Yesterday was a killer. We flew 11 hours from LAX to Tokyo, 7 hours from Tokyo to Kuala Lumpur, and two hours from KL to Bangkok with a 6-hour layover split between Tokyo & KL. It was brutal. It didn't help much that I was sandwiched in between my mom and a stranger and was literally stuck behind a guy that slept the entire flight from LAX to Tokyo, and then again from Tokyo to Kuala Lumpur. Lucky fellow, but not so good for me. His seat remained reclined except for when he took his meals, at which point I was free to somewhat relax and retrieve things from my backpack that sat underneath his seat in front of me. I could hardly move and felt as though I was literally glued to my seat in one position. I was so uncomfortable I didn't even sleep on the first leg of our trip. I couldn't stop thinking oh my God, I can't wait till this plane lands. It was NOT fun. And to make matters worse, there were some technical difficulties on the final plane trip from KL to Bangkok so we couldn't leave. We ended up sitting on the plane for 45 minutes before we took off, it was awful because there's nothing worse than sitting on a plane and not have that time spent in the air. It was one of those you're so close yet so far away kind of feeling. As a result, we landed in Bangkok an hour late.
It was 11:15 AM Bangkok time when we touched ground. An hour later we cleared immigration, picked up our checked luggage, and exited customs, before reaching the Airport Rail Link in the basement level of the airport. The Suvarnabhumi Airport, by the way, is pretty nice. Despite the sterile warehouse look and feel, it's modern, clean, and huge. It must have taken us a good 20 minutes just to walk from our arrival gate to Immigration. Least it seemed that way; the hallways are very long. And then another 15 to reach the Airport Rail.
We took the City Line to the Bangkok center, which ate 28 minutes of our time, then hopped on the Sukhumvit Rail Line and got off at Phloen Chit station, where it was supposed to be a 5-minute walk to our hotel. However, with some hefty luggage on hand, narrow cracked, concrete sidewalks, and the slightest uncertainty regarding the location of the hotel, it took us a few minutes longer. Interestingly the BTS stations all have escalators going up, but none going down. And of course, what did we have to do? Go down ... by stairs ... with luggage. This challenge reminded us of our arduous journey through Europe with five huge suitcases in the middle of winter. Snow and luggage don't mix. In this case, stairs and luggage don't mix!
Anyway, there was only one elevator at the station with a long line of people waiting to use it and we didn't want to wait. The other obstacle we faced was the crossing of the streets. Having traveled to Central America and Asia in the past, I know that pedestrians have no right-of-way and that you cross at your own risk, but crossing in Bangkok is rather daunting and time-consuming. From the station, we had to cross an intersection underneath a freeway overpass, and with no traffic lights, it was hard to tell whose turn it was to go. The cars just kept coming and going, and we all stood there wondering how long is this going to take. Suffice it to say in sweat-drenched clothes we all survived and made it safely to our hotel. *Sigh of relief*
Now the real adventure begins ...
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| Riding the Sky train into the city |
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| The Ploen Chit Station -- see the stairs?? Not fun with luggage. |
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