May 21, Monday &
May 22, Tuesday
Monday
Did not get to sleep until about 1:30 am and the wake up call came at 7 am, so not such a good night’s sleep. I wanted to be up by 7:30 to see the eclipse of the sun however, when I opened up the curtains it was raining and dark clouds covered the skies. Won’t see the eclipse after all.
I checked out of the hotel and head to the international airport by taxi.
Taxis are extremely clean in Japan; all of them. They even have white lace seat covers. Yes, WHITE ! and the drivers wear white gloves as well, and these are regular taxis. This country never ceases to amaze me. I really am sorry to be leaving. This is one country where I would not hesitate to come back to and spend lots more time.
I’m flying Thai Air today and as usual get dinged for excess baggage, but this time it is an absolutely ridiculous amount, almost the price of an airline ticket ! I’m definitely going to one of their offices to try to get a partial refund.
The flight to Bangkok was uneventful. I watched “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” which I read a few years ago as well as the two following books, but never had a chance to see the movies. Definitely want to get the chance to see this one again, as well as seeing the sequels. Since it was a 5 hour flight, I also watched Glen Close in “Albert Nobbs". I didn’t get to see the ending however because we were landing. ...What else is new! She is impersonating a man, as a male butler in a hotel. Amazingly well played as usual when Glen Close is involved, but I thought the story line was a bit weak.
The last 10 minutes of flight as we were descending to land provided me with a great look at this region of Thailand. Agricultural fields as far as they eye could see; long and narrow lots. As we get nearer to Bangkok, some of the lots have been converted to housing. Very strange to see these vast fields and then all of a sudden a long stretch of houses in the middle of it.
After going through Immigration, I grab a taxi into the city of Bangkok. IT IS HUGE ! The Viengtai Hotel where I am staying is in an older quarter of Bangkok and there appear to be a lot of little shops and restaurants on the street. I meet the rest of the group on Wednesday, when the official "tour" begins. The hotel is quite ordinary but very clean. I’ll have to go check out the outdoor pool and see what condition it’s in. They are nickel and diming for everything however; I’ll even have to pay to leave my big suitcase here while I travel with the “Intrepid” group. That has never happened before.
OH, and there is English TV ! So nice to understand what is being said again.
Tuesday
Up early today to get ready for my visit to the Canadian Embassy and get addresses to get passport photos taken.
My ride in a Thai tuk-tuk, on my way to the Canadian Embassy
Views of Bangkok. No idea where I am, but sites look interesting
A beautiful gateway in front of some impressive buildings
Wow... impressive statue on some wide boulevards
Downtown area on Rama I Road
I may not have access to the internet during my travels through Indo-China, so don’t worry if you don’t get many blog postings for the next month. I may have to play “catch-up” again later.
Here is the travel plan with the group from Intrepid:
May 23 & 24: Bangkok, Thailand
May 25: Chiang Mai
May 26: Huay Hai
May 27, 28, 29, 30: Mekong River Cruise, Thailand & Laos
May 31 & June 1: Vang Vieng
June 2: Vientiane
June 3: Hanoi, Vietnam
June 4: Halong Bay
June 5 & 6: Hanoi
June 7: Hue
June 8 9, 10: Hoi An
June 11 & 12: Ho Chi Minh City
June 13 & 14: Phom Penh, Cambodia
June 15: Homestay
June 16, 17, 18: Siem Reap, Angkor Wat
June 19 & 20: Back to Bangkok
I think I’ll need a long rest on a beach somewhere after that.
Monday
Did not get to sleep until about 1:30 am and the wake up call came at 7 am, so not such a good night’s sleep. I wanted to be up by 7:30 to see the eclipse of the sun however, when I opened up the curtains it was raining and dark clouds covered the skies. Won’t see the eclipse after all.
I checked out of the hotel and head to the international airport by taxi.
Taxis are extremely clean in Japan; all of them. They even have white lace seat covers. Yes, WHITE ! and the drivers wear white gloves as well, and these are regular taxis. This country never ceases to amaze me. I really am sorry to be leaving. This is one country where I would not hesitate to come back to and spend lots more time.
I’m flying Thai Air today and as usual get dinged for excess baggage, but this time it is an absolutely ridiculous amount, almost the price of an airline ticket ! I’m definitely going to one of their offices to try to get a partial refund.
The flight to Bangkok was uneventful. I watched “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” which I read a few years ago as well as the two following books, but never had a chance to see the movies. Definitely want to get the chance to see this one again, as well as seeing the sequels. Since it was a 5 hour flight, I also watched Glen Close in “Albert Nobbs". I didn’t get to see the ending however because we were landing. ...What else is new! She is impersonating a man, as a male butler in a hotel. Amazingly well played as usual when Glen Close is involved, but I thought the story line was a bit weak.
The last 10 minutes of flight as we were descending to land provided me with a great look at this region of Thailand. Agricultural fields as far as they eye could see; long and narrow lots. As we get nearer to Bangkok, some of the lots have been converted to housing. Very strange to see these vast fields and then all of a sudden a long stretch of houses in the middle of it.
After going through Immigration, I grab a taxi into the city of Bangkok. IT IS HUGE ! The Viengtai Hotel where I am staying is in an older quarter of Bangkok and there appear to be a lot of little shops and restaurants on the street. I meet the rest of the group on Wednesday, when the official "tour" begins. The hotel is quite ordinary but very clean. I’ll have to go check out the outdoor pool and see what condition it’s in. They are nickel and diming for everything however; I’ll even have to pay to leave my big suitcase here while I travel with the “Intrepid” group. That has never happened before.
OH, and there is English TV ! So nice to understand what is being said again.
Tuesday
Up early today to get ready for my visit to the Canadian Embassy and get addresses to get passport photos taken.
My ride in a Thai tuk-tuk, on my way to the Canadian Embassy
Views of Bangkok. No idea where I am, but sites look interesting
A beautiful gateway in front of some impressive buildings
Wow... impressive statue on some wide boulevards
Downtown area on Rama I Road
I may not have access to the internet during my travels through Indo-China, so don’t worry if you don’t get many blog postings for the next month. I may have to play “catch-up” again later.
Here is the travel plan with the group from Intrepid:
May 23 & 24: Bangkok, Thailand
May 25: Chiang Mai
May 26: Huay Hai
May 27, 28, 29, 30: Mekong River Cruise, Thailand & Laos
May 31 & June 1: Vang Vieng
June 2: Vientiane
June 3: Hanoi, Vietnam
June 4: Halong Bay
June 5 & 6: Hanoi
June 7: Hue
June 8 9, 10: Hoi An
June 11 & 12: Ho Chi Minh City
June 13 & 14: Phom Penh, Cambodia
June 15: Homestay
June 16, 17, 18: Siem Reap, Angkor Wat
June 19 & 20: Back to Bangkok
I think I’ll need a long rest on a beach somewhere after that.
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