The last REAL blog post I wrote was all about
the first leg of my journey to Thailand, in which things went wrong but
not too severely. Well, it got worse. But I’m incredibly proud of the
way I handled the whole mess.
So, my 13 hour plane ride was delightful, due to my mother’s sleeping mask I brought along at the last second. (That sleeping mask has since become one of my most valued possessions)
[Edit: I've since misplaced the sleeping mask. I left it on a train to Bangkok two weeks ago. *cries*]
I had a 45 minute layover in Taiwan at 11:00 pm, which was just enough time to get shuffled from one terminal to the next and appreciate how aesthetically pleasing the Taiwan airport was.
3.5 hours later, I arrived in Bangkok, at 1 in the morning. I had no idea what to do or where to go, but eventually made it to customs, (note to self, they call it immigration, hence my confusion) where they stamped my passport and let me in. Got my luggage, took out some money, made my way to “exit 3” where my driver should be waiting. He’s not. Never fear, I went through customs pretty quickly, maybe he’s just running late. Considering the fact that I’m now alone in a foreign country, I’m relatively calm, not even that worried about it. I took precautions to write down the address of my hotel, so I figured it would just work itself out. Mai pen rai and all of that Thai 'no worries' business.
[Edit: Mai pen rai means never mind, don't worry, etc. Can also be used as "you're welcome" and "forget about it"]
A blonde girl approaches me, concerned for my welfare. As a fellow white chick, she feels the need to make sure I’m okay. I explain my situation. She told me the taxis were trying to rip her off, and would we want to share a taxi if my driver doesn’t come? Sure, I agree. I suggest we wait a little longer. We walk back to where there’s other drivers, and a friendly woman who speaks SOME English asks me which company I’m looking for. I tell her, she says no they’re not on the list, and sees that I’m clutching a piece of paper with a Thai number on it. Before I even have a chance to protest, she’s gotten her phone out and is dialing Michael, the president of Xplore Asia AT 2:30 AM. Jesus. His wife answers, I apologize profusely, and she eventually calls us back and tells us that they’re so sorry, they don’t have anyone to pick me up.
At this point, I know exactly what’s happened. Of course. In the 72 hours leading up to me hopping on a plane for the other side of the world, I was the most stressed out I’ve ever been because I had trouble getting the proper visa at the DC embassy, and they had my passport until the last minute. To the point where I had emailed Michael and told him I might have to change my flight and be a day late. When I found out that I wouldn’t have to, he got another email that it would be fine, to which he responded to. But I guess that update did not get passed on to the employees that arrange hotels and transportation, because there was no one there for me.
Fine, whatever, I’ll take a taxi. Michael is kind enough to explain exactly where I should go and what I should say to ensure I don’t get ripped off (key phrase: meter, meter, meter. Yes, meter) so we set off. This is the only point in the whole journey that I’m terrified, as we get closer to Bangkok I realize I have no idea if the cab driver knows where he’s going, even though he says he does. It turns out, he doesn’t. We pull over, and between the three of us we gather that he wants to call the hotel. I have the number handy, because I came prepared. So we set off again. It’s nearly four am before we pull up at my hotel. It looks really nice! The bellhop takes my things, I pay the driver, and right before he’s about to leave the bellhop says no no, not the right hotel. I’m supposed to be at the H Residence Inn, and this is the Heritage (also called the H). Mai pen rai, the correct one is right down the street. Perfect. So I arrive, get my bags out, and check in.
There’s no room booked for me.
You no arrive until tomorrow night the man tells me.
Ah, travel plans that were cancelled and never corrected. Like the driver. I’m so exhausted at this point, and I think all my stress was used up on the visa debacle that I just smile and tell him it’s a mistake, and I’m here now, I’d like a room please.
THERE ARE NO ROOMS AVAILABLE.
Luckily, it’s only 4pm on my body clock with the time change, so while I’m exhausted I’m still thinking clearly and remember that with Thai people you can’t use confrontation or let them know you’re upset. You can only smile and be polite. I do just that, and explain that I’ve been traveling for 30 hours and I would just like a place to sleep please.
Luckily, he tells me there is an open room, but it is not clean. Fine, great, I’ll take it. Just give me a clean top sheet and I don’t care, I literally just want to lay down.
And that is how I kept my cool and made it to Bangkok after 30+ hours of traveling and a full day lost due to jet lag.
Surviving that was amazing, because I’m now confident I can handle anything Thailand throws at me. If I can keep it together and not have a melt down over all of that, then I can probably manage to make it through this whole adventure without having one at all.
(so far so good, 6 weeks in and I haven’t cried yet. Success!)
After that, I met people in my group and we became amazingly close after only a week and a half and I had the time of my life with them. I can’t wait to reunite with them in a few weeks!
So, my 13 hour plane ride was delightful, due to my mother’s sleeping mask I brought along at the last second. (That sleeping mask has since become one of my most valued possessions)
[Edit: I've since misplaced the sleeping mask. I left it on a train to Bangkok two weeks ago. *cries*]
I had a 45 minute layover in Taiwan at 11:00 pm, which was just enough time to get shuffled from one terminal to the next and appreciate how aesthetically pleasing the Taiwan airport was.
3.5 hours later, I arrived in Bangkok, at 1 in the morning. I had no idea what to do or where to go, but eventually made it to customs, (note to self, they call it immigration, hence my confusion) where they stamped my passport and let me in. Got my luggage, took out some money, made my way to “exit 3” where my driver should be waiting. He’s not. Never fear, I went through customs pretty quickly, maybe he’s just running late. Considering the fact that I’m now alone in a foreign country, I’m relatively calm, not even that worried about it. I took precautions to write down the address of my hotel, so I figured it would just work itself out. Mai pen rai and all of that Thai 'no worries' business.
[Edit: Mai pen rai means never mind, don't worry, etc. Can also be used as "you're welcome" and "forget about it"]
A blonde girl approaches me, concerned for my welfare. As a fellow white chick, she feels the need to make sure I’m okay. I explain my situation. She told me the taxis were trying to rip her off, and would we want to share a taxi if my driver doesn’t come? Sure, I agree. I suggest we wait a little longer. We walk back to where there’s other drivers, and a friendly woman who speaks SOME English asks me which company I’m looking for. I tell her, she says no they’re not on the list, and sees that I’m clutching a piece of paper with a Thai number on it. Before I even have a chance to protest, she’s gotten her phone out and is dialing Michael, the president of Xplore Asia AT 2:30 AM. Jesus. His wife answers, I apologize profusely, and she eventually calls us back and tells us that they’re so sorry, they don’t have anyone to pick me up.
At this point, I know exactly what’s happened. Of course. In the 72 hours leading up to me hopping on a plane for the other side of the world, I was the most stressed out I’ve ever been because I had trouble getting the proper visa at the DC embassy, and they had my passport until the last minute. To the point where I had emailed Michael and told him I might have to change my flight and be a day late. When I found out that I wouldn’t have to, he got another email that it would be fine, to which he responded to. But I guess that update did not get passed on to the employees that arrange hotels and transportation, because there was no one there for me.
Fine, whatever, I’ll take a taxi. Michael is kind enough to explain exactly where I should go and what I should say to ensure I don’t get ripped off (key phrase: meter, meter, meter. Yes, meter) so we set off. This is the only point in the whole journey that I’m terrified, as we get closer to Bangkok I realize I have no idea if the cab driver knows where he’s going, even though he says he does. It turns out, he doesn’t. We pull over, and between the three of us we gather that he wants to call the hotel. I have the number handy, because I came prepared. So we set off again. It’s nearly four am before we pull up at my hotel. It looks really nice! The bellhop takes my things, I pay the driver, and right before he’s about to leave the bellhop says no no, not the right hotel. I’m supposed to be at the H Residence Inn, and this is the Heritage (also called the H). Mai pen rai, the correct one is right down the street. Perfect. So I arrive, get my bags out, and check in.
There’s no room booked for me.
You no arrive until tomorrow night the man tells me.
Ah, travel plans that were cancelled and never corrected. Like the driver. I’m so exhausted at this point, and I think all my stress was used up on the visa debacle that I just smile and tell him it’s a mistake, and I’m here now, I’d like a room please.
THERE ARE NO ROOMS AVAILABLE.
Luckily, it’s only 4pm on my body clock with the time change, so while I’m exhausted I’m still thinking clearly and remember that with Thai people you can’t use confrontation or let them know you’re upset. You can only smile and be polite. I do just that, and explain that I’ve been traveling for 30 hours and I would just like a place to sleep please.
Luckily, he tells me there is an open room, but it is not clean. Fine, great, I’ll take it. Just give me a clean top sheet and I don’t care, I literally just want to lay down.
And that is how I kept my cool and made it to Bangkok after 30+ hours of traveling and a full day lost due to jet lag.
Surviving that was amazing, because I’m now confident I can handle anything Thailand throws at me. If I can keep it together and not have a melt down over all of that, then I can probably manage to make it through this whole adventure without having one at all.
(so far so good, 6 weeks in and I haven’t cried yet. Success!)
After that, I met people in my group and we became amazingly close after only a week and a half and I had the time of my life with them. I can’t wait to reunite with them in a few weeks!
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