Wednesday, December 25, 2019
The Journey to Thailand

I am leaving for Thailand on Christmas night. The first flight from Los Angeles to Hong Kong leaves at 11:30 PM. To get to Los Angeles easily, I reserved a rental car for a one-way trip from San Diego to Los Angeles International. This is far cheaper than parking my car at Los Angeles Int’l for a month, and simpler than taking the train to Los Angeles Union Station and then the FlyAway Bus to the airport. Here I am with my baggage about to load up the rental car and make my way through the rain to Los Angeles International Airport.

Outside the house with baggage about to load the rental car.

It was a rainy day, and I left my house just before dusk as it was starting to rain. Fortunately, the traffic on the San Diego Freeway (Interstate 5 and Interstate 405) was relatively light this Christmas evening, and I easily travelled the 115 miles from my house to the rental car return at Los Angeles Int’l Airport in just over two hours, including a stop to fill the gas tank.

I have flights booked on Cathay Pacific from Los Angeles to Hong Kong, and then from Hong Kong to Bangkok. In the past years I have flown on Korean Air, but their prices for the same itinerary as last year more than doubled. My preference is that the airline fly out of Chiang Mai, avoiding returning to Bangkok. The next best option was Cathay Pacific so I shall be flying on this airline for the first time.

I was a little too early at the International Terminal, and check-in for the flight to Hong Kong had not started, so I went through the self-service check-in, got my luggage tags and then waited in a long line for the bag drop. Fortunately, I was near the front of that line. However, after check-in was opened, I dropped my two bags for check-in, made my way through security, and on to gate 155, arriving there more than two and a half hours before boarding. Here is gate 155 with the signage for the flight to Hong Kong:

Bradley Int’l Terminal Gate 155 signage for Hong Kong

Flight 881 was scheduled to be 15 hours and 50 minutes, but took almost a half hour longer.  I seldom sleep well at all on airplanes, but managed to get 5 or maybe even 6 hours of shuteye on this 16-hour long flight. I was feeling a little panicked because the flight from Hong Kong to Bangkok was due to leave about 15 minutes after I got off the first airplane.  I give Cathay Pacific a big compliment here, because once they knew my first flight was going to be late, jeopardizing my connection, they automatically booked me (and others in a similar predicament) on a later flights, and had agents meet our plane to tell us what had taken place, and directing us where to go to get new boarding passes. So, I was re-booked on a flight to Bangkok that left at 9:45, about an hour later leaving me ample time to avoid hurrying. But in the back of my mind was a question about whether my checked baggage was also re-routed properly to meet me in Bangkok.

The second flight, CX615 was scheduled for 2 hours and 5 minutes, and we landed about 5 minutes early. Then came de-boarding, making the long walk (about 350 meters, signs tell you how much farther) to immigration, and enduring the long line at immigration. As long as the line looks, it does move along, and soon I was walking over to baggage claim, just about as the carousel started moving with luggage from Cathay Pacific flight 615. And I discovered that my baggage did indeed get rerouted to flight 615. With my luggage in hand, I made my way down to the lowest level and over to the Airport Rail Link.   This is an elevated train almost exactly like the Sky Train, that runs between the Bangkok Suvarnabhumi airport and one of the Sky Train lines near the center of town. And the best thing is that the Airport Rail Link costs 45 Baht or about $1.50 for the 25-mile ride. Then I got on the Sky Train, and for 30 Baht or about $1.00, I was taken to less than a block from my hotel, the Novotel Ploen Chit, seen in the next two pictures:

Near the Entrance to the Novotel Ploen Chit Hotel

Another view of the Novotel Hotel exterior – it is tall, about 28 floors.

From the time I left my home in San Diego to my arrival at the hotel was about 28 hours. A very long journey. And it feels like more, because I basically lost a day – I left just before midnight on Wednesday December 25. I arrived in Bangkok on Friday afternoon, December 27. I completely missed December 26 (Boxing Day in the United Kingdom) because I crossed the International Date Line. Regardless of the day, I was tired. Time for a shower and some sleep – completely prone and not in a chair.

After a nap, I was restless, so I went out walking around the general neighborhood, then came back and checked e-mail.

Breakfast Buffet at the Novotel Sukhumvit

The next morning, Saturday, I went to the rather extensive breakfast buffet. I had orange juice, coffee, cereal with raisins, some dragon fruit, watermelon, and pineapple, and an omelette with some bacon. Mmmm…

Next: A full day in Bangkok