Thailand - Flight from Bangkok to Los Angeles (Saturday, November 16th, 2015)

We had a chance to sleep in this morning for the first time in almost three weeks.  Oh my did that feel good!  

We finally got up and enjoyed our breakfast in Bangkok at the Century Park Hotel where this whole adventure began. Many of the people from our tour were in the dining room so we had one final chance to say goodbye before returning to our room for showers and packing.  

As we looked out our hotel window, we noticed some construction on the roof of the temple below us.  They were re-roofing it, using the same bamboo scaffolding we have seen so many times before, only this time, it was set up on a slanting roof.

Nothing scary about this right?!!

Crazy!

All of the hotels we have stayed in for the last three weeks have had the blowdryers hidden away in drawers, so we would go on an adventure each morning to find the blow dryer.  So this morning when I got out of the shower, I started going through drawers looking for the blowdryer.  Steve started the search as well but was also unsuccessful.  So Steve went on the search for our housekeeper.  He found her in the hall not far from our room, and started doing sign language for the blowdryer.  She immediately pulled out a toilet plunger (that must be the most common issue she runs into), but thankfully that wasn't our issue, so next she pulled out a spare bottle of water, but that didn't help either.  Steve finally got her to understand that it was the blow dryer, so she followed him back to the room, thinking that ours was broke.  She walked into the bathroom, pulled the blow dryer off the wall in the bathroom, where it had been conspicuously stored the entire time, and turned it on.  It worked like a charm.  

At this point, we realized how tired we must really be, and were so embarrassed that we didn't see it there, so we quickly gave her a nice tip and sent her on her way.  We both laughed so hard after she left that we didn't see it right there on the wall!  

While I finished getting ready Steve ran out and picked up our final iced mocha of the trip from 7-11 just down the street from our hotel.  We bought coffee in every city we visited, and some of them were quite expensive, but none of them even came close to being as good as the double shot mochas we got in Bangkok at the 7-11.  Amazingly enough, they have a true espresso machine that they use to make them.  And the only 7-11 where we could find coffee was in Bangkok.  None of the 7-11's in the other towns we visited had the machines.....darn!  And the best part was that they cost us 30 baht each, less than $1.00.  Oh are we going to miss these!!

Once we were packed up, we made our way down to the lobby, checked out of our room, and waited for our airport transport.

Hotel checkout was at 12:00 and so we waited in the lobby for our our shuttle to arrive at the hotel at 12:30.  In true Gate-1 fashion our driver showed up about 15 minutes early and came into the lobby looking for us.  Once he found us, he pulled up the van and we got in, so it was such an easy morning.  We were on our way to Suvarnabhumi International Airport.

The Bangkok International Departure terminal is very big but very easy to navigate.  We walked in and looked for the departure screen.  It lists departure time, followed by flight number and then check-in counter.  We proceeded to our check-in counter for our boarding pass and to check our luggage.  They were also able to check our seat assignments  and luggage all the way through to Los Angeles.  As we worked our way through the airport, we had to show our boarding passes and passports four different times, so we learned to just keep them handy.

The Bangkok International Departures Terminal is very big

As we entered the international departure terminal, we were greeted by signs to help us find our way.

The departure screen

Our flight is the third one down, flight CZ3082.  We were directed to isle "U" for our check-in counter

The bright yellow signs mark the check-in rows

Once we found our check-in row, we just looked for the China Southern Check-in windows

The international departure terminal is beautiful!

Looking for our gate.  Not a bad view!

Our China Southern plane left Bangkok at 3:35 pm and landed in Guangzhou, China at 7:20 pm (on-time). We had a two-hour layover in Guangzhou, and were supposed to take off again at 9:30 pm, but we had a medical issue on our flight after one of the passengers got hit in the head by a bag.  

We spent about an hour at the gate as the doctors examined the passenger and finally gave her clearance to fly.  The flight crew took good care of us as we sat waiting for our takeoff.  The plane was air conditioned the entire time, and the flight crew provided drinks if we wanted them.  Our pilot made up much of the lost time in flight, still allowing us to arrive on time in Los Angeles, California at about 6:30 pm on November 16th (the same day we left Bangkok).

Our flight home was interesting, in that we remained on Asia time for most of the flight.  When we boarded the flight, it was about 9:20pm.  After we got in the air, they fed us a nice meal, and then at about midnight, we settled ourselves for sleep.  So we ended up sleeping for most of the flight, then when we awoke, they fed us a nice breakfast, we flew awhile longer, and then landed in Los Angeles at about 6:30 pm. 

We collected our luggage without issue at the carousel: 

One of our bags that held all our worldly possessions for the last three weeks!

We called the hotel shuttle as we made our way through the airport, so he was waiting for us when we exited the airport.  Again, we will stay a night at the Holiday Inn Express in Los Angeles before heading home on Southwest Airlines tomorrow morning. 

We received a text from our oldest daughter (she is trying to fly out of Denver International Airport today to go see her husband for Thanksgiving), and she said that they aren't allowing many flights into the airport due to the weather.  They are trying to get as many flights out as possible, so she is hoping to get out okay.

Our daughter will drive out and leave the car at The Parking Spot (an offsite parking lot for airport travelers).  We will then fly in tomorrow and pick it up.  We all get nice trips, and only have to pay for a day of parking.  Not bad!  She just sends us a picture of where the car is parked, and we let the shuttle driver know.

Although we slept through most of the flight, when we got to the hotel, it was time to sleep again.  And believe it or not, we were ready for more sleep.  But even more importantly at this point, we were both really hungry.  

Unfortunately there are no restaurants very close to our hotel, except for McDonald's, which is right across the street, so for the first time in probably 15+ years, I was treated to a McDonald's cheeseburger and fries.  Since I am kind of a health food nut, I struggled with this concept a little bit, but hunger won out.  It was such a big day in our lives that we even sent a picture to our girls, who thought the world must be coming to an end with mom eating McDonald's!!!!

This sure isn't Thai fast food!

We got a good laugh out of our dinner and headed back to the hotel.  We're very tired, but mostly just mixed up on our time.  I'm sure it will take a little time to get back to normal, but for now we'll try and get a good night's sleep.

Reclining Buddha and Dinner Show (Friday, November 6th, 2015)

First thing this morning we got a text with a picture from our oldest daughter, showing us that it had snowed at home. Oh, we are sure not ready for that!

As we headed down stairs to breakfast we noticed that we had a message, so we went to the front desk and waiting for us there was a package. We picked it up and took it to breakfast with us. As we were eating, we opened it up and it was from our friend Saovanee that had given us the wonderful tour around Bangkok two days previous. 

It was a set of beautiful elephant salt and pepper shakers. It reminded us of the clay elephants we had made two days before at the Sampran Riverside. What a thoughtful gift from a wonderful friend. We will enjoy them very much! 

After breakfast we decided to walk down the street from our hotel to a wholesale shopping district called Pratunam market. It would be about a 15 minute walk, so we thought that would be fun before our Gate-1 orientation meeting later this morning.  The walk took us by a lot of the usual street vendors.

There are hot woks of oil at just about every stand we pass on the street

As we got further from the hotel, the area got more and more interesting. We had to cross a large set of train tracks, and there were some very interesting shops along the way. We saw a glass cutting shop (all done my hand) and a metal shop where all of the was recycled which we really liked to see.  We saw several workers preparing the used metal for resale.  All were working with very simple hand tools as they squared up the ends so they could be resold. 

We got to the wholesale shops, and because it was so early only a few of the shops were beginning to open. So the wholesale building felt a little uncomfortable with everything closed up. We didn’t stay long and then headed back to the hotel. 

Looking down from the pedestrian bridge into the wholesale market

On our way back a train was on the tracks, and it was right there next to us, like 4 feet away as it sped by. Pretty scary compared to what we are used to but was just a way of life for all others that were waiting for the train to pass.  

These trains really go speeding through town!

We finally thought we were starting to get used to Bangkok, but with each new area, it feels like a new world all over again.  

One of the interesting things we saw on our walk was Thai women commuting to work on motorcycle taxis.  Since it wouldn't be appropriate to touch their driver, they ride sidesaddle, and rarely held on. 

This woman was holding on to the back, but that is unusual

I'm sure she's only holding on because of the railroad tracks

 They even do this on the highways.  They have great balance!  It is just fascinating to us.

And this hard working man delivering rice first thing in the morning

Our Gate-1 orientation meeting was from 10:00 to 11:00 and then we had about an hour to ourselves before our first tour left. We enjoyed meeting Mike who would be our Tour Director for the next 2-weeks, and getting to know a little bit about the other people we would be traveling with.

Steve and I took advantage of our hour by walking through the park again and grabbing a couple of coffees at 7-11. We enjoyed our coffees on the bus along with a banana and Cliff Bar for lunch as we drove to our temple tour. This was our first time of many to come where enjoyed the luxury of our Gate-1 bus, our driver Pong and our busboy Yut who worked to keep the bus clean and comfortable for us.

The drive through Bangkok was as interesting as our others, and we once again noticed the fascinating mix of ancient and modern. We drove through Chinatown, by the Bangkok Flower Market and then on to the colorful Indian Market where lots of textiles are sold. 

China Town

I think the power lines in China Town are even work than other parts of Bangkok

The Bangkok Flower Market under all of it's umbrellas, to keep the sun off the flowers.

Another view of the Bangkok Flower Market

Our tour destination was the Wat Po Temple, the oldest and largest temple in the city, with the incredible giant Reclining Buddha, over 150 feet long and almost 40 feet high.  It is so large, and in such a small building that you really can't get a single picture of the entire Buddha all at once.

The crowds to see the Reclining Buddha were large, making picture taking a bit of a challenge!

The Buddha's head is the first thing you see as you enter the front of the building

As you make your way through the building, most of the Buddha comes into view.

But you have to look the other direction to see the feet.  You can't view the entire Reclining Buddha all at once.

The all important selfie

After we walked through the building, we turned around and walked back through the building behind the Reclining Buddha.  On this side of the building there is a large line of offering pots.  The Buddhist people believe in reincarnation, and are supposed to give an offering for each of their remaining lives, but since none of them know how many lives they will have, or how many they have already lived, they leave an offering in each pot just to be safe.

The line of offering pots goes from one end of the Reclining Buddha building to the other, with an offering being left in each pot

Our final view of the Reclining Buddha as we leave the temple

We had time to look around the grounds at the pagoda’s where the ashes of the first 3 kings of Thailand are entombed, and then we had a chance to go in the temple itself. 

These guys were standing guard all over the temple grounds

And his friend

The three pagodas where the ashes of the first three kings of Thailand are buried

The grounds of the temple

The pagodas are very ornate and colorful

Over time the gold wears off of the Buddhas and they have to be prepared and have the gold reapplied.  That is why we sometimes see the black Buddhas

As we walked through the temple, a monk was giving a lesson to a group of school kids that were there on a field trip.  It was fun to listen in, even though we couldn't understand a word.

 We then drove to Royal Avenue where most of the Government offices are located. We enjoy the sights that we see while we are driving around.  Like the two license plates below.  Interesting...

Thai license plate written in English

Thai license plate written in Thai

And this is not an unusual sight.  It's hard to get pictures from the bus, but this shows it well enough.

We were supposed to return to our hotel to clean up before our evening adventure, but traffic was so heavy that they bypassed the hotel.  The City of Bangkok was having a bike ride for dad day, so they were closing many of the roads for the event. They were anticipating in excess of 20,000 riders to participate. 

Bangkok traffic is heavy on any normal day, but with the road closures it was nearly impossible to navigate the city.  So our bus driver took us straight to Asiatique, a large modern shopping center on the river. There is a large variety of different shops here, but it also offers a beautiful setting to sit, relax and enjoy the sights. We chose to bypass the shopping and enjoyed a table by the river instead.  We were joined by two other couples from our tour, so we all had a chance to get to know each other a little bit while we watched everything that was going on by the river.

We enjoyed watching the multi-copter that was flying over the river

As well as the jet-boot stunts

We then joined up with our tour for dinner and a Thai dancing show at the Calypso. 

The food was definitely tamed down for the american pallet, which allowed everyone to enjoy it, the dancing was very good and the service was excellent.  It was a very nice way to end our first day as a group together.  We headed back to the Century Park Hotel, Bangkok on the bus, and traffic had eased up quite a bit.

A side note about Bangkok...according to Mike, our Tour Director, there are 11 million in people in Bangkok during the day, and 9 million people that actually live in Bangkok.  Traffic is so heavy because there are 2 million people that have to commute in and out of the city each day, plus everyone else that is moving around.  Mike says that if he leaves his house at 5:00 his commute takes him less than 45 minutes to go approximately 10 miles.  If he leaves at 5:30, it takes him about 1 1/2 hours.  If he leaves at 6:00 he will likely be late to his 8:30 start time, so he elects to leave at 5:00, get to his location and then sleep in his car for an hour and 1/2 before he reports to work....CRAZY!  They are attempting to expand the Sky Train to the suburbs to help with the daily congestion.  Bangkok is 1,500 square kilometers so that's a lot of expansion that needs to be done on the train line.