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7 jets in 36 hours

Monday, January 15th, 2007

airport.jpgMaybe I should post this in the forum here on Bootsnall, but I would bet my exit from Thailand and back home ranks up there with the all-time worst travel connections.

Here’s what I inflicted on myself:

Flight 1: Chiang Mai – Bangkok
Flight 2: Bangkok – Taipei
Flight 3: Taipei – Los Angeles
Flight 4: LAX – Salt lake City
Flight 5: Salt Lake – Seattle
Flight 6: Seattle – Anchorage
Flight 7: Anchorage – Kenai

For the entire time in SE Asia, I traveled with one carry-on backpack. Just before I left Chiang Mai, I bought another bag and went gift-shopping. I placed my dirty laundry in the check-in bag and kept the important stuff in the carry-on, anticipating that the check-in piece would be lost in the shuffle en route.

I didn’t have to wait until I got to Kenai (that flight is a tiny turboprop with just 8 seats) to discover that my bag had kept up the pace. Damn lucky.

The photo reflects the heightened security at the airport

Motorcycle Diaries Chapter 2: Counter-Clockwise in NW Thailand

Sunday, January 7th, 2007

pai.jpgI’m at the age when it doesn’t seem to matter what time I go to sleep at night as I always wake up early. Througout SE Asia, even in most large cities, the roosters start the process around 4:30 or 5:00 AM. Earplugs can only block out so much.

So, it wasn’t suprising that my eyes were wide open at 7 on a cold and misty new year’s day. I was still in my bunglaow in Pai however and checkout wasn’t until noon. Plenty of time for the sun to cut through the haze and warm the day.

The agenda until that time was coffee and pastry (banana bread instead of a mystery turnover this time), supplemented by a good book and the morning music playlist from the Ipod. The water in the shower had plenty of heat and pressure – a rare double-combination in my travels here. Aside from sleeping alone, the morning couldn’t have been much better.
[read on]

Motorcycle Diaries: On the Road to Pai

Sunday, December 31st, 2006
NTmotorcycle.jpgSomehow I found myself in Chiang Mai, Thailand- it gets a lot of hype as one of the best places in this country, but it is just a Bangkok-north. Since it is the town ... [Continue reading this entry]

Bangkok

Wednesday, November 1st, 2006
bangkok.jpgStreet hustlers, shady tuk-tuk drivers, insane traffic, noise...we were in bangkok for all of 24 hours and were delighted to leave. I'll be back here at least 2 more times as the city is a ... [Continue reading this entry]

Southern Thailand

Wednesday, November 1st, 2006
pp.jpgAfter crossing the Malaysian border into Thailand we took a shared taxi to Krabi and then arranged to take a ferry over to Phi Phi Island - the site of the Tsunami 2 years ago. ... [Continue reading this entry]