When his flight from Vienna was diverted away from Bangkok’s international airport to the U-Tapao military base, Dr Prineas was just 7500km from Sydney. By the time he actually reached Sydney he had travelled 31,335km in a journey that took him 60 hours.

“Six days and a lot of miles later I’m very glad to be home,” Dr Prineas said yesterday.

“I learned a lot about what we take for granted about airlines and governments. I know now you cannot rely on either.

“It is important to understand that when you travel things can go wrong.”

The international airport in Bangkok was shut down when the People’s Alliance for Democracy staged an anti-government protest, bringing the country to a standstill.

So when Dr Prineas was given a tiny window of opportunity to leave Thailand, he took it – even though it meant flying from U-Tapao [100 miles south of Bangkok] to Vienna, then London, on to Los Angeles, Auckland and Sydney before arriving in Bathurst on Monday at 5.30pm.

After doggedly reminding Austrian Airlines of their obligation to get passengers to their final destination, they offered to return him to Vienna along with their Austrian nationals. He was then forced to fund the remainder of his journey home himself.

Dr Prineas has been told his travel insurance will not cover him because the protest was deemed an act of civil unrest.

One of the first things Dr Prineas did after speaking with airline representatives was contact the Australian Embassy. He knew that hundreds of Aussies must be stranded in Thailand.

“There were 10 Australians in my group alone,” he said.

“I told embassy staff that it would be really reassuring if we knew the Australian government had a plan for getting us out.

“I was told they had plans but they were not going to activate them at that point.

“The government clearly was not going to do anything until it became inhumane or irresponsible not to.”