vysean

We got a very good night’s sleep thanks to the good air conditioning, comfortable beds, and lack of any early schedule this morning. In fact, we both got up so late we missed breakfast. We were told there was a Pizza Hut nearby and we hoped to have an experience mirroring our delightful experience only two days prior in Chengdu, so armed with some basic directions we set out. We were told it was in a large mall complex about two blocks northeast of us. We found the mall without difficulty but searched high and low for the Pizza Hut.

While searching, we ran across a large contingent of Australian teenagers that were part of a band/orchestra group performing for the Olympics. Every floor of the seven-floor mall had them milling about, and when we made it to the basement food court, we were surprised to see even more of them – probably 200 or so in all. The food court had all manner of tasty-looking things (especially pastries), but we were set on pizza at this point. We went back outside and down another street and sure enough, there was the Pizza Hut, only 50 meters from where we had entered the mall.

We were promptly seated, and the food and drinks were as good as before. After a delightful respite we went down to the subway to go to our first and only major stop in Shanghai – Yu Yuan Gardens. We got off at what we thought was the nearest subway stop – even if it was the closest, it was still a 20 minute walk to the Gardens. We spent about an hour exploring the gardens – they were impressive but not in the minimalist way I thought they might be (like Japanese gardens). After that we started walking back and spied a Dairy Queen.

What the heck, we thought, might as well try it. I had a tasty green tea MooLatte that was finished far too quickly, and I don’t know what Wesley had but he liked it. We decided that it might be quicker to take a taxi back to the hotel and the heat and humidity only helped to validate that decision. After sitting in traffic for a few minutes, we soon picked up speed and were deposited back at the hotel. We grabbed our bags, went to the Executive Lounge to checkout, and spent a few minutes exploring the lounge – it’s pretty large and well-designed with views over most of downtown Shanghai.

We had about three hours before our flight so we decided to make our way to the airport. We had hoped to take the Maglev train and after confirming that it was running, hopped on the subway. With all of our bags, the heat and humidity, and the constant movement, the subway was a welcome respite. We rode it to the extreme eastern end of the line where we switched to the Maglev. Prior to boarding we had to go through another security check. We were disappointed to learn that we would not experience it running at its fastest – had we arrived only 15 minutes earlier we likely could have done so. Still, 300 kilometers per hour is nothing to sneeze at – it meant that our journey was only 8 minutes from the city to the airport.

We again inquired about upgrading to business class, and this time after a few minutes of typing away, the agent was able to upgrade us for about $80 each. This was an internationally-configured Airbus 330-200, so we were quite happy with the price. We went through security and then to the Shanghai Airlines lounge where we relaxed for almost two hours before our flight. We both enjoyed some snacks and drinks while watching the Olympics on TV. The lounge had many computers and a printer as well but sadly no wireless Internet access.

We boarded the flight (no priority boarding) and found our seats. Boarding finished in about twenty minutes and we pushed back. It didn’t take long to get airborne – shortly thereafter meal service commenced. I played with the IFE but was very unimpressed with the selection of movies and audio. Oh well – it was only a 1.5 hour flight. Dinner was served (no choice of meal and no menu distributed) and then I managed about a 30-minute nap.

We waited for our bags (again some of the first off thanks to the priority tags) and then went into the taxi queue. We waited for a while and when it was finally our turn the person who appeared to be directing the queue told us to get into a waiting van. We joined another person who was already seated and who was traveling with quite a number of boxes. The driver dropped this person off first, and we could see the passenger paid several hundred Yuan for the 20 minute or so trip. The driver then delivered us to our hotel, but upon arrival asked for the outrageous sum of 800 Yuan (over $100). At this point I told Wesley to give him 100 Yuan and that we should get out and walk away. Wesley had researched it before our arrival and supposedly 80 Yuan was a normal taxi rate. After much back-and-forth argument, Wesley paid the driver 300 Yuan and we left upset with how the situation had gone.

Check-in was relatively painless but our attempts to get a room facing the Olympic Green area were met with polite but insistent negative responses from the staff. As in our previous experiences, this Holiday Inn Express’s staff had very limited command of the English language.

We settled into our room, cranked the aircon as low as it would go, and promptly went to sleep.

vysean

The only way to describe our awakening in the morning would be “frigidly”. The room was downright cold – we had set the thermostat to 10 degrees Celsius (50 degrees F), and apparently this little air conditioner worked so well it nearly got us there overnight. Wesley got up earlier and went down for breakfast while I enjoyed as much sleep as I could get.

We set out around 10am to tour the Badaling section of the Great Wall (Badaling is the closest section to Beijing – or at least the closest section to where we were staying). First we tried to hail a cab, but when the driver refused to take us we went back to the hotel and asked them to call one. A driver soon arrived, but insisted on 500 Yuan to take us. That was about 4 times what it should have cost with the meter. We declined. Sometime later that day we discovered that the Badaling section of the Great Wall had been closed that day and the previous six – it was scheduled to re-open on Thursday but we would be at the Olympics all day.

With our plan to visit the Great Wall foiled, we decided on another Chinese cultural icon – Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. Getting there was easy enough – the subway ran from right outside our hotel to the Square, albeit with three line changes in-between. So an hour later we were at the entrance to the gardens located near Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. We explored the gardens for close to an hour as we made our way over to the entrance to the Forbidden City.

There we encountered some kind of a protest/police struggle which seemed odd by US-standards. A few men were fighting one another and the police attempted to break them up. The men parted ways and then a few minutes later one went over and slugged the other. The police then tried unsuccessfully to break them up, and failing that, hauled them back over to a waiting van. Meanwhile a huge crowd had formed with many sporting cameras and even video cameras. A uniformed police officer was attempting to videotape the whole thing, and one of the detained men was fighting with the police to get away. We somewhat nervously watched the whole thing, even joining in to take pictures, but soon a group of black-suited police/military came in and told the assembled crowd to go away. These police/military must have been more special because as soon as they said “leave”, the crowd began dispersing.

With the fun over with, we went to the ticket office to buy tickets for Forbidden City. We found to our dismay that they were closed to new entries for the day, so we would be unable to see the Forbidden City on this trip. We walked back out of the compound and crossed the street to Tiananmen Square to see what we could but not before we were stopped by a younger Chinese guy with very good English who mentioned that he was a university student and was showing artwork to raise money for his university. I had heard about something similar in the past which was a scam, and not needing any more artwork and running out of daylight we politely declined.

We walked around Tiananmen Square for a while, admiring the temporary setup they had for the Olympics, taking pictures of the statues, and walking towards a large structure that formed a gate. While walking around, we had multiple people approach us and try to sell us Chairman Mao watches. I actually really wanted one for its cheap touristy “kitsch” value, but I was unwilling to pay much – I offered 40 Yuan (about $5.88) and was turned down. I couldn’t quite figure that out because I don’t think they cost that much to produce. Despite an ongoing discussion with one vendor, I never did purchase a watch. Maybe next time…

After our tour of Tiananmen Square, we decided to return to the hotel. We dropped our bags at the hotel and then decided we should see what we could of the Olympic Green at night. We had heard and read conflicting reports on whether you could gain access to the whole of the Olympic Green without a valid, same-day ticket. We decided to see for ourselves how far we could get. From walking around earlier in the day, we didn’t think we’d be able to get beyond the security checkpoint by the subway entrance, but we started walking down the main street and kept going. We were starting to get excited thinking we could just waltz right in. We were wrong. We were able to walk a good distance from the hotel and initial security checkpoint before we hit a fence that blocked our forward path. We stood around here for a while taking pictures and generally enjoying the view.

I was hungry and from earlier discussions knew the only nearby food options were the McDonalds restaurants (two of them) located on the Olympic Green. So I approached the volunteer at the gate and asked about McDonalds. He responded that yes, they were through the gate, and he asked if I had tickets. I said “yes” and he asked me for them. I ran over to grab Wesley and had him show our tickets. Now it’s worth noting that it was Wednesday night and our tickets weren’t valid until Friday morning. But we showed the volunteer the tickets and he motioned us through. We were temporarily elated but preparing to get stopped. Sure enough, after a brief walk that led us ever closer to the prize, we encountered a full-on security checkpoint.

We figured the gig was up here – that they’d catch on to our non-same-day tickets and turn us around. The first person checked our tickets and waived us through. Then another person took our tickets and put them against a machine which then blinked green. She motioned us through. Finally we had to go through a metal detector and have our bags x-rayed. After demonstrating to the security people that my camera worked, we were in! We were both very excited – ahead to our right was the Bird’s Nest, to our left was the Water Cube, and directly in front of us was the TV broadcasting tower and much further away, the ultimate prize – McDonalds…

So now irony had set in – because I didn’t think we’d get anywhere, I hadn’t brought my backpack with any of my camera lenses, extra batteries, or memory cards. I had only 40 shots left on my memory card and only a single lens to shoot with. But any disappointment was quickly overcome by the views. Regardless of how I might feel about the security, the restrictions, and the other BS, the venues themselves were quite impressive – especially when lit up at night. I took a few pictures and we started in the general direction of the McDonalds. Not too many steps later we encountered a small hut that was brightly light with people standing around – the Today! Show Beijing stage. We stood around for a few minutes and it was obvious they’d be filming in a few minutes. I called my parents – let them know (it was about 9am EST), and then tried to find a decent place to stand.

In finding my new fence-home for the show, I ended up talking to two other Americans – a guy who was filming short clips for his local NBC affiliate back home and a very nice woman named Shannon who worked at the US Embassy in Beijing. She had brought a large American flag with her and so I stood in-between the two of them helping to hold the flag. As it turns out, we made it on air for a good minute or two during the taping of the swimsuit segment. Of course, since I couldn’t see if I was on-air or not, I didn’t do anything impressive or idiotic – just held the flag with a big dumb grin…

After the segment was over, Al Roker was doing his rounds and we managed to get him to come over and sign an autograph for my boss, who graduated from the same college as Al and who had passed along his nickname from college – Chocolate Thunder (he didn’t respond when I called out to him with it). With autograph in hand (and with Wesley happy after shaking his hand), we walked with Shannon (the embassy employee) towards McDonalds.

We talked for nearly ½ hour on our way over there and continuing on while I ate a tasty McDonalds meal (they refused to – she being a vegetarian and Wesley being a Republican). I had a Big Mac combo meal which cost probably $5 – like most Asian/Pacific McDonalds, the fries taste infinitely better than those in the States – I’m sure I’ll die six months earlier but they were worth it. While over there we found the Olympic Superstore (closed unfortunately), and then began a slow walk back towards the main entrance. By this time it was nearly 11pm and Shannon was concerned that the subway trains would stop running leaving her stranded far from her apartment, so we hurried down to the station to make sure she got back. We all made it home safely, and we had had a most incredible night that should have never even been possible but for the lack of detailed checking of our tickets.

vysean

It had been a long night and we had decided before going to sleep that the plan was to depart the hotel room around 8am to make it to the first game. Let me just say that while I fully support the concept of a “plan”, it’s the implementation of said “plan” that often causes me consternation. Luckily, this plan caused me no consternation, because I slept right through it. I awoke an hour late, missed breakfast, and Wesley had long since left for the venue. He was nice enough to leave my ticket, however, so I gathered up my backpack and camera and high-tailed it to the subway. Beijing, it turns out, is a reasonably large city, and its subway system is quite large and somewhat confusing to a first-time Beijing subway user. So it took me a good 50 minutes to get from the stop nearest the hotel to the stop nearest the venue, and of course I took the wrong exit which necessitated some circular walking. Nevertheless, I made it towards the end of the Iran vs. Australia game.

As you might imagine (and no offense to any Iranian or Australian basketball fans here), the Iran vs. Australia game had a few empty seats. And by a few, I mean the majority of seats were empty. This was fine with me, as the seats, despite being in a brand new stadium, were far too close together for my comfort. Of course, the game ended and people started entering for the next game – Angola vs. China, and most of the empty seats quickly vanished. It seems there is a fan base in China for Chinese basketball. And this guy named Yao Ming. Who’s tall and affable and apparently plays in the US. So now we were a little more crammed together, but it was exciting to see a real-life famous person . The Chinese, no surprise, won the game, much to the delight of the assembled masses. Much to our own delight, we now had about three hours to find some food before the real fun started.

So Wesley and I set out in search of food. I was okay with pretty much anything, and was even looking forward to some Szechuan-style food having had my fill of American chain food by now. To this day I’m not sure how we ended up there, but we took the subway to somewhere, got out and walked for a bit, and ended up at a mall. We explored the mall for a few minutes, and, surprise! – there was a Pizza Hut. So apparently we were now obligated to eat there, which, I’m ashamed to say, was our fourth (yes, fourth!) visit to Pizza Hut since our trip began. What can I say? As an American, frequent visits to Pizza Hut are pretty much built into my genetic code (and now into my arterial walls too). I guess the funniest thing about Pizza Hut in China was that we were always the only obvious Westerners in the store – and we were never really sure with all the stares whether the local population was positively or negatively surprised to see us. Oh well, the food was just as good as before.

Since we’d now violated every major rule of cultural food immersion, we decided (read: I decided, and forced Wesley to follow along) that a search for a McDonalds Sweet Taro Pie was in order. A ten minute walk away from the subway revealed a McDonalds, and, yes! they had sweet taro pie. In fact, they had some kind of combo that included a sweet taro pie and a pineapple pie, so both were purchased and immediately shoved into my backpack. Wesley, wanting nothing to do with McDonalds, stayed outside. On our way back, we walked past several stores including a bakery, which Wesley dutifully ordered stuff from lest I be the only one to have tasty treats to smuggle into the basketball arena.

It was now getting uncomfortably close to game time, so we made our way to the subway stop and headed back over to the basketball arena. When we emerged at ground level at the arena area, we were shocked at how many people were there all of a sudden. Every entrance was full of people milling about. We walked to a far-side entrance hopping the line would be less – it probably wasn’t, but we managed to convince ourselves that it was a good idea. It didn’t help that people were constantly cutting in line and that the lines themselves weren’t clearly delineated, but nevertheless after a twenty minute wait, we were ushered into the initial ticket check.

We knew this game would be popular – not as popular as a USA vs. China matchup, but popular nonetheless. So we were a little surprised when we got back into the stadium that there weren’t very many people sitting around us despite it being very close to tip-off. It turns out lots of people got ensnared in the long security lines, as the house was packed shortly after the game started. During one of the breaks, the announcer mentioned something about a famous American, and the camera crew panned over to him. I couldn’t hear the name they announced, but the person looked a lot like Michael Jordan to me. Wesley thought the person was a TV/movie star. Perhaps someone can identify the mystery celebrity based on this photo?

In case it wasn’t obvious by now, I’m not a huge sports fan (oh the horror!), so I wasn’t so much interested in the score and the moves as I was in being “in the moment” at that particular place and at that particular time. That said, watching the US team go for slam dunk after slam dunk was fun, and by the second half of the game I was really getting into it. As they say, it was an “electric” feeling, and I guess I finally understand what that means. I immersed myself in the moment, and clapped and cheered and enjoyed the antics of a small but vocal contingent of Greek fans sitting in the nosebleed section – if their team had performed as well as they had, Greece would have won the game. All too soon, the game was over, USA having beaten Greece 92-69.

With the completion of the game, the realization also set in that our amazing trip was nearly at an end. We joined the massive crowd waiting for the subway and about an hour after we left the basketball stadium we were back at our hotel and promptly went to sleep.

vysean

Welcome to crunch day. We’ve got a lot going on and not much time to take care of it. Today is laundry day as I’m now out of clean clothes despite a modest extension thanks to the hotel in Shigatse. Add to that I’ve awoken later than I had hoped. Wesley already took off for the Olympic Green as he wanted to buy some souvenirs. I had to run downstairs to get tokens for the laundry room, which is conveniently just down the hall from our room. Tokens in hand, I dump one load of laundry into one washer and another into the other washer. I can’t read Chinese, and I’m not sure if the box of stuff nearby is laundry detergent, but there’s only one way to find out. Being a bachelor, I’m used to routine when it comes to laundry, and routine for me is pulling the bright orange plastic container down from the shelf and filling a cup full of blue liquid. The Chinese box contains white powder, so I’m not really sure if I’m cleaning my clothes, bleaching them, salting them, or giving them a liberal dose of anthrax. Only time will tell.

I run back to the room, take a shower and change clothes and pack up as much as I can to try to manage what time remains before our early afternoon flight to Singapore. The laundry is taking longer than I would hope, but finally it’s ready for the dryer. I move the loads over, start the dryers, and then head out to see what I can see at the Olympic Green. I decide to skip the nearest security checkpoint as the lines seem long, so I go across the street to the next one. I join a throng of people all pushing and jostling to get up to the security checkpoint. Immediately in front of me are a man and woman – the woman is trying to walk away but the man has a tight grip on her arm and is forcing her along. He’s dressed in all black and the woman is really trying to get away. I think this is some sort of domestic dispute until I notice a few other similarly-dressed men forming a ring around these two with a videographer capturing the whole scene on tape. I’m not sure what’s going on at this point but I really don’t want to get involved, so I make a beeline past the group towards the security checkpoint, and after a few minutes am through and into the Olympic Green area.

The Bird’s Nest had already opened probably two hours earlier, and I could go over there to catch events, but I was determined to get some cool Olympic souvenirs to bring back, and since I was quickly running out of time this was my immediate priority. So I walked the long walk over to the “Olympic Superstore” where luckily there was no long line to get in (I was told the line could be quite long because they limited the number of people inside the store at any one time). Once inside I was amazed at the variety of stuff there – all manner of clothing, toys, computer-related items, household goods, etc. As I was building a mental checklist of things I wanted, I ran into Wesley, who apparently had the same idea as I and had already watched some of the track and field events. He brought me up to speed on the coolest souvenirs and the promotions (if you purchased a certain minimum amount, you received a free stuffed animal or something like that). I grabbed a basket and began filling it up. Playing cards, stuffed animal mascots, baseball caps, mugs – I had assembled a big lot in a few minutes’ time. I checked out right behind Wesley who gave me grief for the amount of crap I’d just bought (I had three large fabric bags full). It didn’t occur to me at the time that I’d need to store it somewhere.

We then high-tailed it over to the Bird’s Nest to watch the track and field events. We only had enough time for about 40 minutes, which was a shame because we had really good seats – I think we were in row 6 which was within spitting distance of the runners on the track. We watched a women’s 800 meter sprint event, women’s high jump, and men’s hammer throw. The hammer throw was funny to me because after the athlete would fling the metal ball, somebody behind the scenes would drive a little RC truck out to retrieve the ball and then drive back towards the athletes with the “hammer” being drug behind the RC car. This process repeated itself over and over. The only real excitement came when a photographer was standing out in the hammer throw field taking pictures and one of the athletes managed to fling the heavy metal ball to within feet of where he was standing. I wonder if the photographer needed a change of underwear after that near-death experience?

I think it would have been more impressive to be there at night with the glow of the giant Olympic torch casting an orange hue over everything, but the weather was perfect and the crowd excited nonetheless. All too soon, we had to leave. As we were walking out of the stadium, we were approached by a well-dressed gentleman and his assistant. It turned out they were doing interviews for the BBC (I believe strictly for use on a blog/webcast/website). The BBC person interviewed Wesley and I for two minutes and then we headed off in the direction of the subway (there’s a stop almost in the center of the Olympic Green). On the way we stopped for ice cream (it was hot and we weren’t sure when/if we’d eat). We both purchased some kind of honey/peach ice cream bar that was one of the best things I’ve ever eaten. It was very refreshing and extremely cheap – if my currency conversion is correct we paid $0.15 for the bar. Best value on the trip, without a doubt.

We scarfed down our ice cream bars (which were melting at a dreadfully quick pace) while waiting for the subway, and in another minute were disembarking and walking up the stairs of the station to our hotel (what an awesome location we managed – literally just around the corner from the Olympic Green and the subway). Back up to the room to find out our room keys no longer worked. We asked the housekeeping staff to let us in but they refused. This necessitated a walk downstairs to the front desk. While Wesley took care of this I went to check on my laundry. It was still damp, so I popped more tokens into the dryers and turned them on again.

While the clothes were drying, I worked on packing my bags while Wesley packed his. We were getting awfully close to our scheduled departure time for my comfort – it was past 1pm and our flight was scheduled to depart at 3:25pm. Wesley arranged for a taxi while I grabbed my clothes from the dryer and quickly folded and loaded them in my suitcase. I had absolutely no more room, so basically everything purchased at the Olympic Superstore was going to have to be a carry-on.

With everything packed up, we ran downstairs to checkout and hop in the taxi. Traffic was slow and it took us 15 minutes just to get onto the highway to the airport. We moved quickly for a while but then came to a wall of stop-and-go traffic. At this point we were seriously concerned about making the flight, as it was now nearing 2pm. The traffic finally cleared up a bit and we made it to the departure area. We paid the taxi driver, grabbed our bags, and walked as quickly as we could inside to find the proper gate. And then we promptly stopped. Immediately inside the exterior door to the terminal was a long line of people who had to go through a metal detector just to get to the check-in counters. And of course we picked the longest and slowest-moving line. I was preparing for the now serious risk of us being denied boarding and wondering what our options would be. We made it through the metal detector and then went off in search of the check-in counter. Check-in was actually a breeze – the agents were friendly and didn’t raise any concerns despite our late appearance – it was not within one hour of departure. We dropped our bags, got our boarding passes and then joined the security line. Now that we were familiar with the PEK security drill, we moved through quickly.

We had little time and instead of checking out the lounge options (which, while greater than one in number, were unimpressive in amenities), we browsed through one more Olympic store and picked up some last minute things (Olympic chopsticks and a t-shirt). As boarding was about to begin, we started walking to the gate. When we arrived at the gate and there was no airplane, it was clear that we would again suffer another bus ride. Four flights into/out of PEK and only one actually at a jetway (and it was the smallest plane to boot). Oh well, we were soon on the plane and it turned out the load was light up front – no one in first, just Wesley, myself, and one other person in business.

Pre-departure beverages were provided and after a few more minutes, we buttoned up, taxied, and took off. I was lucky to be sitting on the left side and had great views of Beijing International Airport, a palace(?), and the Olympic Green area including the quite-prominent Bird’s Nest. The flight was uneventful – no amenity kit provided, decent food, bad IFE, and friendly service but with a definite language barrier. After the meal service was complete and cabin lights dimmed, I enjoyed the view out my window some more – we had a nearly full moon and it reflected nicely off the South China Sea. There were thunderstorms below us and I was captivated by the flashes of light that would periodically light up the sky in the distance. An hour or two nap completed the trip and I awoke to the cabin crew preparing the cabin for landing in Singapore.

We landed, taxied to the terminal, and within no more than five minutes were standing in line at immigration. Another short wait for the bags and then off through customs and to the taxi queue. I must give Singapore credit – so long as you get a close-in gate, you can go from being onboard your inbound aircraft to in your hotel room downtown in 30 minutes. Not bad at all. As usual, we were allocated an Executive Floor room, but disappointingly for the Conrad, were not provided the customary fruit or chocolate selection. Oh well – no big deal. Wesley quickly scooped up the rubber ducky and Conrad bears for his kids, as well as the slippers for his girlfriend and then we went downstairs to see what options existed for a late-night dinner since it was now about 10:30pm.

After some discussion with the concierge, it was suggested that we check out Lau Pa Sat. We hopped in a taxi and in less than five minutes were dropped off at the street entrance. We spent about ten minutes investigating our options before settling on an Indian place and getting beer from another stall. Dinner for both of us, including several Indian dishes and a big pitcher of Tiger beer was perhaps $11 USD (and could have been even cheaper still). We were quite full and decided to walk outside and head back to the hotel. As soon as we walked out the door we were in the outdoor section of Lau Pa Sat and a vendor quickly approached and asked if we’d like some satay. Since I hadn’t had any yet on this trip, I decided to give it a go. One stick of your choice of meat was $0.75 SGD and that included the peanut dipping sauce. I tried a stick of chicken and I must say, it was very tasty. I regretted eating inside the food court now. I thanked the vendor and he gave me a business card for my next trip back (his stall is appropriately named, “Best Satay”). We began walking back in the direction of the Conrad, and after a few blocks hailed a cab to take us the rest of the way (it turns out it’s probably easily walkable, but we didn’t know at the time).

It was approaching midnight and we were tired from a whirlwind day at the Olympics, so we both pretty much crashed in the hotel room without further adieu.

vysean

I awoke late and decided that Singapore may as well be my “lazy” day on this trip. It had been kind of non-stop so far, and since I (incorrectly) viewed Singapore as just a giant shopping Mecca, I wasn’t too concerned with missing out on any exploration. We decided to head over to the Marina Square mall to scope it out, but our first order of business was lunch. We stopped in the food court at the mall and ended up with some kind of sizzling plate filled with stuff. It was cheap, pretty tasty, and quick, and that was just fine by us.

After that, we walked around the mall for a while. Wesley purchased a lens for his camera and I ended up getting a small case for my point-and-shoot camera so that it wouldn’t get too dinged up while on future travels. It was nearing 5pm so we decided to head back to the hotel, drop off our purchases, and check out the lounge.

There was a huge crowd assembled around the giant fountain of Suntec City. They were so loud you could hear them 31 stories up. I have no idea what they were doing, but the lounge attendant mentioned it was some kind of political rally. As I was sitting there staring out the window and enjoying some light snacks I noticed someone climbing on one of the Suntec buildings. I watched a while longer and it was clear that this person intended to scale the entire building. Was it the so-called Human Spiderman? I don’t think so, as it appeared this person had a wire securing them to the roof of the building.

While in the lounge I filmed a quick advert for a project at work that needed a hokie but interesting demonstration. That complete, I went back to the room, packed up my gear, and we checked out to begin our next city conquest – this time of Bangkok.

Check-in for our SWISS flight from SIN-BKK was painless, and as is typical of Singapore, we were quickly through immigration and off to the lounge – this time the Thai *G lounge. We relaxed there for a while enjoying the snacks and drinks available. I took a few minutes to explore the contract lounge that SWISS uses in Singapore – they had hot soup but not much more and were decidedly more crowded than the Thai lounge. By the time I returned to the Thai lounge, boarding was about to start, so we grabbed our bags and headed over to the gate where we went through security and straight onto the plane.

The flight was lightly loaded and both Wesley and I had two seats each. I inquired about an amenity kit but the F/A dutifully checked her manifest and noted I was only going so far as Bangkok and she quickly shot down my request. I did get a package of playing cards, though.

The meal on this flight was good, and I enjoyed an episode of The Simpsons during the relatively short 1:45 flight. After we landed it was a surprisingly short walk to immigration and a short wait thereafter for the bags. Probably twenty minutes after landing we were getting into a taxi for the quick trip to the Conrad Bangkok.

The taxi driver didn’t want to use the meter, but it was quickly apparent that I wouldn’t pay for anything but the meter, so he obliged. Traffic was light and we made good time to the hotel. Check-in was quick and we soon had our bags stowed in the room. We left the hotel to see what was nearby and went into a 7-11. I purchased some drinks and candy while Wesley purchased something decidedly not edible to share with his girlfriend. Mine turned out to be the better purchase because his purchase proved defective. By this time it was around midnight, we were tired, and so returned to the hotel to get some sleep.

vysean

We awoke the next morning and I popped up to the lounge to see what the breakfast spread was like. It was pretty nice, actually. I enjoyed an eclectic mix of Thai, Japanese, and American foods and consumed a bunch of fruit juices. I went back to the room to let Wesley know that he had about a half-hour to get some breakfast and that it was good. He came up shortly and did his best to put a dent in their buffet. I asked the lounge attendant about Narai Phand as it was a recommended spot to look for souvenirs. With some information in hand and full stomachs, we set off souvenir hunting.

Narai Phand used to be located in a mall near one of the BTS stops, but after searching high and low we were unable to locate it. I stopped at the mall information booth and asked if they knew where it was and was directed to the InterContinental hotel. We got there and started looking through the attached mall but again couldn’t find the store. It was only after we decided to give up and leave the mall that we spied the sign for it in an alleyway behind the IC. It was nice to finally find it after a half-hour of searching, and even nicer that it was air-conditioned. Inside it appeared to be brand new – in fact there was still construction going on and half the store was empty. We looked around for a few minutes before deciding to see what else was available.

Our next stop was the Weekend Market (Chatuchak). I had never been before but it was also a highly-recommended stop for souvenirs. We took the SkyTrain to Mo Chit, hopped out and joined the throng of people walking towards the entrance. The Weekend Market is a pretty crazy experience – tons of people, tight quarters, strong smells, heat, and an insane variety of stuff for purchase. You could easily spend all day there and not see everything, and we didn’t have all day.

We spent at least an hour there, perhaps two, and ended up with a variety of cool souvenirs – some more durable and popular than others. From candle holders to coasters to key rings to lamps, I bought far too much given my available carrying capacity.

It was getting a little late, and we needed to re-pack everything and possibly freshen up before heading back to the airport. I had hoped to grab a light lunch and had considered stopping in McDonalds to see if they had sweet taro pies, but alas we didn’t have the time and so I had to console myself with simply watching it pass by as the SkyTrain brought us nearer to the hotel. We did have time, mind you, for Wesley to stop in another 7-11 in search of odd Fanta varieties. I don’t recall what he purchased, but I know he found something in the 7-11 down the street from the Conrad. We walked the distance from the BTS stop to the hotel, went up to the room, and re-packed for the last time.

We had no time for showers or last-minute visits to the lounge, so we simply hauled our bags downstairs and Wesley worked on getting a taxi while I checked us out. Twenty minutes later we were pulling into the airport. I imagine traffic in Bangkok can be absolutely terrible, but I’ve never had anything but smooth sailing between the airport and my downtown hotels (knock on wood). We checked our bags in, cleared immigration, and set to work exploring the business class lounge.

I was very unimpressed by the food offerings, and the lounge itself was quite crowded. I had mentioned to Wesley when booking the flights that one of the benefits of an ex-BKK departure on TG was the spa lounge. I reminded him of this benefit but he appeared uninterested. I figured it was his loss, and told him I’d be back in a half-hour. I received a delightful head/neck/shoulder massage and returned to the lounge just in time to see boarding being called. We grabbed our stuff and walked over to the gate.

The flight home was uneventful, other than being the longest flight (distance-wise) that I’ve ever been on at 8,270 miles. We pushed late, had a very friendly crew and a very full flight (a few last-minute op-ups to C ensured a full cabin). The food was pretty good, in fact better than my F-class food on previous flights. We were also provided satay, and top-ups, and garlic bread. All in all, really good catering. The IFE was nice and I watched a movie or two before falling asleep. I slept really well. I’m not sure why (I had plenty of sleep each night at the hotels), but I managed at least eight hours in the slanted-flat seat that Thai has in business class. I awoke with about 45 minutes to go before we landed in Los Angeles.

Wesley and I had hoped to standby for a same-night departure from LAX-PHX, rather than have to overnight in LAX and arrive later at work the next day. And at first that plan was looking to have some promise with our flight from BKK boarding early and the winds being favorable. Sadly, our late departure ate up most of any connection window we might have had. We walked quickly to immigration, hoping beyond rational hope that we might still make a connection that night, but after a ten minutes of waiting in line at immigration it was clear our plan was a failed one. The immigration computers were down, and they weren’t processing anyone. It was a ridiculous scene. We waited for about ½ hour before the computers came back up and processing began again. You’d think they might understand a thing or two about high-availability operations, but I guess it’s not something they’ve worried about.

So resigned to our fate of overnighting in Los Angeles, we called around to see which hotels had the best rates. We ended up staying at the Four Points by Sheraton. It was a nice enough hotel and we even got an upgrade despite having nothing other than general-member status. The hotel was quite crowded, and we were hungry but the restaurant was closed (or closing). So we set out for the nearest open restaurant – Burger King. Like many things in life, it sounded like a good idea – a tasty burger with toppings, some fries, and a soda. In reality, I regretted the decision as soon as I was halfway through my sandwich. We were tired after this, and had a very early flight the next morning, so without further thought we went to sleep.

vysean

We awoke at some terribly early hour to get ready for our 6:45am flight to Phoenix. I just managed to squeeze onto the very full shuttle bus for the short ride to the airport. The flight over was uneventful – I slept the entire way, and we were soon at the gate in Phoenix. A brief wait for our bags ensued (US in PHX is very slow for bags 90% of the time), after which we began hunting around for the shuttle bus that would take us back to our respective houses. We ended up waiting for about ½ hour before the shuttle arrived, we loaded our bags, and were off.

Because there were only four of us on the shuttle, the driver was happy to drop me off at my driveway (normally they have pre-defined stops along their route). This was very convenient given my now ridiculous load of stuff. I dropped my bags inside, took a shower and changed into my work clothes, and paused for a minute in my clean and quiet house.

It often strikes me as amusing that I could be doing something as routine as buying a gallon of milk at the grocery store when just the previous day I was halfway around the world – it’s really incredible how the world shrinks and becomes accessible thanks to air travel. It was a great adventure and truly an amazing experience, but I was happy to be home.

vysean

I’m writing this footnote almost a year after the trip, and even now I can vividly remember the sights we saw, people we met, and places and things we experienced. I feel exceptionally lucky to have had the experience of watching the Olympics in person (especially with the incredible display put on by the Chinese), spending a week in beautiful Tibet, and touring parts of China that I never before planned to see. I had no idea food in Sichuan province would be as consistently excellent as it was. I had no idea how much we’d come to rely on our drivers and guides throughout parts of the trip. I can still remember the smile on John’s face as he’d guide us around Tibet. It was a wonderful experience, and one I’d gladly do again if given the opportunity.

The postcards that I sent out were well received, and I came back with an awful lot of stuff that has been given to family, friends, and co-workers at opportune times. I still have quite a bit too. I ended up with few amenity kits on this trip – just one from Air Canada and Thai Airways. I had hoped for more. I was able to get playing cards from Air China, SWISS, and Thai Airways.

More important than the material possessions I brought back were the memories, the photographs, and the feelings of goodwill shared amongst people with very different backgrounds. I only regret that my later attempts to contact Shannon were met with failure. I hope she fulfilled her goal to change positions and that she’s safe, happy, and successful wherever in the world she ended up.

If you’ve made it this far, you must be really quite bored. I hope you’re not stuck on the tarmac somewhere waiting for the weather to clear or a mechanic to fix your aircraft…

Thanks for taking the time to read this, and may all of your travels be safe, happy, and successful!

FlyerBeek

An absolutely stunning trip report - very well written. Thanks so much for sharing. ^

-FlyerBeek

Moomba

Excellent report. I agree with you about coming back home to the usual routine. Just today at work someone said 'were you off half way around the world again this weekend?' Hmm I think I am getting a reputation.

whakojacko

Great report-So much detail! ^

JALlover

which tea shop were you looking for?

roadwarriorafrica

An excellent report. So much detail and great to read about your hotel, food, and travel experiences. Very vivid report. ^^^^^^^

MatthewLAX

This was a very interesting read. Thanks for sharing!