A man has ‘made a friend for life’ after meeting his doppelgänger on a flight from London to Bangkok.
The couple has the same hobbies, the same number of children and even the same boyfriend.
Mark Garland, 58, a bus driver from Trowbridge in Wiltshire, went to check in at Heathrow and was told by staff that he had already done so.
It took the astonished airline crew 40 minutes to discover that there were in fact two Mark Garlands on board.
The two Marks met in the departure lounge and were amazed to see that not only did they have the same name, but they also looked remarkably similar, both with shaved heads.
The coincidences continued when they finally sat next to each other on the plane – and they spent the rest of the flight chatting.
They soon discovered that they lived just 15 miles apart, had the same boyfriend and the same hobbies.
The other Mark, a 62-year-old builder from Warmley in Bristol, sometimes even rides in the younger Mark’s bus.
Both are single and both have four children, although the younger Mark has never been married, unlike the older Mark who is now divorced.
They both love Thailand too – they’ve each been there more than a dozen times.
Bus driver Mark said: ‘We were so shocked at how strange it was. We both kept laughing and smiling about it, it made me happy.
“I said, ‘You’ve caused me so much trouble,’ and he said, ‘You’ve caused me so much trouble.’
“I said, ‘look, I’m Mark Garland,’ as I showed him my passport, and he started laughing and opened his passport and showed me his name, and it was banter.”
Builder Mark added: ‘It was crazy – I’ve never known anything like it.
“They said there was another Mark Garland. They came to the bar and asked to see my passport.
‘I thought ‘what’s going on?’.
‘My name came out of the antenna and my phone rang. I thought someone was turning me on.
‘I go to the desk and there’s a guy standing there who looks exactly like me, but is a little taller than me.
‘I look better and am older.
‘He’s just like me, I have a character and I like to excite people – we’re the same.
“He’s actually a nice guy, I must say.”
The pair both went on holiday to Thailand, bus driver Mark for four weeks and builder Mark for three weeks, when they discovered each other on the EVA Air flight on March 2.
Bus driver Mark said the check-in agent failed to mention the booking number and checked the other one in his place, which caused problems when he arrived later.
He added: I stood at the check-in desk for 40 minutes while they tried to resolve the problem.
‘We then had to go to the boarding gate early to identify our bags.’
There they met and ‘saw the funny side of it’ – but then burst out laughing when they got on the plane and sat next to each other.
They realized that they lived very close to each other and that they had crossed paths before.
“I’m a bus driver and Mark said he uses my bus sometimes,” Mark said.
“I just thought it was amazing that he was so close – just down the street.
‘One of my colleagues knows him and goes for a drink with him in the pub.
‘It’s crazy. What are the chances of that?
The pair spent the entire flight chatting and discovered more similarities (Stock Image)
“I’m a little bigger, but people say we could be brothers.”
Besides looking the same, having the same name and living close to each other, both men discovered that they have a shared passion for Thailand.
“We both love Thailand,” said older Mark.
“I told him I’d been 13 times and he told me he’d been 83 times.”
By the end of the plane ride, the two Mark Garland’s were good friends and “I took a nap on his shoulder,” said bus driver Mark.
They have promised to keep in touch and will meet for a beer in Thailand on holiday.
“I made a friend for life,” the elder Mark said.