Monday, December 5, 2022
The Journey Begins

The trip from my home in northern San Diego to the hotel in Bangkok will take over 30 hours. I have made this trip several times in past years, so I know what to expect. Regardless, it is a very l-o-n-g day of traveling.

Home to Los Angeles International Airport

The first thing is to get to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). The most convenient and overall cheapest when all is considered is for me to walk a mile to an Avis neighborhood location, pick up a car, drive home, load, and drive to LAX. I was given a slightly larger car this time, a Maxda small SUV. Here is the car with my luggage and me in front of my house as I finish preparations for my two months in Thailand.

I finished everything, showered, change clothes, and started the drive to Los Angeles International at 3:00 PM. The drive, like last year, was uneventful in spite of Monday traffic, and I was at the LAX Avis rental car return by about 5:20 PM. Then I was at the LAX International Terminal by 5:45, and noticed a sign indicating that Korean Air would not be open for check-in for the flight to Seoul/Incheon (Incheon is the name of the main airport for Seoul) until 7:15. With almost two hours, I got in line for the wait. I was third in line behind a young married couple who are moving to Seoul to be closer to family after living most of their lives in the Los Angeles area. Check-in finally opened and I quickly went through check-in and then security. Unlike last year when the pandemic was winding down, Los Angeles International is very busy, so security was a slow process.

Flight KE012 Los Angeles to Seoul/Incheon

The first and by far the longest part of this journey is Korean Air flight KE012 from Los Angeles to Seoul/Incheon. The flight is scheduled for 13 hours and 30 minutes on a Boeing 777-300ER. Here is the announcement at boarding gate 156:

Boarding started on time at 10:00 PM. In my flight last year, there were 3 passengers in a cabin with a total of 35 seats. This year, however, every seat was occupied. We left the gate on time at 10:40 PM, and were soon on our way over the Pacific Ocean. I do not sleep well on airplanes, so I read a bit, watched a couple of forgettable movies, and tried to sleep. We finally landed at Incheon about 15 minutes late. Local time is 5:30 AM. Most of the passengers on the flight from Los Angeles were Korean going into Seoul. A much smaller number made the turn to International Transfer Security for another security check before continuing on to our connection. I have four hours until the flight to Bangkok leaves. I went up to what is known as the Transfer Lounge which is much like a lounge for economy passengers. I have never been inside a business class or first class lounge, but this transfer lounge is very nice. I did not take photos because it was quite full.

Flight KE657 Incheon to Bangkok

Korean Air flight KE657 was originally scheduled for a Boeing 777-300ER, but was at some time changed to an Airbus A380. Most airlines are phasing out the large four-engine airplanes in favor of the more fuel-efficient two-engine airplanes. The capacity need of the flight to Bangkok must have justified the use of a larger A380. Here it is – it was difficult to get a photo through the windows without some glare:

Here is the announcement for flight KE657 at Incheon gate 266 in both Engligh and Thai. Note: Suvarnabhumi is the name of Bangkok’s main airport. I suppose if I want to stay at Gate 266, I could catch the next flight to Katmandu on KE695. Instead, I opted to stick with the original plan and continue on to Bangkok.

The boarding process was relatively fast, and the flight left the gate on time at 9:15. And we arrived essentially on time at 1:15 Thai time. However, it seemed that we landed quite far from the actual terminal, and it was 20 minutes or more before we arrived at a gate.

Arrival in Bangkok

Last year, as travel was just starting after the pandemic, the process of immigration was very fast. Before the pandemic, the wait for immigration could be almost an hour. This year was very fast. I was through immigration in less than 15 minutes and waiting at baggage claim before any of the bags started appearing. An interesting observation – I noticed at least 50 golf bags coming onto the luggage carousel. At times, it seemed that only golf bags were coming. Finally, my bags came and I headed to the Airport Rail Link, the train into Bangkok to the Phaya Thai BTS Skytrain stop. The airport rail link takes about 45 minutes and cost 40 Baht, or about $1.25. Then I get on the BTS Skytrain for just four stops to the Ploen Chit stop, right in front of my hotel. I took the wrong exit from the stop, and was on the wrong side of the very large, busy street. I was somewhat disoriented. Took some time and walking around in the heat and humidity before I got my bearings, and found the hotel. So finally, I am at my hotel at about 3:30 PM local time on Wednesday, December 7, 2022 after over 33 hours of traveling. This is a very nice hotel. My hotel:

I have arrived – I am in the Kingdom of Thailand for my tenth winter. Winter? It is about 92 degrees with humidity well over 80%. Hot and humid, that is the Thailand I know. This trip does seem very real now.

Next: One full day in Bangkok