Flying to the Other Side of the World

Our flight path was to lead from Winnipeg, to Chicago, to Tokyo, and finally, to Bangkok. Our flight took about 30 plus odd hours. The flight was not unenjoyable at times. Although our flight to Chicago was rather cold spirited. As soon as we were airborne the stewardess was very unaccomodating and quickly indicated not to bother her for anything. My request for carry-on storage assistance was met with an angry nod. Lucky for us this was not a long part of the voyage.

We landed in Chicago O'Hare airport. When we deboarded the airplane, as strange as it sounds, it felt as if we were immediately in a far away place. Even thought Chicago is only several hundred kilometres south of Winnipeg, it is definitely still somewhere over the rainbow. Things were not necessarily so different, perhaps it is that the United States is so much like Canada, that the small differences appear just that much more disorienting. For example, the people were all speaking English, however, the dialect was more like an uneducated version of cable television than the regular day to day speech of flatlander Canadians. The other differences were many, however nothing one could put their finger on in particular, but we knew we were no longer in Kansas, or perhaps it's that we were closer to it than before.

After a short stay and a dizzying attempt to navigate O'Hare International, we finished our ridiculously overpriced and greasy lunch, and then boarded a Japan Airlines Jet. This proved to be a step up on the comforrt ladder. As soon as we took off we were presented with quick and efficient hospitiple service from the plethora of friendly flight attendants. They even gave us warm towels with which to freshen our faces. We were even presented with the luxury of in-flight movies and video games installed into the seats directly in front of us. There was music as well, but I don't personally have a flavour for the Asian pop music and other such ilk offered on Japan Airlines.

After about 16 hours of flight we landed in Tokyo. We felt a bit weary for the wear, however we settled into an Asahi and a delicious bowl of noodles before connecting to our next flight.
Our final flight took 5 hours and landed us in Bangkok International between 1 and 2 a.m. Needless to say we were quite ready for some open space and a shower. This was to be the beginning of the cultural foray. Cheryl, being the seasoned traveler between us, thought it would be funny to see how I would react to the barrage of cab driver's which she knew would inevitably accost us once we left the terminal. And accost us they did. Once we crossed the threshold of the gates they were upon us like waves breaking on the shore and my surfboard was without a rudder.

There were dozens and dozens of taxi driver's all promising to take us the nicest hotel for the best deal complete with breakfast and all the perks. However, like all waves there was an undertow. This was my first taste of the entrepeneurial kingdom. Everyone in Thailand is out to find their dollar, or should I say, their share of the Baht. Keeping in mind that there are umpteen million people crowede together in Bangkok, it is easy to understand that one needs to be savy to get their share of the do re mi. Therefore everyone interconnects to convince all the fish to enter their net. The taxi driver takes you to the hotel, which has a deal with the bartender, who employs the cook, who is the daughter of the tourism company etc, etc. Each person gets a cut of the money that comes out of the falang, and they all work together to ensure it can happen.

Cheryl watched me telling taxi driver's, one after the other, that we would be okay. Then one sounded legitimate (oh, how naive), and so I accepted and we were off to the hotel he indicated in the picture. The hotel wasn't half bad for the price we paid, that is, if we were in Canada. However, for the price we paid relative to the prices of Thailand, we could have rented the luxury sweet in most hotels. But we were ragged from the long plane ride and were simply happy to have a shower and a place to stretch out.

Although we were tired we had incredible jet lag and so instead of sleeping we ended up hanging out together all night. Then we waited around for the promised free breakfast that never came (such is Thailand), and we were off to the airport for our flight to Chiang Mai for 6 a.m.