Thread by @JayMeW

Right so yesterday I woke up in BKK at 6am with horrendous stomach. Bus to catch at 7.30.

I know exactly which restaurant to blame. That the rat actually came towards me to be stroked shows just how comfortable it felt in it’s environment 😒

Took every tablet I had on me plus 3 x iron sachets, and prayed I wouldn’t shit myself before we got to the airport.

Not stressful at all 😖

So I was really looking forward to the flight back as direct to Heathrow, sleep guaranteed etc etc and easy access to a toilet knowing cabin crew always carry medication just in case.

Happy 🤞

Lady is sat in our seats. She seemed a little out of place. Russian-German, didn’t speak any English. We let her stay in the seat, I sat next to her and used my school level German to get her set up on the entertainment system (BA had 2 films, and no menu lang change option 🤷🏼‍♀️)

We both watched a film, had a little chat in German. She wanted to know what my Betroca was, the way she occasionally touched my arm/hand there was just ‘something’ about her I couldn’t put my finger on. She didn’t look like a tourist and odd carrier to fly with, with no English

We both tried to doze off but whilst my headphones were in, eyes closed, I heard the lad sat across aisle say something in pigeon Russian to her and from his tone of voice I knew something wasn’t right at all. I let them finish their conversation then pretended to wake up

And asked her ‘wie gehts?’

‘Alles Gutes’

‘Nein, wie gehts?’

I spent the next 10hrs chatting, crying, laughing and hugging this lady, using Google Translate as she told me about her only child Igor, and how he was killed in an accident in Chiang Mai Tuesday. She cremated his body Friday and scattered his ashes in the mountains on Saturday

She’d flown out from Düsseldorf on Tuesday as soon as she was contacted. On her own. No English. Fortunately her sons friends helped her navigate the Thai bureaucracy, which she made Germany’s look simple in comparison.

At one point she looked at me, spoke into my phone, and the words I read just crushed me.

‘Am I dreaming? It feels like I’m dreaming’

‘Nein’

And we just sat holding hands for a little bit longer.

I know it’s such a massive cliche when people say, be kind as you don’t know what battles people are going through, but I learned it’s truth yesterday.

We’ve exchanged email and phone numbers. Her son Igor always pestered her to learn English and she brushed him off ‘why would I need to learn English?!’

She’s asked me to teach her English.

And in turn help me improve my German (the longer we talked the more I understood her)

I wish Heathrow had been a friendlier place. I had to leave her at the customs point (new Brexit ready system in T5, U.K. only channel) and by the time customs pissed me about over my Duty Free, our planes were both boarding.

I asked our flight crew to get word to hers but 🤷🏼‍♀️

At one point she had her head on my shoulder and told me I smelt of ‘loyalty and kindness’ and asked why my T-shirt smelt this way?

Out came my Tiger Balm. Explained how the Thais claim it is an emotional and physical cure for EVERYTHING & gave her mine, showed her how to apply

Apparently it eased her headache immensely.

Her feet were so badly swollen. ‘What size feet are you?’

‘😒’

I always carry a spare pair of flight socks. Instantly she had relief. Blew up my foot stool for her and she said ‘better than First Class👌’ 😆😆

It wasn’t all tears.

When I tried to tell her I’d been to Bangkok then Phu Quoc, Google Translate told her I’d been to Bangkok FOR COCK

And when she told me she scattered Igors ashes up in the mountains of Chiang Mai?

‘My ass has been scattered all over the Czech Republic’

At one point we were so hysterical laughing the crew/other passengers were 👀👀👀 which made us laugh even harder 😆😆

There’s no point in me telling you this btw only that I needed to just purge somewhere anonymously and do a massive brain dump.

Oh and to 25yrs later give my German teacher Danke because I honestly didn’t think it would be ANY use and was pissed I didn’t get to learn French 😑