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]

Visiting Thailand: Travel Reference Links

Upstairs airline lounge area at Taoyuan International Airport, Taipei

In the post a couple of weeks ago about finding cheap flights to Thailand I mentioned following up with some links I've found helpful for travelling, so here they are today. I'll update and add to these again as I remember others, but this is a start.  Mainly gleaned from my own experience, but some also recommended by friends and other travelers I've met while on the road. Feel free to suggest others.

Travel Insurance
Purchasing trip insurance is a choice, naturally, but with life being the unexpected ride it is I think it's more than just prudent to have some; it really falls under the "common sense" heading. Insurance is all about "the transference of risk"  (in insurance lingo), and a comfort level with that is a personal choice. I urge you to explore and compare between at least two different companies.

I've used a few companies over the years, but the last couple have been Patriot Travel Medical Insurance , a part of IMG/International Medical Group and Travel Guard, a part of the Chartis Group. Both offer varying levels of coverage for both medical and other eventualities.

Your regular home insurance policy may cover you, but be sure. While there is reasonably priced and competent medical care in Thailand you don't want to be stuck with the bills. Some credit cards also provide coverage, also - worth checking out before you book your trip.

One rainy night in Bangkok

Worldwide Weather Sites
There are many weather sites. Many I know like the Weather Channel's site, but if you don't already have a favorite, I'd suggest Weather Underground - the cleanest I've found so far. Rather than just getting a report for, say, Bangkok, you can specify several different areas within the city, i.e. Suvarnabhumi International airport, Don Muang airport, etc. Naturally, no one site fits all, but I'd suggest starting with this one.

International Time / Clocks
A simple site with a convenient alphabetical table of the current time city by city is here: The World Clock. There are a variety of layouts available, and you can customize it to your needs, too.

Screen capture of the site

Flight and Airport Information
Naturally, you'd think the airline you booked with would have the best source of airline and airport information, and many times that's true. If you plan to hold someone responsible for the times, they're the logical sources. I still browse a couple of others, though, if for nothing else than the additional info available. One of the newer ones (to me, anyway) I've found handy is iFly.com.

We'll cover other reference links again soon. Feel free to alert us to any of your favorites.

Finding Cheap Flights To Thailand: Reference Links

The coast of Northern California on a flight home one trip

There are so many sites where you can do due diligence and - with luck - find cheap air fares and hotel rooms I hesitate to begin listing them, but since they're important to note as references, I'll put some up here today. These don't take the place of agencies and other brick-and-mortar places for everyone, but for the adventurous they're definitely worth a look.

This isn't anything like a comprehensive list, but it might save you re-creating the wheel, if you know what I mean.  Take them as my preferences (like my preference for EVA Air), and with a grain or ten of salt... then do the legwork and make up your own mind. No penalty, no foul from this referee, that's for sure.

 Kayak was recommended to me by a forum friend some years back, and overall they've been my site of choice.  I invariably start here, and if I don't find what I'm happy with I add others.  Truth be told I usually check the others before clicking "confirm", anyway - and as we covered Friday I often find decent deals by going through the airline I'm considering.

I have two friends who think very highly of Orbitz, and one that doesn't. I've not found much there that I couldn't find for within a few dollars elsewhere, myself. Don't forget to check sites like Travelocity and Hotwire, either; they (like Orbitz) handle so many bookings that they have enormous buying power in some cases.

More and more companies are popping up, though, and checking a travel forum or two can alert you to them. I've had Priceline recommended to me, but I've heard tales of folks being locked into flights (possibly because they weren't paying close enough attention) and I'm leery of that "name your own price" deal. Just be aware.  Again, suggestions on sites you've found to be handy (or hellish) are welcome.

Kind of a short post today, sorry. Family obligations, but joyous ones.

Next: peripheral reference links.

Finding Cheap Flights To Thailand - An Overview

Dawn one Thailand-bound morning as I waited for my connecting flight

The internet can be a marvelous tool for doing research, but advertising and deceptive linking have almost given it more drawbacks than benefits.  Take airline tickets, for example - and we will, today. I can suggest the sources I've used in the past, but since those are only based on my experiences you'll unfortunately have to do some of the legwork on your own.

Online travel forums can be a help, but sometimes the best references can be people you know and trust on one level or another, especially if you consider those sources with some amount of care.

Travel agents can be an enormous help if you're brand new to the idea of international flight, but you still have to do some research yourself if you intend to make an informed decision. Different travel agencies can be allied or connected to different outlets for blocks of discounted seats, and that can be a big help - if you know where to find them.  I'd suggest trying several different places, and advice from other travelers can again be the key here.

Dealing directly with the airlines themselves is another way of looking for deals, but fares can change with the direction of the breeze on any given day, and you need to be aware of that and, if possible, do some checking on fares over a period of a couple of weeks. Change your travel dates in their search engines, too, because different days will give you different results.  There are also often "classes" of tickets that are priced differently based on the miles awarded for each leg of your journey.  If you're one who enjoys that cat and mouse game that adds another dimension of probable frustration; I usually choose not to pay all that much attention to whether I'm getting 100% of my flight miles credited or, say, only 80% of them.  It's almost too minor a difference for me to worry about, but that may only be me.

I choose to get to Thailand comfortably, but that level of personal comfort is a relative thing, I know.  What may seem fine to me may seem hellish to others.  Still, I'd always choose not to spend my holiday money on more of a flight than I need; there are many other things I'd rather spend it on. That said, here are some airlines I'm familiar with, and how I'd rate them overall:

JAL - Japan Airlines - B+
I found the ticketing process, the on-time dependability and the employees I met to all be exemplary.  They also did deals with an agency I dealt with about a decade ago, and I got a round-trip economy seat for $610 round trip, with all fees and taxes included.

EVA - EVA Evergreen Airlines - A
My old standby, and where I tend to look first.  Booking directly through their site is often fairly simple, and they offer specials from the West coast of the US, especially from LAX (Los Angeles). The cabin staff are very attentive, and they offer a wide range of amenities - especially if you join their free frequent flyer program.

United Airlines - C
Domestic (for me here in California, anyway) airlines are just that: domestic, basic, little or no frills or amenities unless you popping for First Class, and the employees all too often tend to act as if they're doing you a favor by giving you much of any dollar value. I've actually had surly flight attendants. The cabins haven't been up to snuff - for my money, anyway - and I don't find much value to them period.

Cathay Pacific - A
A little more expensive than EVA, but their reservation system, staff, cabin crew and amenities by class are all on the same level as EVA.

If you're concerned about safety overall, you can do a Google search for airline accident rates and find several sites that list safety issues by airline and by region of the globe. I figure any time I'm hurtling along at 500 miles per hour 30,000 feet off the ground in a metal tube I'm literally flying on faith that the damn fool thing won't suddenly plunge to the ground, but there's no need to ignore safety records to save a few hundred dollars, either.  Do some investigation.

If you intend to book your own tickets, again do some checking on forums or travel sites to see which days of the week (and times of the year) are better buys.  Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Saturdays I've found to be the more reasonably priced days to fly.  I've heard from several sources that the best time to be checking for ticket prices is Tuesday 12:00 East coast time, or 09:00 West coast time.  Prices can change not only from day to day, but within the same day - for the same identical flight.

Booking well in advance is standard advice worth noting, but there are also "last minute" fares when an airline is trying to fill a flight before cancelling it altogether, too.  And then there's just plain old dumb luck...

Let this merely be some food for thought, since some of you are thinking of the cold weather ahead and the warmer days in Thailand. We'll come back to it again with some sources for you at the beginning of next week.

As always, you input is welcome!

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...

Into The Wild Blue Yonder, Bangkok Bound

A view most never see (not my photo)

Well, the countdown has finally worked its way down to zero. After months of anticipation and planning it's finally time to put the blog into its full upright and locked position, fasten my seat belt and prepare for taking off. 

There will be some new lodging to report on, and hopefully another notebook full of stories to share. In addition to the usual days in Bangkok I'll be spending time with the students and families I sponsor, have a few days at a convention, a few visiting a good friend now in a new area and some at a beach bungalow-type resort a friend has reserved for me - where, I'm told, I'll see few other Westerners. 

I'll try to post along the way, but it's going to be a busy few weeks and it's a safe bet I'm going to miss days posting. Keep checking in as your time allows, though, and we'll keep in touch.

Next stop: the Big Mango.

The Only Good Thing About Airports Is...

A nun gets a pat-down at a security checkpoint

Hmmmm...

...All right, hold on... I'm still thinking.  There must be something more than just getting to go someplace you want to go, but it's all I'm coming up with, sorry to say.  No, wait: there's also meeting people you care about who are arriving and waiting for their luggage, or dropping people at the curb who you're pleased are leaving - but why then would you be doing them the favor or schlepping through traffic to take them there in the first place?  I'd say let's stick with the first two, since they're usually pleasant experiences.

An elderly cousin back East passed away a couple of weeks ago.  That's two family members and three close friends in the past five months, if you're keeping track. While I mourned his death (and will think of him often) I wasn't in a position to fly back there as some of my family did. I'll be meeting them at baggage claim in a handful of hours, and hearing tales of what was probably an entertaining memorial, knowing that branch of my family.  I do wish I could have been there, but it wasn't in the cards.

Decades of experience with this more than moderate airport drive has taught me to leave plenty of time for traffic and the unexpected, so I'll be at San Francisco International well ahead of schedule, and that'll allow me time to wander around, people watch and look longingly at the international departure check-in area - where I'll be in about a week, "if the good Lord's a-willin' and the creek don't rise," as a friend used to say.

Back to airports, though - travel since all of the security changes a decade ago just isn't all that pleasant an experience. Most anyone reading this remembers accompanying friends and family out to the boarding gate, having a little more visiting time and then saying the farewells.  I miss that, don't you?

It's discouraging to have to consider what some screener's going to think about what you're about to put into your suitcase, wondering if your carefully packed clothing and toiletries are going to be pawed through before you see them again, after they've been carried away on the conveyor belt behind the check-in counter.

I'd like to see scanning equipment that could view the contents of every suitcase, briefcase, purse and carry-on item as you walked through some sort of gate, without having to stop, open bags up, empty your pockets and take off your shoes.  Who's with me on this? If it caught something that shouldn't be on the plane then they would stop you somehow; maybe with a flying tackle, I don't know. Some kind of scanning reader that did no health damage and covered an area from the floor to 10 feet off the ground, so nothing would get by, unless some exceptionally tall person was walking through it carrying a small parcel raised over their head, and that might warrant a questioning.

It's baffling to me how so many people blithely carry prohibited items up to the security check points and then bitch to high heaven when said belongings are denied passage.  If airports nationwide sold off the pocket knives and other "weapons" alone by lot in auctions once a month it would probably raise enough revenue to make a measurable dent in the National Debt, but who knows where all of this stuff goes.  I'd like to think that the oversize or excess shampoo, liquid soap, toothpaste and the likes make their way somehow to homeless shelters where they could be put to use, but that's probably a rare occurrence, too.

Flying in an extremely dry environment like a plane calls for being hydrated before boarding, but now you have to buy it beyond the checkpoints, and paying three to five times the regular price for it.

It's just a screwy system that shows no sign of being righted within my lifetime, but so it goes. I mean no malice or disrespect to the people who do security work for a living, because that's what it is: a living. It certainly has taken the shine off of air travel for many - me included - but there we are, in our socks, shuffling through the oversize doorways one at a time.

Some of us will be doing it sooner than others, but it's definitely not a part of the journey I'm looking forward to.

Travel Tips #3: Airline Food

EVA Elite Class "middle of the night" meal, after a late take-off

The last time I flew across the USA it was on a domestic airline. It doesn't need to be singled out here as most have a similar policy regarding their passengers; that being "load 'em in, move 'em out".  The theme from the 1959-65 TV show "Rawhide" sometimes comes to mind as I'm herded aboard and packed into my seat, but that's more of a personal quirk, I suppose.

I'm not as slim as I once was, but my sidebars don't hang over several inches into the seat next to me - or seats, if the Universe is unhappy with me and the draw puts me between two people. I do my best to make my seating arrangements in a timely manner, but a couple of times I've been packed very much like a sardine, once between two men who were closing in on 300 pounds each.  I didn't have space to take a deep breath during the entire flight. I got up and walked around a lot.

Back to the topic of airline food, some airlines will sell you what I've come to know as an Insults In A Box; what they generously themselves call "meal choices", often consisting of precious little more than variations on the four pre-packaged items in the top photo today.  Five, if you want to count the sealed napkin. For this you pay $5US. Sometimes there's a packaged sandwich or salad, but that's closing in on twice as much.

The proper meal examples I've felt justified sharing are from recent flights on EVA, the Taiwan-based airline. Along with the damp towels, water, coffee, tea, nuts, cookies and other snacks provided throughout the flight, they also feed you a proper meal - two if you're on a longer flight - and that's built into a ticket price that's competitive with United and some other US airlines.  I was on a red-eye flight and was frankly more interested in going to sleep when the stewardess arrived with a choice of meals at 01:20 in the morning, but I ate some and tucked the non-perishables into my carry-on for later. The photo isn't great, but I took it using my reading light.

As we were approaching Taipei for our transfer eight hours later they served your choice of two breakfast meals. Mine's below, again taken with my reading light.

EVA Elite Class omelet breakfast

On another trip I was in economy class for one of the shorter legs of the journey, and while the economy meal isn't quite as nice as the Evergreen/Elite class, it's still better than the Insult In A Box...

EVA Economy meal out of Bangkok: Pork, rice and egg

The moral of today's tale is this: check with your airline and ask for clarification on the meals the airline provides.  If they're like EVA, it's actually too much - I don't eat all of it when I'm on a 12 hour flight with no way to help it digest.

If they serve the "snack box", buy something of your own that you'll find palatable and take that along, even if it means buying a sandwich past the security gates of the airport. That's going to be expensive, and I really don't need all that much to hold body and soul together until my first meal after landing.  Oftentimes I have a bit of a layover in Taipei, and there's a nice noodle place with plenty of seating in the Taoyuan Airport.  I can often be found there reading and slurping noodles like these:

Taipei beef noodles with egg, bok choy and green onion

One last thing already covered in the post about staying healthy on planes: wash your hands before eating, as everything you've touched along the way has been previously touched by a thousand others.  How's that for a happy thought to close with today?

Travel Tips #2: Packing Your Bags

[A long post today - and another for newer travelers, but I hope frequent visitors will find something they didn't already know that helps on a future trip. Again, shared input is welcome via the comments section.]

A friend of mine shared something that's helped me packing my suitcases many times, so I'm going to share it with you here: lay out everything you think you'll need for your trip, and then put half of it away again. This makes good sense for a variety of reasons - especially since airlines have continued to cut their weight allowances and have increased charges for additional bags and overweight luggage.

Some of you travel with no more than a carry-on bag, but I can't do that. I take supplies and gifts to friends and extra creature comforts for myself and I always bring things back with me, so I bring a couple of bags. I strongly suggest checking the fine print on your airline's web site for luggage limitations - especially the number of bags allowed and the weight restrictions by ticket class - and follow them. Some airlines charge an obscene premium for going overweight with a bag. That said, there's no need for you to bring a lot of excess junk with you.

Laundry service throughout Thailand is affordable, quick and readily available so unless you're changing hotels or rooms every couple of days there's really no need to have any more than three or four days of clothing, tops. You can almost always get laundry turned around in a day without a "rush" charge if you get it picked up in the morning, but you do have to pay attention and remember to do that. Ask at reception when checking in to be more sure about this - the printed laundry form you'll find in your room isn't always accurate or up to date.

I'm going to stick my neck out and say that in general it's going to cost you about Bt30/1 USD on average per shirt or shorts, but rates vary by place. Underwear and socks are cheaper, but those can be done yourself if you wish. If time allows I don't mind washing smaller items in the shower and hanging them up to dry while I'm out for the day. If you're planning a longer stay it's often possible to find cheaper laundry service near where you're staying.

I've found the "wicking" sports-type undershirts and undershorts are very comfortable (they pull the perspiration off and away from you) and dry very quickly after hand-washing. You can buy polo type shirts made from this fabric, too - and they're very comfortable in tropical climates. This may be too much information for some, but wearing a pair of "wicky" sports underwear makes a long flight much more comfortable, too. Just an FYI.

Sundries (shampoo, soap, razors, lotions, tooth paste and the likes) are readily available and may well be cheaper than you can purchase them back home, so unless you have some specific items/brands you're loyal to, don't bring more than you'll need while you're there. My doctor has a generous baggage allowance and buys quantities overseas to bring back to the US. I'll bet you're going to be surprised when you walk into a Boots or Watsons drug store and see racks of Nivea and other brand name items. Big C and Tesco Lotus stores are also full of these common brands.

Some travel things are important enough to be worth making a checklist for - such as your passport, return ticket, traveler's checks, cash, travel insurance documents, a copy of your current prescription form and the prescription items themselves - preferably in their original labeled containers. Because not all medications are available in Thailand it's advisable to bring enough for the length of your visit, and prudent to bring an extra week's worth in case of a problem with your return trip. Two different Thai doctors I know pointed the availability issue out to me, and it's worth passing along here. I bring a copy of my latest round of prescriptions with me, and it's paid off the one time I ended up at BNH Hospital. [See "Sick on Holiday" here]

I mention the prescription copy and original containers part because although it's extremely unlikely you'd be actively searched when entering Thailand, it can avoid a prolonged wait or confiscation - at the least. I read one story of a man who had vitamins found, and when he said "fine, throw them away" saw them taken away, only to have them returned to his hotel a couple of days later - along with a bill for the lab test determining what they were that was far more than a full bottle would have cost him back home.

It should go without saying, but for the impulsive, reckless or just plain dumb: recreational drugs of all types are illegal in Thailand, and penalties can be severe. Your embassy will not be able to smile and waltz you out of the holding prison they'll find you in. As you may remember, I've seen the insides to one of those places, and trust me... it's not worth the risk.

If you travel with any electronics, such as a camera, laptop, iPod, and the likes (as I do) I've found it's also a good idea to gather the necessary cables, memory chips, proprietary batteries and chargers before the day you're hastily tossing things into your suitcases. Many hotel rooms have one 110V outlet for items that can't accept the 220V standard current throughout Thailand (often in the bathroom), but check the device itself and allow for the possibility that you may need an extension cord with extra outlets. Brand name batteries themselves are available in convenience stores, so don't worry about bringing extras if you don't use rechargables.

If you've already made friends or acquaintances in Thailand one way or another you've probably already considered taking them a small gift. That was recommended to me before my first trip and besides being polite it's paid off in spades for me over the years. I'm not talking about things as extravagant as name brand colognes or wrist watches, I mean simple "I thought of you" gifts. Items from wherever it is you live are usually very well received, such as a sports T-shirt of your favorite team, a local tourist item or some regional edible treats. I brought a few inexpensive T-shirts along one time with the Golden Gate Bridge on the front that were quite a hit. In fact, I've found most anything from "Ah-meh-ree-CAH" - as they often say it - is appreciated.

If you travel with things that could leak (such as hand sanitizer, cologne or a favorite shampoo) while in the baggage hold at 30,000 feet, do like I do and seal them in zip lock baggies. You'll find the baggies come in handy for a number of things while on the road.

One thing I'll add in the interest of your health is the matter of condoms and lube. For those of you who plan on partaking in the wilder sides of the nightlife there it's prudent to bring your own. Although many that you already have at home were made in Thailand (check the label) and although they're available at any convenience store, my same doctor friends say the batches sent outside the country are more reliable, sad to say, and your favorite lubricant may not be available. It is not illegal to bring these items into the Kingdom, but be advised that any other "toys" are.

Travel light, my friends. It's easier overall, and the shopping's very, very good there. You're going to want space to bring things home.

[For newer readers, there are two posts about staying healthy on holiday so far: on a plane here and in Thailand itself here, and one on staying hydrated here]

Travel Tips #1: Travel Agents And Airline Tickets

A panorama of the cavernous check-in area of Suvarnabhumi International, Bangkok

[Some of you Thailand Veterans might not find this series as interesting as others, but it's designed for the relative newbies who may be thinking of or planning their first trip to Thailand, and I encourage you to join in and share your suggestions and experiences via the comments section below.]

My first trip to Thailand turned out to be very different than I'd planned it. The original seed had been planted in 2001 and it was originally intended to be in mid-2002, but circumstances caused it to be pushed out until 2003. I ended up going there with a good friend/co-worker who had previously visited Bangkok for a few days.

At his suggestion we booked our flights through a travel agent and arranged our hotels together by researching places we both wanted to see online, tempered by his previous experiences. It's the path I'd suggest for anyone visiting a new country and culture for the first time. If you already have a travel agent you've had good luck with, great - if not, ask trusted sources for a recommendation.

You don't directly pay an agent for arranging your bookings - their commission is almost always borne by their office, the hotel, the cruise line, etc. - and an established agent within a group can sometimes get you great fares by means of quantity bookings or within blocks of tickets they're privy to. Over the past few years, however, commissions from airline tickets have gone out the window so bear in mind you're not doing an agent any real favors by taking an hour of their time for airline tickets alone. Nevertheless, agents can still be a wealth of information, and if you let them know up front that you're merely gathering ideas and suggestions I don't think it's unfair to ask one for help. The worst they can do is brush you off, and then you can try another one. I've found many agents do what they do because they enjoy helping travelers.

If you choose to shop around for your own airline tickets to Thailand, be prepared to invest some time into doing so if you're not one who prefers to merely take whatever Orbitz or Travelocity spit out on the first search. Despite what they advertise such sites aren't always the lowest fares, and you always have to compare the additional fees, taxes, conditions and the likes. You have to do your research if you expect to get what you want at a fair price.

Explore your options before beginning your search for tickets, too: credit card companies, insurance companies, credit unions and groups you belong to (such as AARP for over 50 folks in the US) can be good places to start, as many offer some sort of travel benefits. For example, American Express has a good points program that can be applied to travel and lodging and also offers some baggage/trip insurance benefits if you use their card to book your trip. Many others do, too. Hopefully people will comment on those they feel are the best.

Airlines sites themselves have the luxury of offering specials whenever they wish, but be aware they can be limited. Additionally it should be noted that ticket prices on their sites can change at a moment's notice, and are sometimes different within the same day, so I'd suggest checking a few times as part of your research before booking one.

Seasons and times more travelers wish to fly naturally have an effect on pricing, and a good travel agent - or some time spent researching on travel sites - can be a big help here, too. My first trip was in August (low season in Thailand) on Japan Airlines, and I flew on a desirably scheduled flight in coach class with almost no layover wait for $610 round-trip. That hasn't happened since. Today I expect a coach seat from the West Coast of the USA to run somewhere around double that, but that's where the adventure of the hunt comes in!

There are too many travel forums and reference sites to do list properly, but there are a few that I've gleaned nuggets of information from, been entertained by or have found tickets through. One favorite is listed in the reference links in the right hand column here, and that's Seat Guru. It's saved me at least once when I was ready to select a seat that backed up to a restroom wall... not a good place to be for 12 hours sleep-wise, noise-wise or aroma-wise. Again, I hope others will chime in with some of their favorites. I'll update this post as I think of others and add them to the links section, as well. For ticket price comparisons Kayak.com isn't a bad place into as a resource.

My favored airline is EVA, a Taiwanese airline, but I've also had good luck with Japan Airlines (JAL) and have heard enough from friends to feel comfortable recommending Singapore Airlines and Emerites. I've had enough bad experiences with both United and Northwest that I would not only not recommend them, I'd suggest you stay away from them.

September 11th: Remembering A Friend

A photo of Mark, taken in my living room in early February 1990

There are two things about today's post that are out of character for me AND for Bao-Bao's Blog: 1) it has nothing whatsoever to do with Thailand, and 2) it's pretty rare I share much of anything from my personal life. However, this 9th anniversary of my friend's death on 9/11 has been more on my mind than others, so I thought I'd share the following as "writing therapy", maybe taking away some of its power.

Remembering my friend Mark Bingham

On Tuesday, September 11, 2001 at 7:10 a.m. Pacific Daylight Time, a United Airlines jetliner carrying my friend Mark Bingham and 43 others ploughed into a field in rural Pennsylvania, joining the thousands who became innocent victims over an almost incomprehensible week of horror, intensely emotional moments and unbelievable tragedy and loss.

Grief is a somewhat personal thing; everyone deals with it in different ways to different degrees. While I also lost two co-workers who met their fates aboard the first plane that slammed into the World Trade Center tower I was not nearly as close to them as I was to Mark and I came to terms with losing them far more easily. I am still today saddened when I think how I lost my friend Mark.

The day after the initial tragedy I was shocked to hear he was gone. I saw his picture on the news; the "gay rugby player from San Francisco" who had phoned his mother from United flight #93 to say he and some others were going to try to stop the people who had hijacked their plane. From all reports pieced together after that call, it's apparent that they did - but they (and those they left behind) paid a dear price for it.

I hadn't seen Mark since his college days, a decade before - but there he was, in a graduation cap and gown: that big grinning face of his filling my TV screen. For weeks afterward I had those “memory flashes” I usually have after losing someone I’ve felt close to at one time or another in my life. As scatterbrained and forgetful as I can be, I certainly had a number of them of Mark, and for weeks wished I could have had just one more of his wonderfully strong lift-you-off-the-floor hugs. Not so much for my own comfort (although I'd have taken that, too) but that it would mean there'd been some mistake and he was still alive and living life to its fullest, as was his way.

I first met Mark in the beginning of 1990, while struggling through a very dark year of my own life. In an attempt to get out of myself and do some good for someone else (something I’ve always found to be beneficial when I’m depressed) I’d placed a personals ad in the "Gay" section of a local free weekly newspaper under an old pen name, seeking new friends and people who could use a mentor or someone to talk to. Not liking how the paper charged to reply to ads by voicemail I’d opted out of that and listed my post office box instead.

This was years before email was common, and I was surprised when over 100 people sat down and wrote multi-page responses to that 20-word ad. I answered every letter, listened while many talked on the phone (some completely falling to pieces at being able to finally share their "gay" thoughts), met a few dozen in person for coffee or a meal and still count a half-dozen or so as friends to this day. One shared life with me for over six years.

Mark's letter told a story that will be familiar to many reading this today: he felt very alone in his "closet" and said if anyone in his family found out about his homosexuality that he'd probably have to kill himself. We spent many, many afternoons talking about this over the next six or seven months until he went back to college and - my advice no longer needed as often - we began to drift apart. He charged into his future, hoping (as many of us do) that he'd find a way to be "successful at something" as he put it, and I took tentative steps into what would become a relationship with the person I mentioned in the previous paragraph.

I am so very thankful that I was able to help Mark along and encourage him to share his secret with people little by little until he felt ready to really tell the ones he feared telling the most. I was so glad to hear at one of his memorials that he finally did, near the end of his college days. I can only imagine the help he must have been to others he met past that, sharing what I had shared with him. I have heard so much about what a positive and supportive man he was.

Within three years of us losing touch with each other he’d graduated from UC Berkeley, having been three-time National Rugby Champion with his teammates there. After graduation he went on to acheive success with his own public relations firm with offices in San Francisco and New York. How strange that it was while coming home after business and a friend’s birthday party in New York that he unknowingly made the choice to board a plane scheduled by a handful of madmen to be a suicide mission. I’d guess most people he left behind would have been less surprised to have had him lost to running with the bulls in Pamplona - as he'd done just months before - or doing something more crazy than simply boarding an airliner for home.

At his memorial, Mark’s former partner Paul described him as being a bit like a Labrador retriever, bounding through life. I had to smile when I heard that, because it so well fit the young man I knew. Oftentimes Mark would ride his bicycle over to visit and I’d always hear him bounding up the stairs well before he’d knock on my door and I’d open it to collect that big hug he was so generous with.

Mark: if what I believe about reincarnation is true, I hope your new life is going more smoothly than the one I was a small part of. Perhaps somehow, somewhere we'll meet again.

I'd like that.

Taipei To Bangkok: Thoughts At 36,000 Feet

The thunderheads tower below us, piled like whipped cream above layers of low clouds over the deep blue ocean. Above them peeks the faint, waning three-quarter moon; now somewhat lost in the sky as it sets this morning.

We flew out of Taipei a while ago and are now 36,000 feet over the South China Sea. Soon we’ll be passing almost directly over Da Nang, Vietnam and Laos, then at last over the fertile green expanses of Thailand, perhaps skimming across a few hundred miles over the top edge of Cambodia.

I can follow our flight in real time across the 8” screen on the back of the headrest in front of me; the little plane icon moving across the satellite map, leaving a yellow marking trail behind it. I can see the nose of the icon pointing directly at Da Nang, and I’m glad I’m in a passenger plane in 2009 instead of a US Army jet 40 years ago, when we would be on a very different visit.

It’s like a surreal dream now that in my lifetime the lush countryside I see stretched out along the water’s edge on the approaching horizon was once a land nearly bombed back into the Stone Age, possibly by some of the very farang on the plane with me today, snoring contentedly beside their Asian wives.

All may be forgiven several miles below us today, but it’s certainly not forgotten; certainly not by those who witnessed it as one of the tens of thousands of innocent victims who were themselves guilty of nothing more than the same nationalistic love of country we ourselves wave the flag for in the USA today.

A Vietnamese friend’s face goes sober when he thinks of his homeland in those days. He spoke once in a somber tone of visiting an old friend in the hospital – a civilian friend he’d shared a meal with only days before – now missing a foot because of a land mine; his life changed forever in an instant. My friend still tears up when he speaks of that day, and many others. All of life may be suffering, as many Buddhists believe, but that doesn’t make it any less disturbing - on a variety of levels.

We skim over Vietnam in a matter of minutes, crossing the Eastern Laotian border on a direct path to take us high over Pakse, near the Western border before we enter Thai air space.

A wide river, muddy with reddish-brown earth snakes its way South below before disappearing beneath a layer of heavy low cloud cover, and we begin to bump and jostle around as we enter another far higher one, nearly obscuring the lower layer.

Making a turn slightly North I can see on the screen we’re now going to fly North of Pakse – and Cambodian airspace – on our way to Bangkok. It’s now 10:00am, leaving us with an hour until we’ll hopefully be setting down safely onto runway 19 at Suvarnabhumi International, making the slow roll to the gate and on to the next new adventure.

Thinking Of Suvarnabhumi

The only good thing about leaving Thailand (other than the obvious draw of family, friends and sleeping in my own bed) is being able to begin to plan and look forward to a return visit.

Saying goodbye to my friends in Thailand is never easy, and more emotional some times than others - depending on where we all are on our paths at that moment in our lives - but standing in the inevitable line at passport control usually gives me time to look back and reflect on the trip just ending.

By the time I see the view above I'm usually ready to board the plane, have a light meal and "Z" out my mental register for a while. Shortly after waking, though, I'm already daydreaming about the next trip.

Wanderlust is really, really difficult to shake.

Staying Well On Vacation: Planes

My Fall 2006 outward-bound flight from the US to Taipei was not a pleasant trip. Not only did I have a half-dozen drunk college guys whooping it up couple of rows behind me about all the pussy they were going to get in Bangkok but across the aisle from me was a husband and wife with two sick kids, the three year old boy with a wracking cough that was only slowed by his bouts of projectile vomiting onto the seat in front of him every hour or so (“Sorry, he has whooping cough,” the father apologized!) and the rest of the family coughing and sneezing almost constantly throughout the 12 hour flight. The plane was full so my requests to be moved were futile. I myself was sick four days later. You do the math.

From what I’ve read over the years, the ONLY two things one can do to avoid cold and flu-like viruses is to drink plenty of water or juices – not coffee, tea or alcoholic beverages, all of which just dehydrate you more – and wash your hands frequently, especially if you have a tendency to touch your eyes, nose or mouth very often. The “waterless” hand sanitizers are also very effective when water’s not available and can be put into a small travel bottle that fits into a purse or pocket.

As for airplanes, none of us probably want to know how unsanitary they are overall. It's not only the recirculated air from the hundreds of others around you; there's the low humidity, necessary cabin pressurization, higher ozone levels and other contaminants added into the mix we breathe, too. It all can pack a punch to anyone's immune system.

I’m not a “germophobe” but I’ve taken to folding up about 10 of those disinfectant pop-up wet paper towels, folding them into something the size of a playing card and putting the stack of folded wet-naps into a baggie that I put into my carry on. As soon as I sit down in my seat I take one out and wipe off anything I’m liable to touch on the flight: recline buttons, the wired remote for the movies, the touch screen (if applicable), the folding table, the window tab, everything.

I’m guessing I’m the first one to clean them since the plane was put into service. I do the same in hotels with remotes, door handles and the likes.

Drink water, wash your hands, get a decent night’s sleep. That’s the best you can do. When we’re working a few sick days can be a break in and of themselves, but when we’re on vacation it’s a needless shame, at best.