Getting to Bangkok

Day five of this trip, and I finally have a small break during which I can blog. There seems to be a lot of peer pressure not to, and an expectation that every waking moment will be spent eating. We just finished a delicious meal of Dim Sum - which we sat down for around 11 am, even though our next commitment isn't until 1:30. That gives me about an hour and a half to write - assuming we don't walk around and find more to eat. (A student brought us some cotton candy crepe things, so we will have to eat those at some point.)

The trip here was fairly uneventful. We left Bloomington at 7:04 am Monday morning, May 8. We shared a bus with people going to Switzerland, but there were only two of our students leaving from Bloomington with Angie, Brenda and me. We picked up a few more in Zionsville and headed on to O'Hare. We Arrived plenty early and met the rest of our students there.

Cathay Pacific as slow to check-in, but the security line wasn't horrible. We went through in small groups, and I got through in enough time to grab a salad and guacamole at Frontera, which was way more food than I should have had. Boarding was quick compared to check-in. I as in row 71, next to last - but I didn't mind the location. There was extra space in the aisle between Brenda and me (which benefitted her) and we were close to the restroom. It was easy to get up and move around when I needed to. The flight to Hong Kong was about 15 hours. I had a couple of pretty good meals and slept a bit, plus I got to watch some short films and comedy TV shows on the flight's excellent entertainment system. The worst part about the flight was the leg room, which I think was the least I have ever had on any flight. My knees were constantly in contact with the seat in front of me, and when I stretched my legs underneath my toes stuck out into the space below the person in front of me.

We arrived in Hong Kong early, which was good due to the short layover. We had time to get some tasty coffee before boarding the three hour flight to Bangkok, which included another meal and some delicious Häagen-Dazs. I spent that flight watching The Girl on the Train. We landed in Bangkok around 11:30 Tuesday night, met our guides Dom and O (seriously), took a bus to the hotel, checked in, and then I showered before finally getting to sleep around 2:00 or later. I did pretty well with the travel, I think, considering I felt a cold coming in beginning Thursday night. I took all kinds of supplements and OTC meds to fight it off throughout the weekend and in transit, but I definitely was not 100% to begin this trip. I was pretty miserable by the time I fell into the comfy bed at the Pathumwan Princess Hotel.

Well, look at that - I didn't write nearly as much as I had hoped to, and it's time to get back to work. As it turns out, we're in a high-end mall and I spent a lot of time wandering around taking in the top floor, which is a stunningly designed bookstore / gallery / co-workers space / food court / play space. We were wondering why there is nothing like this in the U.S., at least not that we're aware of. I'm off - we have a visit with Yum Brands this afternoon.