Back in Bangkok
Monday , 14Jan. and here we are back in Bangkok. We’ve been to Thailand twice before and are back now for two reasons. One, because Bangkok is THE hub for flights in and out of SE Asia and you almost can’t avoid it, and two, because Jim’s sister Wendy and her husband Ken, who are also two of our dearest friends, are meeting us here for 2 weeks. We’re thrilled for the company but also excited since the next 2 weeks are all planned out and it is also like a mini-vacation for us!
Our last couple of days in Luang Prabang were wonderful. We really wish we had more than 2 weeks in Laos. It’s a fantastic country and we will absolutely go back. The slow pace, lovely people, interesting sites and inexpensive travel all made for a really wonderful time. Our travel the last couple of days, however, was eventful to be sure.
We were due to leave Luang Prabang for Chiang Mai, Thailand on 12Jan. at 1:10. However, a 3hr flight delay set us back and we didn’t have as much time in Chiang Mai to research trekking companies as we’d hoped. Basically, we just made sure the Lai Thai guesthouse had our 2 rooms reserved for later in the month, had dinner and a Starbucks, and hit the bed. Then, we had a 7am flight on 13Jan from Chiang Mai to Bangkok was a new one for us. We left on time on Thai air and arrived over Bangkok an hour later. I say over because we were unable to land due to fog so circled for an hour. We then flew back to Chiang Mai to refuel and load on more passengers before flying BACK to Bangkok. So, a 1 hr flight became a 4 hr flight. No worries for us as we had no big agenda but I’m sure some connecting passengers were a bit stressed.
The new Bangkok airport is great, much improved from the old Don Muang one, and with taxi driver from hell we arrived at the New Siam II in only 35minutes! We stayed at this guesthouse back in 2002 with Jim’s parents and their friends and although the rooms have not changed the lobby is much improved and they have added a pool and tour desk. The rooms are very basic, however, it’s a fantastic location walking distance to the Royal Palace and the sites as well as Kao San road and right across the street from the river.
Today, the first thing on the agenda was to get to DHL and finally ship some things home! It took 5 trys to find a taxi driver who wasn’t trying to overcharge us and we really lucked out with the guy we got. Not only did he charge fairly but he called DHL to verify the location and found out it had moved. Really saved our butt! So, we got yet another box shipped home to mom & dad. Yippee, lighter packs once again!
Then, to the large shopping mall to find a few new things. Unfortunately, being in Asia most sizes are TINY but we got a couple items on the list as well as getting the never ending toilitries shopping, etc. done. Our tuk tuk driver back must be related to our taxi driver from the day before because we were quite certain several times we were going to crash. He drove so fast around corners Jim & I had to lean into the curves to avoid tipping over! The rest of the day was basically just waiting for the time to go to the airport and meet Ken & Wendy. Their flight arrives at midnight, as many do into Bangkok, so now, at 10:20pm we’re just getting ready to head out to the airport.
The 4 of us have 2 days in Bangkok, 5 days on the beach at Koh Samui (AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH), 6 nights up in Chiang Mai where we’ll do some trekking, elephant riding, visiting hilltribes, etc. and then 1 night back here in Bangkok before they fly home to rainy Oregon and we head for India.
As always, LIVIN’ THE DREAM! Cheers, Jim & Rhonda
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