Blogging poolside with a jug of Singha after a refreshing and much needed swim, we have arrived safe but tired in Bangkok, Thailand.
If you want to see the world, you have to get there somehow. I’m totally up for Greta Thurnberg’s method of sailing across the sea, but we bailed on the sustainable choice and flew. 32.5 hours door to door, I think. We started out catching the #15 bus at 6:22 am outside our door, and arrived at Villa Cha Cha, Bangkok at midnight the next day. Factor in a 15 hour time change, my circadian rhythm is missing in action and my math should be checked if anyone really cares. It was a long-ass day of travel. Lucky for us, Bangkok was as wide awake at midnight as I was.
Surviving Long Flights
Just the idea of being locked in a tiny seat for a dozen hours or more, hurtling through the air 30,000 feet above the ground with no escape is enough to give anyone pause. I do it rarely, some people do it frequently but those stewards and stewardesses do it for a living. They have a few tricks under their sleeve.
We boarded our long flight to Korea in Vancouver at noon on Monday. Shortly after take off, the cabin started to dim. The view out the window was at first dusk, but right after our first meal (and complementary wine) it faded to night. “Look at that, Ray – we are flying into the night.” I took half a sleeping pill, washed it down with wine and popped 20 milligrams of melatonin as a chaser. Then I went to the washroom before settling in. The washroom was in a completely different time zone. The sun was blazing though the window just a few rows away. What the hell? What a great trick. The staff are screwing with us, putting their charges to bed for the night in the middle of the afternoon. It took me a little longer to adjust after that, but the drugs helped. Three wonderful meals, two of them traditional Korean dishes were also welcome distractions.
We had to deplane in Korea for a couple of hours, and get back onto another 6 hour flight for Bangkok. This was no time for drugs so I closed my eyes and meditated, possibly even slept a bit. Whenever I looked at Ray he was motionless, eyes closed but not quite sleeping either. The girl on the other side of me was slumped in an enviable sleep so deep she missed dinner.
As we climbed the two flights up to our room at Villa Cha Cha , a cockroach almost tripped me up and a big rat ran across the floor. The bed was comfortable enough, the beer at the bar cold and Bangkok’s nightlife is right outside our door.
Let the adventure begin.
