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 friend.
Mark Garland, 58, a bus driver from Trowbridge in Wiltshire, went to check in at Heathrow and was told by staff he had already done so.
It took 40 minutes for bewildered airline staff to realize there were actually two Mark Garlands on the flight.
The two Marks met in the departure lounge and were surprised to see that not only did they share the same name, but they also looked remarkably similar, both with shaved heads.
The coincidences continued when they ended up sitting next to each other on the plane and spent the rest of the flight chatting.
They soon discovered that they only lived 15 miles apart, that they had the same friend and the same hobbies.
The other Mark, a 62-year-old builder from Warmley, Bristol, even sometimes travels on the younger Mark’s bus.
They are both single and have four children, although younger Mark was never married, unlike older Mark, who is now separated.
They both also love Thailand, having visited more than a dozen times each.
Bus driver Mark said: “We were very surprised at how strange it was.” We both kept laughing and smiling because of 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,’ showing him my passport, and he started laughing, and he opened his passport and showed me his name, and it was joking.”
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 was thinking ‘what’s going on!’
‘My name was coming out of the antenna and my phone was working. I thought someone was cheating on me.
‘I go to the desk and there’s a guy who looks like me, but he’s a little bigger than me.
‘I’m prettier and older.
“He’s like me, I have character and I love annoying people; we are the same.”
“I must say he’s actually a good guy.”
The pair were going on holiday to Thailand, bus driver Mark for four weeks and builder Mark for three weeks, when they were discovered on March 2 on the EVA Air flight.
The bus driver, Mark, said the check-in employee didn’t cross check the reservation number and checked the other one instead, which caused problems when he arrived later.
He added: I stood at the check-in counter for 40 minutes while they tried to resolve the issue.
“So we had to go to the gate early to identify our cases.”
It was there that they met and “saw the funny side of this,” but then burst out laughing when they boarded the plane and sat next to each other.
They realized that they lived very close to each other and had crossed paths before.
“I’m a bus driver and Mark said he rides my bus sometimes,” Mark said.
I found it surprising that it was so close, on the same road.
‘One of my mates knows him and goes to have a few drinks with him in the pub.
‘It’s crazy. What are the odds of that?
The couple spent the entire flight chatting and discovering more similarities (file image)
“I’m a little taller, but people have said we could be brothers.”
In addition to looking the same, having the same name and living close to each other, both men discovered that they share a passion for Thailand.
“We both love Thailand,” said Major Mark.
“I told him I’d been there 13 times and he told me he’d been there 83 times.”
By the end of the plane ride, the two Mark Garlands were good friends and “I took a little nap on his shoulder,” bus driver Mark said.
They have promised to stay in touch and will meet up for a beer in Thailand during the holidays.
“I’ve made a friend for life,” said Mark, the oldest.