It's so trippy to travel back in time. To go from bangkok to LA in about 3 hrs. Which really means fly to osaka for 5 hrs, sit for 45 min, fly for another 9 1/2 through night with a full moon. For the record those movies that show the outside of planes flying at night that look fake, you know where you can see everything in full pale moonlight relief, that's exactly what it looked like. I watched Elf, sent e-mail from Osaka with the free wireless, watched all maksim's dvd, listened to a ton of music, read all my newsweeks, the LA times, ate about 2 1/2 meals worth and still had more time than I knew what to do with. Then we landed, nerve racking 1/2 hr where I got my bag I knew was on the plane and went through customs with all my declared stuff, praying they didn't find the tea. They didn't even look at any of my stuff - they just basically waived me right through and the same for my passport - I had to ask them to stamp it. Amazing the preference given to US citizens. Then dealing with the Thai people getting my extra bag, which by a miracle, and Thai's wonderfulness, they had and found fairly easily. Then the harrowing re-entry into Americana going to the Delta counter and encountering the snarl that had been covered in the news the past two days. It's funny how american everyone here is. Everyone practically shouts american. RIght now I'm sitting in a quiet corner of the waiting area cowering from being overwhelmed. It's not that everyone looks the same, quite the contrary. I think it's mostly the behavior, and maybe the dress and attitude. So cavalier, so ready to assume they own the place, so caught up in their own lives. It's hard not to laugh just having the small perspective I've gotten. Another major encounter - everytime I go to a counter to do things, I'm still in the mode of explaining even my complex situation in simple english - example -
I have a problem, my luggage, it was lost...
yeah? what flight no.?
*shocked at the fact that they speak fluent english*

The kids especially are so different from kids everywhere else I've been. so spoiled - well that's true of everyone, so rich. But the children are much more the center of attention and like to flaunt it, other kids are much quieter in action and dress and behavior.

This day has been such a groundhog day moment for me. The movie with Bill Murray that is. I woke up in Bangkok this morning at the Asia Airport Hotel, went to the airport and got on my flight just barely in time at 7:40, laid over in Osaka at 3pm, got into LA at 10am... what? it's like deja vu all over again. laid over til 3:30 and now on the flight to CVG. Mom is coming to pick me up, which will be weird, not to mention I don't really feel like talking about everything. I'm so jet-lagged and exhausted, coming down with a nasty runny nose and it's going to be bloody cold when I get in and I'm wearing sandals. chuh. I hope all the fam is there though, and they drove my car. I forgot to ask they do that.

Delta is shit compared to almost every international airline. Even in Nepal where corruption seems to be the business model the airlines aren't this bad. The only other place that has delays and problems as much as the US is Air China, though they're worse, being a monopoly and state owned. but still pretty bad. It's funny that this plane is supposedly a 757 and it feels tiny. I guess I'm just used to 777s and 747s at this point. Anything smaller seems tiny. And I brought a purple thai pillow with me on this flight, a bit of thai hospitality reaching all the way to KY. The south could learn a thing or two about them, esp. delta.

I think I'm flipping out about being in the US, or maybe it's just a combination of the overdose of sudafed and exhaustion.