Athens and Our Longest Travel Day Yet

November 24-27

We weren't planning on going to Athens on this trip. We had visited the last time we were traveling together, back in 2016, and we loved it then, but didn't think it was in the cards this time around. That is, until we figured out that any trip from Morocco (where we didn't want to be) to Thailand (where we wanted to go) was going to include a long layover somewhere in the Mediterranean, and the timing just worked out to make our way back to Greece. So we extended the layover for a couple of days and got to experience Athens again.

Firstly, we were just excited to be back in a place with easy public transportation and findable hotels. The streets leading up to our hotel were a little grimy, but we were totally on board for that sort of scene. Metal grates inexplicably rusted through by the slow drip of a mystery acid paved the way, but the google maps route was clear, and the hotel sign clearly visible. When we snagged the keys to our room, we even learned the bathroom had a door! Luxury! l We had two nights in Athens, but really only one full day as we were leaving mid-afternoon on Wednesday. Our first priority was laundry, as we were in dire need of fresh clothes. While our hotel didn't offer laundry service, they were quick to recommend a shop just around the corner. When we walked in, the woman in the back immediately told us, "You leave it here, I will do it for you, my shop closes at 9, come back after 7 pm and it will be done." It cost about $15 for our HUGE load, and it was completely worth every penny.

After dropping our laundry, we set off on the metro for Syntagma Square and embarked on our final Rick Steves Audio Tour of the trip (unfortunately Rick hasn't made his way to Asia yet). This tour was great, because it took us through several popular tourist areas--some we had visited before, others we hadn't. We passed through an old (and I mean old) neighborhood built into the hill on which the Acropolis sits. The lanes were narrow and winding, with white limewashed buildings on either side as we clambered up steep, uneven steps. We learned about history, both ancient and modern, and experienced some of the joys of today's Athens.

The tour ended in Monasteraki Square, just outside a major flea market. We decided to head into the market's streets, passing by some of the touristy tchotchke shops and into the chaotic antique stores. If you have never been to an antique store with Calvin, I have to tell you it is quite the experience. He will spend ages carefully pouring over the watches in a case, eagle-eyes looking for a hidden gem. It is both fascinating to watch and a little tiring after the 3rd or 4th shop. He almost sprang for one that looked promising, but determined that it was too risky without being able to open the case and verify what he was seeing.

Empty handed, we walked along the square and stopped at a little cafe where we ordered a couple of Greek beers and a snack to sustain our wanderings. We sat outside and watched as others perused the shops, enjoying the atmosphere. At the end of our drink, when we paid our bill, the waiter brought us out two shots of ouzo and told us to enjoy our time in Greece--Yamas! We ended our time at the market by ducking down into a secondhand metal accessory store. Yes, that's right. Deep in the heart of the Pandrossou street market is a shop that's brimming with old band t shirts, just begging to be picked over by the perfect lost enthusiast.

After a short break at our hotel, we journeyed back out to find some dinner. Google Maps had recommended a shop near our hotel named, "Delicious Souvlaki." We are happy to report that the product matches the name--Calvin actually teared up when he bit into his sandwich. It is also incredible how inexpensive it was, considering the quality of the product. Our beers, at 4€ a piece, were the most expensive part of our meal!

The next morning, my top priority was finding stamps so I could send some postcards--I have had continuous correspondence with two sets of twins (the first the son and daughter of a dear family friend; the second our nieces), and I needed to send my cards from both Marrakech AND Athens, so I was determined to get stamps. Unfortunately, the only place to purchase stamps is the post office. Even more unfortunately, bureaucracy was having a slow day. We waited for over an hour, watching some of our fellow patrons get continuously cranky but not being able to understand their outbursts (it's all Greek to me, after all). There was umbrella-waving aplenty, and more than a few choice words thrown at the poor ladies posted up behind the tills. But our number was finally called, our cards were sent, and we still had a little bit of time to wander around before we needed to head for the airport.

Our Longest Travel Day Yet

We have had many a travel day at this point, but so far we haven't had a saga quite like the transition from Europe/Northern Africa to Asia. We knew this was going to be a long haul--we were going to the other side of the globe after all--but there were also some bumps along the way that made things more interesting.

The first bump happened right off the bat in Athens. We had chosen our hotel specifically because it was near a metro line that easily connected to the airport. However, when we approached the station to begin our schlep, we found a piece of paper taped to the stairs leading down to the station (yes taped, with clear Scotch tape) informing us that the metro was closed for the afternoon due to an unforeseen strike of the workers. We immediately turned to the main road and began hailing cabs, along with the rest of Athens, so it took us a minute until one stopped for us. Being such an ancient city, it takes a while to get through the twists and turns of Athenian roads to make it out to the highway that brings you to the airport, but we were able to make it in about an hour, with plenty of time to catch our flight.

At the airport, we checked into our flight and Cal pulled an Incredible Hulk carrying BOTH our bags from one side of the terminal to the other to drop them (since we were a connecting flight, we had to drop them in a slightly different location). Once he recovered from the strong man routine, we easily made it through security and found our gate.

If you haven't heard me brag about it yet, we got to fly Emirates on this particular journey, which was an experience in itself. Surprisingly, since it is known for its ritzy reputation, Emirates was the cheapest and most direct option we found from Athens to Thailand. We were with the rest of the plebians in Economy, but were still astounded by the amenities and service we received on both legs of our flight (Athens --> Dubai, Dubai --> Bangkok). When we boarded the plane, there were tiny cutouts on the ceiling mimicking stars. Each seat, even back in Economy, had a blanket, pillow, and over-the-ear headphones to connect to the large entertainment screen (complete with complementary award winning entertainment package) in the seatback in front of us. When the flight took off, the captain announced that we were being served by 21 flight attendants who spoke over 40 languages. One of these multilingual pros came around and brought us our menu for the dinner service--a MENU! In ECONOMY! The food was incredible and included all drinks, and when Cal asked if he could have decaf coffee for his after-dinner drink, the flight attendant insisted on brewing him a fresh cup.

Click here to watch my video about our flight!

We got dinner on our flight to Dubai (about 4 hours) and breakfast on the leg into Bangkok (about 6 hours, but unfortunately closer to 7 due to delays at airports on both ends). While the amenities were lush, they didn't help us get any sleep on the overnight flight. We staggered through the airport in Bangkok, finding our way through passport control and to our bags, which unfortunately were some of the last to come across on the belt. Then, we made our way down to the metro to take us into the city. Everything has English as well as Thai instructions, and I even watched a video in advance of our arrival talking through exactly how to navigate this particular train, but we still kept running into obstacles. The machines to buy tickets only took 20, 50, or 100 THB bills (100 THB = about $3), and I had only gotten 1000 THB bills from the ATM. I asked a worker where I could make change, and they pointed me to a currency exchange, but when I made my way to the front of the line they said they could only exchange. I went to another ATM and got out a smaller amount, so now I had 100 THB bills, but then I found a line that said it took card. When I made my way to the front of that line, the person told me they could not accept card, but could accept bills of any size. When we finally got to the turnstiles that provided entrance to the trains, we realized we could have simply tapped a credit card to enter. Needless to say, I was frustrated, and going on almost 24 hours with no sleep.

The final leg of our journey took us from the metro station to our hotel, where we learned that everything in Bangkok is further apart than it looks on a map. While the hotel looked like it was right next to the metro line, it was about a 15 minute walk. This is not long at all, especially for our now well-seasoned walking legs, but after 15 hours of travel and a 5 hour time change, carrying our giant backpacks, AND dealing with heat and humidity for the first time in a while, it nearly broke us. Thankfully, when we found our hotel, it was just as lovely as it looked online, and we happily dropped our belongings at the foot of our lovely king sized bed, chugged the complimentary bottles of water provided, and finally rested.

More stories from our time in Bangkok coming soon!