The general goal of the journey to Thailand is to do yoga and meditation, work half-time, and walk around visiting temples and other places I have come to love. I walk around a lot while in Thailand, so I’ll use that walking to break in the hiking shoes I am planning to use on the Camino de Santiago in April.

I do not have very much of an agenda for my short stay in Bangkok, and I do not even have a list – I’m going to wing it and maybe see what people at the hotel recommend. There are two favorite places I will definitely see: the large reclining Buddha at Wat Pho, and the Jim Thompson house and museum. There are many places in Chiang Mai to which I wish to return, and I expect I will visit those places and find more to see.
While in Thailand, I will not see the ocean for more than a month. When I am at my home near San Diego, across the highway from the coastal city of Del Mar, I walk on the beach almost every day, early in the morning, taking in the beauty and energy of the ocean, its vastness and power.

The ocean often appears fairly calm with blue skies and moderate waves. It is always different. On this morning, a few days before my departure, there are few surfers because of the relatively low waves. But every day, the waves are different, the sand is different, and it changes before your eyes.

Friday, December 25, 2015
Traveling to Thailand – Los Angeles to Bangkok in 24 hours

The flight on which I will travel to Incheon (Seoul) and then Bangkok leaves Los Angeles late Friday night, December 25, 2015. The first flight is scheduled at fourteen an a half hours, then after a three-hour layover, the flight to Bangkok is five hours.
The first flight seemed every minute of the 14-1/2 hours. We left late, and arrived in just over 14 hours, but it was a long, long flight. I seldom sleep well on airplanes, and I am grateful that I did sleep at least 4 hours. The flight was 100% full. Being in a middle seat was not as bad as I feared, as I had two young neighbors who were interesting and separately on their way to Manilla, They slept well and for long periods … I’m a little jealous.

That first flight was on an Airbus A380-800, the largest passenger plane made today. This is a behemoth of an aircraft — it is larger than a Boeing 747-8 and costs about $50 million more at about $405 million per airplane. Interestingly, the Airbus A380-800 it is only 4 meters longer than the Boeing 747-8, and the wingspan is 11 meters wider. Korean Air has the Airbus A380-800 configured for 405 seats, with the entire second level being business class, something perhaps I’ll see some day.

Arrival at the Incheon airport was in 14 hours, but because we left Los Angeles late, we were almost right on time. The Incheon airport is the primary airport for Seoul, S. Korea, but is about 45 miles from the center of the city. There is fast train service to Seoul, but I am told most people find the buses more convenient, since they stop at many major hotels.

The second flight was on a Boeing 747-400, and it, too, was full. Many Koreans go to Thailand for the New Year’s holiday. Unfortunately, after sitting on the first flight for so long, the second flight at a mere five hours seemed longer. I was very grateful when we landed on time.

Immigration was busier than I have ever seen it at the newer Bangkok airport. It took over 40 minutes to get through to baggage claim, and by then the baggage was all there. So I grabbed my bag, walked to the Airport Rail Link ticket window and bought a ticket to the Phaya Thai (the final stop of the Airport Rail Link) for 45 THB (about $1.40) [compare this to about $60 for a taxi or $75-80 for a limo]. The Phaya Thai stop connects to the BTS Skytrain. For another 25 THB (75 cents) I rode the Skytrain three stops to the Chit Lom station, almost right in front of the InterContinental Hotel where I will be staying for the four days in Bangkok.

I have arrived in Bangkok.

Next: First Partial Day in Bangkok – getting oriented and eating