Asia 2007

Traveling to Japan

The trip is set to begin. It has started off slightly different then my past travels. It is not the deitnation, for I have been to Asia before. It is not trying to pack 17 days of clothes in one carry on bag, once again been there, done that. What is different is that for the first time, in as long as I can remember, I am leaving behind someone very special to me. She took my last minute decision to go to Asia in stride and knew I needed sometime away from everything to decompress. Going halfway around the the world would sure seem pretty far to go, but with no cell phone or laptop, communication will be minimal (save a couple of blog posts).

I woke up at 6:30am (EDT), got ready, and left for the airport. My Dad and I stopped at Starbucks for a Mocha and then headed directly to the airport. Since I was not leaving out of the Birmingham airport I expected things to go a little smoother than my recent travel stories. I checked in at the “Delta Employee Kiosk” to receive my standby seat assignment and then headed to the security checkpoint. Atlanta security can take as long as an hour and I was prepared for the long wait, but the airport seemed empty this Thursday morning and I went straight through security and boarded an empty transit train to the Internation Concourse (Echo).

Right before the boarding process began I was cleared for a seat in Business Class and got in the boarding line. I found my seat, placed my extremely large carry on in the overhead compartment and took my seat.

I took out my iPod plugged it in the onboard power and started watching the end of “8 Below” (An aside, if you are a dog lover try watching this movie without shedding tears; there is a tissue in my hand right now as I am writing this).

The cabin door was closed so I shutdown the iPod, fastned my seat belt and was ready for us to push back from the gate. See things were going much better than when I fly out of the Birmingham. Or so I thought!

I noticed a gentlemen being brought up by a cabin attendant and knew something had to be amis. The captain came over the loud speaker to inform us that a gentlement had his meeting canceled in the Phillipenese and no longer wanted to take the flight to Japan. Therefore, Delta had to open the plane up to let him off. That by itself would not have been so bad, except that he also checked luggage and that had to be removed from the plane since the FAA does not allow baggage to travel without the passenger (extremely important for international flights). Of course we were on a Boeing 777 which carries nearly 300 people so finding his checked luggage colud take some time. Our departure time was 10:00am (EDT), it is currently 10:17am (EDT) as I write this….

… As I finished writing and closed the pen the captain came on to say the plane was closed up and we were ready to push back, current time 10:19am (EDT). With a 15+ hour flight still ahead we should make up the lost time in the air!

I decided, at the last minute, to go on this trip. My uncle and his friend had been planning it since Summer 2006. Flight costs were always extremely high when I looked at trying to go with them. Then in December 2006 I was on Orbitz and decided to check prices again. This time the fares were reasonable (even cheaper than the last time I flew to Asia). I called my Uncle to see if they minded a third wheel, got the time off from work, and made a promise to someone special that we would go somewhere later in the year. I bought my tickets (one from Atlanta to Narita, Japan (round trip), one from Narita, Japan to Bangkok, Thialand (round trip), and a third from Bangkok, Thailand to Viantene, Laos (round trip)) all for less than the last time when I did not travel to a second Asian country. Friends and co-workers have asked why I would want to travel so far for a vacation. Twenty-four hours in an airplan (each way) would make most people think twice about going. For me it is the love of traveling. Either to a new (as in Laos) or exotic (all of Asia) destinations. I find it exhillerating to experience the cultures which are so different from ours. So with that in mind I am excitedly awaiting my arrival in Thaisland. To see temples, experience the Thai’s style, grace, and friendliness, and most of all to taste the exquisite cuisine. There really is no way to explain the desire I have to visit Asia with pictures or words. Truly one must want to experience a land that is vastly different, a culture taht is so oppositve, and food that explodes with flavors we struggle to duplicate. With that desire you will overcome the long flight times and inconvienences of traveling to Asia.

We are in the air. Our route takes us over Alaska on our way to Japan, right now we are over Nebraska. I have watched the first episode of 24, Season 1. We had our first meal (of three), pecan crusted lamb. Now it is time for us to relax, maybe catch some sleep. The local time in Japan is 3am; flight time left 11 hours (our estimated flight time was 13 hours, not the 15 I originally mentioned).

Why Bangkok again?

The first time I was there it ranked as my favorite city and trip (Prague is my favorite city, but the trip to Asia was still the most memorable). I was so unprepared for the city, culture, and food. I never fully feel in step on my first visit and I am hoping that this time around I will. Bangkok is not quiet. it is more of a concrete jungle where some unfinished buildings from the Thai growth that fell with the monetary collapse of 97 remind everyone that not everything goes as planned. There are still a large part of the population that live on the water. Though roads have taken over as the common mode for transportation, Bangkok was once known as the “Venice of the East“. But meet just one Thai and you can see why visitors fall in love with their culture. They are the most welcoming people I have ever had the pleasure of meeting and trust me, they are not just putting on a show.

A new part of the trip for me is Laos, in fact I don’t know anyone who has been there so it is going to be an adventure. Hopefully, I will continue to update this journal as the trip progresses and I will be able to share with you, my first impressions of Laos and the Laotians.

Time for some relaxation and maybe even a couple of hours of sleep…

…. Time for a snack. I was able to get about an hour nap (more than last time). Watched the second episode of 24. We are flying over Canada, just passed Vancuver on our way to Alaska and then across the Pacific. Seven and a half hours to go, by my watch, already 10 pages of writing (double spaced of course). I know I will not be able to keep up such a pace once I am “In Country”. So don’t get used to it! (or worry that all the posts will be this long.)

I am much less prepared for this trip than I was last time (February 2002). I planned more of what I wanted to see and do. This time it is by the seat of my pants. First off, my ticket from Japan to Thailand is not until Sunday but I am arriving in Japan on Friday. My hope is to fly standby two days early to Bangkok which I was able to do the last time I travelled to Thailand. However, if I am not able to fly standby to Thailand I do not even have a hotel reservation in Japan. I know there is a Holiday Inn about five miles away that I plan to call and get a room if I need to. I guess this all adds to my travel adventure. No hotel room, not sure what country I will be sleeping in tonight. The other thing that I have noticed this time around is the flight feels much longer. I hate to admit that having my cousin traveling with me last time made the trip seem quicker. Maybe a couple of hourse of sleep would help speed things up.

Though I may not be as well prepared this time, I do know that I want to get out of this trip.
  1. Work on eating right and getting my blood sugar down. I found myself returning to my old habits and that is going to stop!
  2. Re-energize. Work has been extremely stressful and taxing the past year and without a real vacation (by that I mean out of the country) in almost a year.
  3. Start working out again. I am going to start off easy, just walking around the cities. Then using the hotel gym and pool. I am hoping that I will want to go to the gym by the time I return home!
  4. Along with exercisin and lowering my blood sugar I want to start losing weight again. From my initial diagnosis with Diabetes (December 2006) I have lost 15 lbs.But that seems to have come to a halt and I am hoping to jump start it over the next seventeen days.

The list is short, but to me they are all important! So it is my desire to come home thinner, stronger, refreshed, and in better control of my direction.

Less than three hours to go on the flight. I am now on episode 6 of the first season of 24. It has been slightly odd watching the first season after I watching the last 2 and now just starting my third season. I have become so used to seeing Chloe it is odd that she is not in CTU. Only 18 more episodes to go!

Next - A Day in Narita, Japan