You know how you always seem to forget something when you go away? Well, I seem to have forgotten my sunglasses. But given the rain that's coming down now in Bangkok, not to mention the upcoming monsoons, I'm guessing it will turn out to not be a problem. If I had forgotten my rain gear, that would have been a bigger issue.
After getting up early and getting to the airport a bit before 9, we have around 3 hours to kill before our flight. Daughter #1 buys out all the trashy magazines to read on the plane. We work on a crossword puzzle, which makes her feel smart, until I point out that the one we are working on is labelled as "easy".
We eventually get through the TSA nazis (can anyone explain to me why I can't use a gallon bag if the items would actually fit in a quart bag?), and continue waiting for the boarding time. When our turn comes to board, we have scored bulkhead seats - hurray! Then a mother joins us with her 2 and 5 year old girls - boo! And let me say that the 2 year old does not seem happy. We begin to anticipate the joys of a 17 hour flight next to a cranky toddler, when the flight attentdant spots three free seats for them to move to, instead of trying to cramp into 2 seats next to us - hurray again!
The next 17 hours all sort of run together. They fed us several times (chicken and pumpkin in red curry sauce; pad thai; rice noodles with chicken. It's all pretty good. Of course, it's all a bit spicy, so daughter #1 is not a big fan. I watched a couple of movies (Hog Wild, Astranaut Farmer), some TV (Dr. Who and a british "Candid Camera" type of show). I read. I listen on and off to a book on my MP3. I nap. Only a couple more hours to go. Let me just say that 17 hours is a long time to be flying.
Eventually we land in Bangkok. We move quickly though immigration - faster than I have ever moved through the line coming back into the US from anywhere. We take a cab to the hotel (and get royally ripped off by the cab, who charges us double the going rate - clearly having spotted the farang a mile away. Ke garne.
The hotel is much nicer than the Day's Inn in the US. Candace declares it to be the nicest hotel she's ever stayed at (I on the other hand have stayed on expense account hotels for conferences. One of the perks of being a middle aged professional.) We wash up and grab some sandwhiches and pastry along with some soda before heading back to the room to turn in at around 8 pm (9 am Eastern time back home). Tomorrow is still up in the air for activities. Maybe shopping (daughter's choice), maybe the local aquarium (mine), maybe a palace tour. Hopefully we come to some agreement in the morning.
Oh, and just to make things interesting, the web page is all written in Thai script (ป้ายกำกับสำหรับบทความนี้:เช่น สกูตเตอร์, วันหยุด, ฤดูใบไม้ร่วง ), which neither of us can read. I just click on buttons more or less randomly, hoping to successfully post my musings. Wish me luck!
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