From Home to Bangkok and on to our little Thai house

March 24 2016 

We arrived in Bangkok after about 30 hours of travel, door to door. Wednesday morning at 7:00 we flew from Portland to Vancouver BC, an hour’s flight, had a five hour layover, not fun after getting up at 3:45. Then a 10 hour flight to Seoul So. Korea. We had a two hour layover then a six hour flight to Bangkok, arriving at 11:00 p.m. local time Thursday night. We got to our friend Leslie’s around midnight and talked until 1:00 AM.

It is 93 today and 60% humidity making it feel like 107 degrees according to the weather report. We had breakfast at Leslie’s then went in to work with her so we could use her staff to make some inquiries in Thai for us about shipping our excess baggage to India. The rules for the amount of allowed baggage are different on our flight to India and is expensive when over the limit. We left her office and went to make arrangements for a car and driver to take us to Hua Hin tomorrow where we will pick up a rental car then drive back to Phetchaburi where we stay when in Thailand. Afterwards we had a delightful lunch at one of our favorite restaurants, Charlie’s French Bistro. We have gone there so many times that the staff always remembers us and gives us a warm welcome.

We ran errands, getting SIM cards for our phones and some Thai cash from the ATM. We then returned to Leslie’s office to gather the data on our choices for dealing with our excess luggage. Once we got home and considered our options we realized we had made a miscalculation and we were not as over the limit as we had thought so will proceed to just check the baggage and pay for the cost of being over the limit as it will be the easiest solution although a bit more expensive.  The error had to do with subtracting Kgs from Lbs.  It's not a good thing to try and do this when sleep deprived.

That evening when Leslie got home we took her out to dinner. She has so many great places to eat within a few blocks of her condo. We managed to go one block and have crab cakes with rockets salad and apple crumble and some great desserts.

March 26, 2016 

We hired a driver to take us to Hua Hin leaving from Bangkok at 9:20 and it took three hours, an hour longer than usual. The traffic was horrendous. I think half of Bangkok went south for the weekend. I later discovered that this is the season for Chinese Thais to honor ancestors so there is more traffic on the road. Our driver at one point started driving on the shoulder as were other drivers, passing many cars. We passed a policeman who was directing traffic and he waved us through. Go figure…

We picked up the rental car and drove further into town and ate at our favorite restaurant and had duck soup with wontons and egg noodles. It is so darn good. We drove back to Phetchaburi and got home at 2:30. The family greeted us warmly and seven members came to our house. It was damn hot but it was great to see so many of our Thai family.

We were invited out to dinner and 11 of us enjoy fresh seafood at another favorite restaurant. It was great. We got home and went to bed by 9:30. Ron didn’t sleep at all and I managed o sleep until 3:00. I read until 5:00 and went back to bed until 8:00.. Jet lag is not fun for the first five days or so. Today we will take it easy. We ran one errand and came home to rest. Between jet lag and the heat, it is best to slow down.

The family Matriarch is still with us and alert and sharp as ever.  Unfortunately she is now bed ridden from her broken leg from 15 months ago and now also has liver cancer.  We will be here visiting until MArch 31 when we return to Bangkok for our flight to Ahmedabad.  We'll rest up wile we can as there will be much to do when we arrive in India.