Well I arrived in Madrid from Stansted with nothing occurring on the trip at all. Nothing of note. No arguments with drunken passengers, no delays, passport problems or Ryanair trying to catch another few quid for baggage being 40 grammes overweight or three thousandths of an inch too wide for the overhead locker.
I must say they have improved a lot over the recent times, Ryanair that is. Saying that, they caught me on my recent booking back from Madrid. Caught me with the Insurance. I say caught because that is how it feels. Deliberately setting out their web page in such a manner that, before you know it you’ve got insurance you don’t want. Ryanair will, no doubt, say that it is all easy to avoid or undo. I will always say it should not be something in any way ambiguous that you have to AVOID getting insurance.
It is the sort of thing that does not engender any loyalty towards them. I use Ryanair a lot and would consider myself a reasonably good customer I think. I know almost exactly what I am getting (insurance aside), Pay my money and don’t expect to get any more for it. At the end of the day I get exactly what I pay for, don’t complain about the small stuff for just that reason and sincerely believe that they give great, if not fantastic value for money. The exception to that statement wouldbe if I had a young family during any school holiday period. But I would have absolutely no problem in recommending another airline to anyone that asked me. Even another airline that I have never used ! Just in the hope that it would, somehow, show Ryanair the kind of loyalty that appears to be shown by them.
Much as I get what I want, I still feel they are out to get me somehow. To screw me if they possibly could. As I think they do at school holiday times. I don’t trust them, simple as that.
OK rant over.
I’m in Madrid for the day. A deliberate choice to spend a stopover time of twelve hours there so that I could go into the centre, have lunch, walk around and generally sightsee.
I did not plan it on being 40 degrees! Jeez it was hot. Unbearably so. There were a lot of uncomfortable people in Madrid that day (and a few days either side I am told) and I was one of them.
The heat and smell of the traffic was overpowering in some areas. Even stopping and hiding in some shade, if you could find any, was not the answer. The only two good things I noticed was the heatwave fashion of Madrid. Mini skirts, mini short shorts, mini mini short shorts, flimsy long flowing dresses of sheer, lightweight material.
I didn’t have time,with all the sightseeing, to notice how the men coped with the heat.
The other thing that stood out was the apparent lack of ripping you off for water and ice creams etc. I paid just one euro , a few times from the many stalls dotted around Madrid’s equivalent of Trafalgar square. A simple snack cost only three euros. Compare that to London !
To cool off I spent three hours in the Spanish Naval Museum. A fascinating insight into the outstanding achievements of the Spanish at Sea. The whole exhibition started way, way back in the early centuries with models of the boats and galleys used in those days. It followed Spanish boat design and the Navy right through the ages. Fortunately I had the benefit of the English translations in small print adjacent to all photos and exhibits. At least I did up until the time of the Armada. English translations appeared to stop at that point in history and didn’t seem to pick up again after.
Funny that.
I arrived back to Madrid airport with enough time to join a VIP lounge, shower and change for the Emirates connection to Dubai, my next stop. That Lounge was the best impromptu twenty five euros I’ve spent in ages. I was in danger of having Emirates turn me away for smelling like a camel after the heat of the city. Mind you, camels to an arabic airline ! perhaps it wouldn’t have mattered to them – but it did to me. I also had time to stuff close on three thousand mini croissants down from the complimentary snack bar as well. Bugger the diet eh?
A slight delay of an hour on the runway at Madrid could have taken the edge off of things but, I am so chilled these days it’s frightening. I simple shrugged my shoulders and thought the word “Inshaallah”
Seven hours later I was in Dubai connecting for the final leg to Bangkok. Again a completely uneventful trip. Unless you call an obvious Muslim, eyes closed, swaying so hard during his prayers he slipped out of his seat. I didn’t laugh much.
Then just enough time for a wonderful meal in the lounge at Dubai International, ironically in a Tapas Bar !, and it was off on the second leg of the Emirates flight to BKK. (BKK is international jet set speak for Bangkok).
Same airline, different plane, yet another fresh set of stewardesses to admire. And one not too dusty steward as well.
We shall see what Thailand has to offer a unmarried man of my late age, travelling alone, with just three credit and two debit cards eh?
I shall let you know in due course.
Perhaps.