So we’ve arrived. As best I can tell, it’s just after 1 in the morning on Wednesday, North Carolina time. Given that we left the house at 8:30 on Monday morning, that means we’ve been en route for about 41 hours.
The last leg of the trip was from Singapore to Bangkok, again on Singapore Airlines. It was done on a much larger airplane, where the seats were configured 3 – 4 – 3 back in Economy Class, where we were sitting.
Having that as the last leg really makes you appreciate Business Class for the long haul over. We thought we were going to be lucky enough to have an empty seat between us – but the absolute LAST guy to get on the plane had 33B, much to his misfortune.
Remember, it’s been a good solid day since we’ve had showers or clean undies. He dozed right off, though, so we must not have been too offensive.
Even Economy Class (i.e. “COACH”) on Singapore Airlines is pretty nice – on par with Qantas – there was a little movie screen for each seat, plus we were fed our third (!!) breakfast in about 16 hours.
I’ve sworn off omelets and hash browns for a few days.
Thankfully, we were reunited with our luggage that had been checked through and it looks none the worse for the trip. After a few minutes wait we were met by the people who’d arranged the tours for us and driven to our hotel.
Much like drivers in all big cities, they seem to believe that those lines on the pavement are merely suggestions, and not very good ones at that. Our guy zoomed in and out with abandon, assuming the bike lane was just a very narrow driving lane. They must have a 6th sense that allows them to know the exact width of their car down to a micron, because they don’t leave anything more than that to spare.
This, while answering the cell phone. At least he wasn’t texting, though.
The other amazing thing were all the motorcycles, most of whom seemed to be couriers. They ran through the tiny space between the lanes of traffic, like honeybees in a field of clover following each other until an avenue backed up, then flowing in another direction.
After seeing them in operation, I now understand why the guidebooks recommend NOT getting on a motorcycle taxi.
The drive in was a lot like other big cities. When your perception of Thailand is based on old episodes of MASH and a few vintage movies, it’s not very accurate.
There are dozens of skyscrapers, just like in New York or Miami or Chicago. It reminds me a lot of NYC, in fact, because of the mixture of the buildings and the need to repair a lot of them.
The other interesting thing we noticed was that Ladybird Johnson’s highway beautification program didn’t extend to Thailand. There are huge – and I mean truly HUGE billboards everywhere. They’ve got metal structures behind them instead of the wimpy little poles you see in the US, presumably to withstand typhoons.
Our hotel is nice. Then again, anything not moving would look like Buckingham Palace at this point. It’s tucked off of a main road (or what I presume is a main road), is more spacious than you’d expect to find in New York and has all the typical amenities. Plus, the tour guide office is in their lobby.
Hmmm. I’m sensing a bit of conspiracy there, but then my mind just works that way.
We’re unsure about tipping here. In Australia, we were directly told not to mess up the curve by tipping. Here, the guide books are a bit more ambiguous. I tipped the driver 70 Baht (the Thai currency), then realized this was a whopping $2.28.
So if tipping isn’t appropriate, I wasn’t especially inappropriate. And if it was, I guess I’m a bit of a skinflint. In any event, we have to get more Thai money because I don’t have anything but large bills left.
To give you an idea of exchange rates, $100.00 US buys about 3000 Baht.
Right now, a shower, a shave and a change of clothes is in order, and maybe just a little bit of a nap on a bed that isn't moving through the air. We have nothing scheduled for this afternoon and will probably go out in search of a non-omelet meal at some point.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
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