On the Road Again...

And so here we are on the road again! Bangkok bound for the first leg of our journey. Obviously I made it over my control-freik episode and as we loaded the car and drove away at seven am this morning there was nothing but pure excitement coursing through my veins. The kids, being spawn of two traveling parents, take it all in stride, with similar levels of excitement, each with their own way of showing it.


It's so nice when everything goes to plan and the morning went so smoothly that I kind of didn't know what to do with myself! Bonus, Thai Airways offered to check our luggage all the way through to Kathmandu, despite the fact that we are spending the night in Bangkok. Sweet! Down to backpacks for the next 24 hours - I feel so light!

One of my most favorite things about traveling is the people watching. You can never be bored when there are humans around.

Going through immigration on the way our of Auckland airport I start getting excited to see which lures the duty free shops on the other end will be using. Flashing lights, pretty young girls, offers of free stuff, alcohol samples - they are always evolving in their quest to suck in the traveler fish, taking advantage of the changed state of consciousness that most travelers get into on the start of a trip. Today it's a giant pinwheel, clip, clap, clapping around as the eager punters spin it in an effort to get free stuff, although they generally end up with only a 10% off coupon for the store. But hey, it's all part of the entertainment!



 
The flight went as smooth as the morning but it was still 12 hours on a metal tube, hurdling through the atmosphere. The layover in Bangkok is a welcome break. Just 12 hours, enough time to have a hot shower,get some sleep and freshen up for tomorrows flight on to Nepal.

It's been 15 years or so since the last time I've been to Thailand and the airport tells me that it is a city that has grown up into the modern age. No more florescent lighted bunker building airport. No, Bangkok has gotten on board with the shopping-mall-themed new-aged airport. At least it's air conditioned!!

Stepping outside to catch our shuttle to our cheap-as-chips hotel ($20 a night) the balmy thick air of a tropical night hits us. Thirty degrees at 9pm at night. The air is syrupy with humidity - but oafter the dry air of the airplane it feels like a natural bath!

The only bad planning we have is that I didn't take into consideration that the hotel restaurant would be closed when we arrived. After checking out our rooms we headed out into the night in search of food. Passing up the street vendors selling dubious pieces of meat and various roasted insects we checked out a few restaurants that turned out to be cash only, so as we had no Thai Bhat to spend we were out of luck. But it could be providence looking out for us, as the cleanliness of said restaurants could be called into question and it would really be a downer to have the start of the trip be highlighted with tummy troubles! So back at the room we feasted on the remaining snacks I had in my backpack (nuts, carrot sticks and two apples) before falling into a lovely slumber on a rock hard bed.