Unexpected Layover at Taoyuan International, Conclusion

Our service in the boarding gate was nowhere near this polished, but it was appreciated.

[Part 2 of a story begun last Friday. Part 1 is here]

OK, where were we?  Ah, yes... my aircraft had experienced some technical difficulties, and I'd been disembarked (along with more than 300 others) back into a boarding gate at Taoyuan International airport in Taipei, Taiwan. We should have taken off for the West coast of the USA several hours before, but here we sat. I'd already taken a sleeping pill for the long haul, and had been fighting sleep off for a couple of hours. All of us were a little displeased, at the least; some more vocal than others. There. That's the Tweet Version. Here's the rest of the story:

By now we were well past 02:00, and my sleeping meds were in full swing.  My head dropped down any number of times, and occasionally I'd wake myself back up with a loud snort - to the delight of two nearby Chinese children, grateful for any kind of diversion in this bare gate environment. It took another 20 minutes or so for the rumbling at the counter to die down, but many of the people weren't placated by the assurances of the gate employees, and they continued to grumble as they found a spot to sit and stew in their own juices.

Speaking of juices, shortly after we'd plopped into the gate chairs to wait, carts from the plane (I guess) appeared, serving us all juice, water and soft drinks.  Wisely they didn't choose - or weren't allowed to - serve alcoholic beverages, and who could blame them? Irate travelers in the wee small hours are difficult enough; boozing them up wouldn't make things any easier for much of anyone.

I toyed with the idea of hauling my camera out and documenting this misfortune, but 1) there really wasn't much to see, and 2) the people around me were not festive folks.

About 30 minutes or so later EVA carts with what would have been our flight meals came wheeling off of our plane, with the stewards and stewardesses pushing them along.  When you're in your seat as the meals come by you don't get much of a look at the boxy carts they push along the aisles, but out in the open in the gate area they look pretty beat up, most likely from being slid in and out of racks on- and off-board. At least, that was my guess by the scrapes along the sides.

Dining in an airplane seat behind First- or Business-class can be an adventure, depending on the over-spill from passengers seated next to you. Sit between two wide-body travelers and you're likely to end up eating your meal looking rather like a preying mantis. In the gate area there were people sitting in chairs, on window ledges, on the floor and a few actually stood, balancing their tray on one hand while eating with the other.  This led to further entertainment for the nearby kids, as one tray tipped and its cargo slid noisily to the floor.  Woke me up, anyway.

To a captive audience, most anything's entertainment...

I don't know where they found the replacement aircraft - and I probably don't want to know - but with EVA's main hub being there at Taoyuan International it was probably just a spare of some sort.  A round of applause rose as we saw it pull up to the jetway, another 75 minutes after the food had rolled off of our first "ride" and it had been taken back to the stable, so to speak.

Announcements for boarding were made, and a worse-than-usual crushing queue of passengers assembled to get back on board and be on their way.

Strapping myself back into my seat I was fighting sleep big time, but I did pull out a pen and paper to note the time on my boarding pass: it was now 05:34, and the sky was beginning to glow on the Eastern horizon. The entire mess had taken a little over six hours, and has been - so far - the most strange flight delay I've been a party to.  The loudest of the "I'm gonna be late" guys was still going on about it, vowing to get free flights out of the mishap, and perhaps he did. There were gracious offers made when I wrote a letter or two to the Northern California and Taoyuan headquarter offices, and I just as gracefully accepted.

Those letters, though, would come a few days later. Now I just re-set my watch to "home" time, put in my ear buds, leaned against the bulkhead by my window and was out in a minute flat. I slept through take-off and whatever else happened for the next eight or nine hours, waking up to the smell of breakfast somewhere late in the afternoon, according to my watch.

So, not quite an unexpected overnight layover, but a layover nevertheless. I don't remember when I've been as happy to stand in line to have my passport stamped and hear the agent say "welcome back."

That extended and unexpected layover was an experience, but I don't need to have it pop up again any time soon.

Immigration at SFO

Getting Laid (Over) At Taoyuan Airport, Taipei

It had been a wonderful month in the Land of Smiles, but I had run myself ragged, as usual, so I was quite ready to return home. The privilege of travel is a valued commodity - in my mind, anyway - but at the end of it there's truly nothing like getting back and sleeping in your own bed.

Wistfully, I sat in the Taipei EVA lounge, watching people in the immigration lines one level down. "One more long nap and I'll be doing that," I thought to myself, polishing off the last of my pork bun and salad before folding up a Chinese newspaper for a friend back home, tucking it into my book bag and getting up to head out to the boarding gate, down the escalator and through the assortment of boutique name-brand and duty free stops. It was closing in on 23:00, or 11:00pm.

I don't know about you, but that stretch through the airport - in my case from upstairs at the lounge, out along the gate walkways and down to where you check in for the flight home - can sometimes seem like a couple of miles.  The excitement that makes the outbound journey has faded, I suppose, replaced by travel fatigue and the knowledge that the realities and responsibilities of life are about to take their standard stranglehold on my time. On the outbound legs I walk with a spring in my step, but on the way home I tend to shuffle a bit. Or a lot.

A little different view of some of the duty free shopping at Taoyuan International in Taipei

The flight from Suvarnabhumi to Taipei had been on time, and after a reasonable layover I was scheduled to leave on a later flight home from Taoyuan this trip. I was looking forward to the longer flight so I could adjust to the time difference and just maybe cut down on some of the jet lag I usually wrestle with. Boarding began, and I settled into my seat.

Because I don't sleep as soundly on planes as some folks I know I take advantage of an aid prescribed to me by my old "family" doctor.  By "family" I don't mean he's a relation, but let's say he'll never marry and sire children like many of my friends have. It was one of the reasons I started seeing him 30 years ago. For the first handful of years, when I lived a more colorful life, I was probably a difficult patient. Since I've changed habits we now have a deal that he rarely prescribes anything I'd likely want more of, and if he does it's with good reason, and in a limited quantity. I sometimes get an odd look from the pharmacy folks when I turn in a prescription for four sleeping pills before a trip, but so it goes.

This time I was glad to have them, and as I headed to the gate I washed one of them down with the last of the water I'd picked up in the lounge. The aircraft that was waiting when I got there, and I was happy to see that the staff were already shuffling papers as I waded in among the other 300-plus passengers. Soon a young woman took the microphone to announce they'd begin boarding shortly, and most of the crowd rose as one to press toward the boarding queue, as usual.

I waited until the wheelchair folks and "those traveling with small children" were taken aboard, and then joined in at the back of the bunch. When my class was called I worked my way through them, boarded, and settled in for my trans-Pacific nap. I don't often eat much of the meal served after take-off if I'm planning to sleep, so I buckled my seat belt and watched the ground crew scurry around on the tarmac around our aircraft for a few minutes before closing my eyes and cat-napping a bit.

The cabin crew going through snapping the overhead bins shut soon woke me up, but as the regular announcements were made and I felt the gentle push of the plane's movement away from the gate I again closed my eyes.  We moved out along the tarmac towards our departure runway, but stopped just short of actually heading out to it.  There we sat for about 10 minutes before the announcement was made: "Ladies and gentlemen - we're experiencing some technical problems with the navigational system of our aircraft this evening, and the captain is trying to isolate it. We appreciate your understanding while we try to resolve this problem."

OK, I thought. Just a short delay. Another 10 minutes passed before the next announcement. "Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for waiting. We will be taking off shortly. Flight crew: please prepare for departure." Having missed our original place in line we moved out and joined the back of the queue of waiting aircraft.

Shortly before I'd have guessed we'd be next to turn onto the main departure runway there was another announcement. "Ladies and gentlemen - we're still experiencing some technical problems with our aircraft this evening, and we'll be moving out of the queue to resolve it. Our captain has elected to re-boot the main computer system." While this announcement was being made you could hear the engines powering down just after we'd turned onto the last possible side area so as to allow other aircraft to pass us. There we sat for another 15 minutes. Finally the engines apparently began to rev up again, and a collective murmur of relief went up throughout the cabin.

Most of us aboard probably thought as I did: we were moving along to circle back and re-join the departure queue, but that wasn't the case. The public address system popped on and off a couple of times, and then there was another announcement. "Ladies and gentlemen - our captain has decided to return to the gate to allow a maintenance crew to come aboard and check the systems. Please remain seated and we'll keep you updated." Didn't bother me... I was close to zoning out, anyway, but I pushed myself to stay awake so as to hear what the problem was. After all, this was the metal tube that was to hurtle me five thousand miles across the ocean at 30,000 feet, and I'd rather have them find out what's wrong before we take off... wouldn't you?

We sat. And sat. And sat. For nearly an hour.  Finally, the words none of us wanted to hear crackled from the speakers above: "Ladies and gentlemen - we're sorry to tell you that our captain has decided we will be taking another aircraft this evening, so we'll be asking you to disembark from this aircraft and return to the boarding gate. Another aircraft will be brought to that gate as soon as possible."

As the ground crew moved about frantically below to attach the jetway and begin the process of removing all of the baggage and cargo a low, rolling round of complaints began to rise from folks in the cabin around me, with "You've got to be kidding me" and "I'm going to miss my connecting flight" seeming to be the loudest. One man stood up, shouting, and banged his head on the overhead baggage compartment above him, which didn't improve his mood any. Somewhat bent over he loudly went on to the people in the rows behind him about missing his flight, as if anyone sitting there listening to his tirade could do anything about it - or, indeed - cared.

It took a while for them to prepare for our disembarkation, and as is often the case people assembled their carry-on items and packed into the aisles, pushing toward the front exit doors and packing themselves in a fashion those of you who are familiar with military basic training may remember as "nut to butt".  I sat in my seat, figuring that due to our circumstances we were going nowhere fast. I let the thundering hordes off ahead of me and then took my time getting off the aircraft.

Once off the jetway we were directed into another boarding gate to wait. People jockeyed for position at the counter, waiving their arms and creating a somewhat musical cacophony of concerns and complaints. "Two parts Stockhausen, one part Yoko Ono, and a smidgen of some other form of concrete," I said to myself, but out loud. The man next to me almost made the connection and replied with "Sounds more like a bunch of cats in a burlap bag being soaked with a hose."  He might have been closer than I was.

[The conclusion to the story on Monday]

Trip Report 2: Transferring In Taipei

A New Year dragon greeted us past the security checkpoint at Taoyuan International Airport in Taipei

[This is Part 2 of a trip report about my most recent visit to Thailand. Part 1 is here]

Deplaning after a long flight is usually a relief for me.  Sometimes I'm able to sleep sufficiently on my own, but not consistently, and slumber via prescribed pharmaceuticals isn't proper sleep for me; it merely passes time. The old saying about sleeping best in our own beds is, I believe, a valid one, but not something that keeps me from throwing my circadian clock off with the reckless abandon of a college-aged kid when the opportunity arises to jump a dozen time zones or so. 

That said, I'm usually a little dopey as I make my way along the breezeway from the plane to the arrival gate at Taoyuan International some 13 hours after boarding in San Francisco, my preferred departure point. In addition to the signage directing you to the transfers area there's often an EVA employee there to wave you in the right direction.  It felt so good to move around more than one can on a plane, even though I make an effort to get up and stretch at least a couple of times on a flight as long as this one is.

I had dawdled a bit getting off the plane (talking to a stewardess), so although we were seated near the front there were quite a number of folks who'd gotten off ahead of me.  My friend was a bit ruffled by the time I got to the arrival gate, but so it goes.  I heard a lot more about it when we got to the security area and caught up with the others from our flight, all queued up in a surprisingly orderly single-file line, but it was a good 50 yards long, stretched down a hallway. The transfer security area is a limited affair; two belts for your carry-on stuff and a single scanning doorway, so it can be slow.

Large illuminated signage clearly show you where things are

We got through security and made our way to the EVA lounge, which is just a hundred yards or so from where you enter the terminal from the transfer security area. The dragon up top was there to welcome us, floating near one of the main information booths and next to a seating area where folks watched TV, read, toyed with electronic devices or dozed. There were also a few terminals for folks to access the internet, as you can see in the photo below.

Taipei being home turf for Evergreen/EVA the lounge is larger, better stocked and better staffed. I can't compare it to others there, but perhaps someone will comment on their favored lounges in Bangkok, Taipei or other locations. Anyone?

A small portion of the complimentary food and drink area.

One side of the seating area in Taipei's EVA lounge

On the left of the photo above you can just barely see the magazine side of the literature wall that separates the buffet from the seating area.  There are multiple copies of a wide range of titles in both English and Chinese, and if you don't finish one you're welcome to take it along.  The other side of the wall contains eight to ten different local and international newspapers.  

The wireless internet is free and usually fairly fast, and time passed fairly quickly before it was time for us to leave and head to the gate.  

Looking down from lounge level

Just as we arrived at the (full) boarding area they announced that the flight would be delayed by about 45 minutes "due to traffic control", so we just cooled our jets and waited. At least we weren't put onto a plane festooned with Hello Kitty, like the one below that taxied by as we waited for our ride.

I passed the time visiting with a husband and wife from Vancouver who were coming from Hong Kong where they'd visited her family, as they do every two years. Now they were making a stop in Thailand for a break on Koh Lanta, which they highly recommended.  I'll look into it for a future destination, too.  Also on the Malacca Straight it's to the Southeast of Phuket.

Finally aboard our flight to Suvarnabhumi International I got myself situated for the final leg of the journey, listening with one ear to the familiar safety lecture. I've heard it so often that I'm well aware of where the emergency exits are; the more worrisome thought is the distinct probability of being trampled to death on the way to one by other panic-stricken passengers.

Raindrops skittered almost horizontally across my window as the wind outside pushed them along while we roared into the gray sky and were - finally and truly - Bangkok bound. Just another four hours or so to go...

Duty Free Shopping 2 - Taoyuan Airport, Updated

Gucci galore in this shop

A slight detour from the Trip Report begun yesterday. We've already covered beauty supplies and makeup available in the duty free areas of Taoyuan International in Taipei, but having a little more time than usual at my transfer point this trip I did a little more wandering around to see what sorts of shops there were there for fans of duty free and other shopping while traveling.

When I showed them the image one man said he'd prefer not to be shown, so he's blurred out per his request

I've received a few messages asking what was actually available there - evidently by people planning to be there at some point - so this time I took a closer look.  I only took photos of a small fraction of what's available, but it wasn't difficult to see Gucci bags in one shop, Gucci watches in another, Burberry in a third and Borsalini in a fourth.  Nothing that I'd purchase myself, but many appreciate the brands so I'm happy to share the images, if it helps.

Not exactly cosmetics, but more of a mix in this shop

The first post about the duty-free shops there had more to do with the beauty supplies, cosmetics, perfumes, toilet water and the likes; what my brother used to call "foo-foo" when we were kids, for some reason.

Brands like Lancome, Biotherm, Estee Lauder and Shiseido rule supreme at a few shops, and that's just the tip of the iceberg.

I've purchased foodstuffs at Tastes of Taiwan and found them reasonably priced and a nice change from some of the usual things I bring back stateside for people. They had no problem taking US dollars, but I can't vouch for any other currencies. There are at least two locations in the airport.

There's also a Hello Kitty store, but as I don't care for that empire I didn't take a shot of it. There are dozens of other shops, too.

There are also locations to purchase electronics, and the pricing is reasonably good, from what I'm told. I didn't do any comparison shopping there. I'm adding a few more images here as reference; hopefully they'll be of use to some of you out there. They were an opportunity to take some longer exposures in lower light, but they don't quite fit into the Night Photography folder. Anyway, I'll try to get back on track with the story tomorrow.

And, probably only second to beauty products are the shops that sell cigarettes, cigars and all manner of liquor.  Be advised you can only bring one liter (33oz) of alcohol into Thailand, if that's your destination.  You can also only bring 200 cigarettes or 250 grams of cigars or loose tobacco.

More On Shopping At Taoyuan Airport, Taipei

The post that served as part one about duty free shopping at Taipei's Taoyuan International airport had a photo that for some reason gets viewed a lot. I don't understand why, but it's usually wise to give the people what they want (within reason) so here are a few more shots I took on a recent stopover at Taoyuan Airport in Taipei, Taiwan.

As at many airports there's almost no escaping the shops, and it's no different there; as you can see above you come through the check-through directly into the shopping area. You have to go a ways to get away from them.

Wash your mochi snacks down with some Johnny Walker Black while shopping for a watch in the Swatch shop

Normally I use the time on a layover there to put my feet up, re-charge batteries (both mine and of the gizmos I have along with me) and read email while snacking in the airline lounge, but I've also found it helpful to stand up and walk a while after a five or 12 hour flight, depending on which direction I'm headed.

A couple of times I've played "Who's Gonna Be Too Drunk To Fly" in the airline lounge - from a safe distance, of course - while watching a few of the folks pounding down the free liquor. I like to wonder who might be denied their seat when boarding drunk, but truthfully I've only been right twice, and that poor old geezer had wheeled his 22" carry-on into the video game room and couldn't find his way out when the voice over the public address system announced it was boarding time at our gate, so that was kind of an easy one. He raised unholy hell at the gate but didn't get on board. He would probably have been wise to pad his Johnny Walker with some steamed pork buns, although if you're a real alcoholic you know what precious space bread can take in your stomach - but I digress.

Not only are there the multiple cosmetic and perfume shops - the Lancomes, the Diors, the Chanels - there are also places to purchase all and sundry liquor and tobacco items, in addition to luggage, more traditional tourist-type souvenirs and, God help us all, a Hello Kitty outlet. Personally I detest that Japanese monstrosity, but there's no good reason for my dislike. It's cute and kids love it. In college I tried to start a rumor that it was run by the religious sect known by most in the US as The Moonies, but that failed, sadly enough. Ah, well.

The display for Kiehl's (from NY!) herbal elixir to the left featured a motor scooter accompanied by a rider who appeared for all intents and purposes to be Death himself. I wasn't sure if you were supposed to avoid riding the scooter or take the elixir after coming out of the Intensive Care Unit, but I thought it was an interesting juxtaposition either way.

There are a few "Taste of Taiwan" shops throughout the place, and they have a wide selection of snacks and treats, many of which will probably seem foreign to you, but the staff speaks English (if that helps you) and they're happy to explain and sometimes provide samples. I usually bring a few boxes of mochi home for friends, if nothing else. Not cheap, but nice.

There are quite a few other places there, too. We'll look at the airport and its environs again another time, but I hope this helps a little today.


[The follow up to this post appears on this post from May 8 2012]

Duty Free Shopping 1 - Taoyuan Airport, Taipei

One of a half-dozen large cosmetics shops at Taipei's Taoyuan International airport

We are, hands down, the most vain species of creatures on the planet, no doubt about it. Worldwide, hundreds of billions of dollars are spent every year in an effort to make ourselves look like something other than who we actually are. It's a phenomenon that's long amazed me. I'm not talking about clothing - that's a separate horror show - and those who know me have long ago come to accept that I don't make fashion statements, I make fashion slurs!

When I was a child I was blissfully unaware of most of it, other than seeing men shaving and splashing cologne on for an evening out or watching women I knew painting and powdering their faces far more often than I could understand. In elementary school I wore clean clothes and learned I was expected to brush my hair if I wanted to avoid the ridicule of my peers, but that's about as far as it went - until puberty caused many of our faces to resemble miniatures battlefields - and I think that's when many of us fall victim to the advertising.

In many ways it was a blessing that I hail from humble beginnings. There was no lusting after the newest Levis or bicycles or clothing because we just couldn't afford it, plain and simple. We could afford soap and water, and - face facts - that's about all anyone really needs to be presentable. While I don't necessarily celebrate every sign of age that appear on this shell that carries my spirit around I don't feel compelled to invest much energy in a show of smoke and mirrors to fool people into thinking I'm younger than I am. I don't fault those that do - that's their own business - but let's face facts here, folks: it's an investment of time and effort that in the end will show no reward.

The legend remains that Ponce De Leon went searching for the Fountain of Youth back in the 1500s, and variations of that worldwide obsession still rule much of the realm of personal grooming to this day. Here's what I feel is a good example of just such behavior: there are three basic type of items available for sale in the "Duty Free" shops in airports worldwide: make-up, cigarettes and liquor. That's it. OK, there's a smattering of chocolates, I'll grant you that much.

The images up top today were taken in Taoyuan airport as I waited to board my connecting flight to Suvarnabhumi, and I stitched four of them together to show the whole shop. Mind you, this one was far from the rest of the shopping areas, where there were at least five other shops, all larger than this one - some three times as large. That's one hell of a lot of snake oil. The above woman was meticulously dusting and re-arranging each item on the shelves as I sat there for twenty minutes or so, thinking about the business.

Sorry if I've touched a nerve with anyone today, but I find all of this just as much of a waste of time as I do the cigarettes and liquor available in the other duty-free shops.

My personal feeling about trying to fool Mother Nature is this: to those who really matter in our lives, it doesn't matter if we become a bit wrinkled, lined and flabby. It's what happens.

Now, if someone would help me down off of this soap box, I need to go shave and get myself presentable to go out for the day. Or not.