Finally arrived

So this was not the smoothest of expeditions, but I guess this is what happens sometimes when I try to get the absolute cheapest fare possible.

So I arrived at JFK in the afternoon of Oct 26th. Unlike Keith's awesome experience with Cathay Pacific (which I agree is a great airline) I have discovered that I hate Air China. I guess I have been spoiled the last 4 years of internationally traveling, but i guess I started to think that having individual screens to watch movies and listen to music in economy class was fairly standard. However on this 14 hour Air China flight, not only was there no individual screens to select what movie you would like to see, but only one movie the whole time--the new Alice in Wonderland. No music, no skymall to browse through, nothing. I suppose luckily I brought enough of my own entertainment, and I was lucky enough to sit next to a nice woman who shared an interest in photography and movies and had actually been to Chaing Mai many times. Conversation always seems to pass the time quickly. So for a very long and boring and journey, it actually went by fairly quick.

I always forget how crazy Chinese airports are. I had 45 min to change planes and was led through a maze of at least three different security checks. I made it just on time. I suppose Air China was cheap for a reason, they were both pretty empty flights, and the perk about that was I got to stretch out across 5 whole seats and at least get a bit of sleep, which I admit was really nice.

When I arrived in Bangkok it was 11:30pm, and I was actually quite amazed at how busy it was. My flight to Chaing Mai wasn't until 6:45 in the morning, so I was expecting to putz around the airport or find a nice place to stretch out and sleep some more. However, because my next flight was on Air Asia and their counter was closed, I found that I had to kill 5 hours around the check-in counters, and I wasn't alone. All the chairs and benches had already been claimed by apparently the hoards of other travelers in the same position. I found a little corner that looked cozy enough for a florescent lit terminal, and realized that the clasp on my suitcase was broken! I tried to open it but to no avail. I rushed over to the Air China desk and complained. It became a rather annoying wild goose chase, where they told me to go complain to some desk on some other floor, and when I went no one was there...rinse and repeat. At first I was very calm and thought to myself "at least this is a way to kill some time." But as the chase continued to more dead-ends, and more people who couldn't tell me what was going on, I started to get frustrated. By 3 am I finally got some attention. They offered to fix it for me, but I needed to be in Bangkok for 10 days, when I told them I was going to Chaing Mai in a couple of hours, they offered to pay me 300 bhat (about $10). I told them that wasn't enough and they eventually gave me 800 bhat. I guess it is lucky I brought my hiking backpack as padding. I will see if I can fit everything in there before I look for a new bag...but it was my favorite yellow suitcase :(. RIP

Anyways, I finally arrived in Chaing Mai perhaps 2 hours ago. I found this lovely guest house that Abe recommended called Giant Guest house. They greeted me with hugs, a nice clean room with a fan, drinking water, hot tea, and free internet. I took a little stroll to stretch my legs. Tried some random things wrapped in a banana leaf that was delicious, but I failed in figuring out what it was called. I kept pointing at it asking, "name?" "called?" she replied "pork" over and over again. I nodded, trying to convey that i understood there was pork inside. I pointed to things I thought I knew like "rice" "curry" then pointing to the banana leaf with a quizzical look...but she just put the curry and rice in the bag as well. I said nevermind and paid for the thai tamale and continued my walk.

I think I actually need a nap. Landing is always rough and my body is confused what time it is and where I am. So time for nap, maybe some more walking exploring today, maybe try to figure out my luggage deal, and then...I have no idea.