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.

Guangzhou, China and Our Arrival in Bangkok (Tuesday, November 3rd, 2015)

We really enjoyed our flight from Los Angeles to Guangzhou, China on China Southern Airlines. They were very professional, and made our flight very comfortable with never ending drinks, and a midnight meal as well as breakfast. They offered both western and Chinese style food. 

We arrived in China at 5:40 am for a 3-hour layover. The airport in Guangzhou was very easy to navigate. There were signs very often that directed us to “International Transfers”. There were also representatives with China Southern Airlines directing traffic and making sure that everyone knew where to go, and when we got to the end of the “International Transfer” signs, there was a large electronic board with connecting flights and gate numbers on it. Given the time of day the airport was very quiet with very few travelers.

The Guangzhou, China Airport was very clean and beautiful!

Very modern with nice restrooms and drinking water facilities

There were enough english instructions to make the airport easy to navigate

The flight attendants for China Southern were very professional!

We found our gate number, and looked around, and our gate was right there, so we made ourselves comfortable while we waited and then took off again at 8:50 am for a short three-hour flight.  We landed in Bangkok at 10:50 am. and picked up our luggage, we then followed our Gate-1 directions that had been provided prior to our departure for getting to our hotel transfer. 

There was a representative waiting for us outside of customs who took us to our driver. We drove through the streets of Bangkok at a very rapid pace enjoying the sights of the city, and within about 30 minutes we were at our hotel. The airport transfer was very smooth and comfortable and was included in our tour, even though we arrived three days early.  We thought that was a pretty great deal!

Our hotel is very close to Victory Monument. We chose to come in two day’s early, so we will have a chance to explore Bangkok for two day’s on our own before the actual tour starts. We are hoping that this will give us a chance to get over our jetlag and enjoy seeing Bangkok up close and personal on our own. We want to be able to enjoy every moment of Bangkok.

Our trip (for the most part) is all-inclusive. There are some meals where we are on our own, and a few optional excursions, which are so inexpensive that we couldn’t pass them up. As part of our Gate-1 package, we are staying at the Century Park Hotel, Bangkok, which is a superior class hotel located in Pratunam, a shopping and commercial area in the heart of Bangkok. This hotel provides free WiFi (for Gate-1 travelers) and all of the amenities that you would expect in any nice western style hotel. It is absolutely beautiful, and the staff are extremely helpful. We were greeted at the front desk, and asked to wait in the beautiful lobby for a few minutes while they finished up our room. They served us complimentary punch while we were waiting, and within a few minutes our room was ready. 

We think the punch was compliments of Gate-1 since we were the only ones that seemed to have it.

Our room is beautiful!

The view out our window on the 12th floor

After 13,000 miles and about 20 hours of flying, all Steve and I could think about was getting a shower, but once that was done, we were out and about seeing Bangkok. Our first impression was “WOW”, this is the most bustling city we have ever seen. It’s even crazier than New York City! 

The traffic is really crazy!

But once we got used to it, we loved the charm and convenience of being in this thriving metropolis. It has more traffic, motorcycles and pedestrians than we had ever seen, and the vibe of the town was very exhilarating. 

We enjoyed lunch at a little food court in the middle of the shopping district, and had dinner in a nicer restaurant in the same area. The food is quite different than we are used to, even though we often eat Thai food in the US,  but very good and very cheap.  Our lunch was less then $3 for the both of us. So far the public restrooms we have used are either free or cost 1 or 2 baht (~35 baht to 1 US dollar) and so far they are all western style.  They don't always have paper though, so come prepared.  

The people are all so kind, but very few speak any English at all, so it has been a very fun challenge.

A few street views as we walk around.  Check out the power lines.  They are like this everywhere.

Another view of the crazy busy streets.

Just a couple of blocks from our hotel is a mall called Center-One.  It has food for the locals in the basement, and more touristy options upstairs like Swenson's ice cream, Chester Chicken and Mister Donut, although we saw a lot of Thai's eating these as well.

The mall where we had lunch, although we ate downstairs with the locals.  We had to use a little sign language to get what we wanted because we can't read or speak Thai.

Plastic food replicas in the window of one of the restaurants in the mall make it easy for us english speakers to order, but you also pay more for your food if you eat at a restaurant like this.  We didn't eat here, but it looked like a pretty easy option.  

Another view of the mall from upstairs

My handsome husband risking his life under the power/phone lines!

Victory Monument very near our hotel

A view from the pedestrian walkway by the Victory Monument and the Sky Train

Another view from the pedestrian walkway.  You can see our hotel in the top right corner.  The busy sidewalk on the right is how we get to the mall.

Street vendors on the walkway.  Street vendors are very common.

The evening view from our hotel window as the traffic is picking up.  Notice the apartment buildings right behind the billboards.  Their view is totally blocked by the signs.

A beautiful sunset, and now traffic is really heavy.

There is also a beautiful park right near our hotel.  It is busy day and night with locals out getting their exercise.

After a relaxing stroll through the park, we decided to call it a night as we had been awake many hours at this point!

Leaving for Thailand (Sunday, November 1st, 2015)

We both got a great nights sleep!!!!  So our first big hurdle is tackled and we feel great!  We had coffee by the swimming pool this morning at the hotel. 

A very nice man from Jordan was kind enough to take this picture for us

And then ate our complimentary breakfast and went for a walk (in the opposite direction from last night). We ended up in a neighborhood park where the local kids were playing soccer.  

Then we took a soak in the hot tub to prepare our poor bodies for the 20+ hours of travel ahead of us.  

On our walk last night we discovered a tiny little Ethopean restaurant, so we went back there for lunch.

They offered Ethopian and Mediterranean Food

There was a large outdoor patio, surrounded by this beautiful vine.  Indoors was very hot, so we opted for patio seating, but it was the smoking area, so we sat way off by ourselves.

It was a fabulous lunch, although the atmosphere left a little to be desired.

We left Los Angeles, California (LAX) on November 1st at 10:30 pm on China Southern Airlines, and will arrive at 5:40 am on November 3rd in Guangzhou, China (CAN), where we will have a 3-hour layover.

Our ride (Airbus 380) to Guangzhou, China.  Quite comfortable and very professional staff.