, and packed my bag, thrilled at the idea of being in Bangkok this afternoon. I woke up Rowan and Gabbs, and we sat and had breakfast together in the guesthouse before a taxi came to pick me up. I was actually really sad to be parting from the others, and held back a tear or two at the prospect of our parting. I realised that what made the idea so painful to me, is the fact that I really care about the other two having a good time, and these last days in Pakistan have been quite hard, with illness, disappointment, and the serious struggle involved in arranging the shipping etc. Although most of this I did myself, we had all found it hard here recently, and I didn’t want this to be the resounding feeling that we parted company on. I am sure that both Rowan and Gabby can see past this, and remember all the great things which we have seen and done together recently, and that it will be these times which they remember whilst enjoying their trip to Nepal and India. I waved goodbye as the taxi pulled away and headed for the airport.
On arrival, I paid the driver, and walked over to the departure area. The flight wasn’t on the board, so I took out the ticket, and saw that instead of the flight being 11.50 as I was told when I bought the ticket, it was in fact at 23:50, another kick in the teeth, and mostly my fault. I guess that, knowing Nick, I just expected anyone selling airline tickets would use the 24 hour clock, as would make sense. I had a choice, wait here for 12 hours, or head back to Lahore. I was quite behind with the diary entries, so I decided to stay, and sat down in a café downstairs in the airport. I stayed here for the rest of the day, eating, typing and reading a little when I got bored of the diray. The book which I am reading is one that Gabby gave me, it is called The Historian, and is by Elizabeth Kostova. Funnily enough it is based around many of the areas which we have vistited on our journey to this point, and revolves around the Dracula legend whose Castle we camped outside in Romania.
After a long wait, my check-in desk opened, and I put my bag in. Then I waked to the gate and read some more of the book before boarding the flight. On board, the Thai airways flight served good beer, wine and brandy. All of which I indulged in before sleeping soundly for the rest of the journey.