planes, trains, n tuk tuks….

A two hr flight, a 3 hr layover, a 13 hr flight and I arrived in Tokyo Narita Airport which was to be my rendevous spot with Beeler before we boarded another 7.5 hr flight to Bangkok.  Her flight arrived a good 7 hrs before mine so i expected to see her already comfortably at the gate. nope. crused duty free and cafes. nothing.  Sure she’d show up soon i just waited at the gate for a couple hrs. 10m to boarding and still no sign, i was resolved to go it alone, half convinced that she jumped an earlier flight and was lounging at our agreed hotel in Bangkok.  Got in the boarding que and just before i reach the desk low and behold there she is weary eyed and concerned scanning the crowd for me.  She apparently had been there all along sitting withing 10 ft of me for hours neither of us seeing each other.  hysterical.  not a good start.  i blame the fact that she was wearing a purple fleece lying down on a purple seat.  the perfect narita camaflauge.

Arriving in Bangkok after midnight we were thermally scanned by a camera to detect swine flu , handed in our promisory notes to customs that we had none of the symtoms within the past 2 weeks.  i however had caught a sudden sneezing, running nose symtom on the flight.  All the japanese passengers wearing their hygenic masks the entire flight peered at me suspiciously in  germophobic justification and i just knew one of them would be a tattle tale and i’d start my trip in quarantine.  When the haz mat suit wearing official boarded the plane i gave them all my most intimidating shut your face stare. it worked. no one talked.