2004
Background
In 1932 a peaceful coups converted Siam into a constitutional monarchy, and in 1939, she became Thailand. I wont make this a history lesson, because I’m hardly qualified to do so, even after reading A Short History of Asia. Rather, I want to share some of the events, the story of that journey.
“Its good to travel with your Master, or with a friend,
But it is better to travel alone than with fools.”
- The Buddha
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I. The Journey to…
After just a little internet research, I booked a flight from Dallas, TX to Phuket Island. Weird thing about the way I travel… I try hard not to over pack, or over plan. There’s something really interesting to me about letting a place, or a person, reveal itself to me rather than my setting the terms. I suppose thats relatively easy for me to do since so much of my professional life is spent in relative ambiguity. It is interesting, and often humbling, to simply let things happen, and allow those happenings to set the course.
As I was booking my flights online just days before leaving, it occurred to me how long this trip was going to be. Thailand is 11 hours ahead of the Central US, so I figured its about halfway around the world. Its 9,448 miles to be exact, or 15,238 kilometers.
Travel Schedule - Dallas to Phuket Island
To Phuket - Actual Time: About 34 Hours
Leg Depart (loc. time) Arrive (loc. time) Flight Time
1/19 - Dallas to Tokyo 10am 2:30p (20th) 13hrs, 20 min
1/20 - Tokyo to Bangkok 5:25p 10:25p 7hrs
1/21 - Bangkok to Phuket
- Scheduled 9:30am 12:30p 3hrs
- Actual 8am 9:30a 1.5 hrs
To Dallas About 29 hours
1/29 - Phuket to Bangkok 6:55p 8:20p 1hrs, 25 min
1/29 - Bangkok to Tokyo 11:45p 7:15a (30th) 5hrs, 30 min
1/30 - Tokyo to Dallas 2:30pm 12:30pm (30th) 11hrs, 15 min
The Great Circle Path
As were flying from Dallas, the movie monitors come on. I scan the channels for something interesting, and notice there is a screen that follows our flight path on maps that begin with Texas, then the Western US, then the Pacific. I thought it was odd that we were flying directly toward Seattle. After all, why would we fly this directly north to get to Japan. But wait after Seattle we continued north to Alaska and along the Aleutian Islands and then down the coast of Asia to Japan. Looking at my little 4×4 2-D map, this didnt make sense. Isn’t the shortest route a straight line between two points? Isn’t this far out of the way? Is the airline conspiring against my sand and sun trip?
I wouldn’t have the answer to this until a couple of days after I returned home, and visited my parents. My father, former US Air Force, explained to me that this arc is actually the shortest distance between the two points. It defies logic when taking a 2-D view of the world, but I have to remember the world is not 2-D (at least that has been the theory for the past 500 or so years).
With an internet search I was introduced to the term Great Circle Path, which supports my straight line hypothesis, but applied differently than I had imagined. But that straight line goes through the center of the earth. So if you make that line through the center of the earth, you’ll want to approximately follow it along the surface of the earth for your shortest flight distance. If you follow the latitudinal lines, the arc of the earths surface adds significant distance to your journey. You see, you calculate the tangent given the…. Ok, the math behind it is somewhat fuzzy to me, but if you google “The Oblique Azimuthal Equidistant Map”, you can get a glimpse.
Funny thing about a 13-hour out-bound flight… you expect to sleep, but can’t. Excitement for the coming adventures takes over. You read, you watch a few movies, but no sleep.
At least not in coach.
Welcome to Narita International Airport, Tokyo Japan
Narita International Airport is modern and well-accommodated in every way. For long layovers, it is most comfortable, and there are plenty of little hiding spots with comfortable chairs. The restrooms are immaculately clean. From a facilities standpoint, its among the best, except for the lack of signage.
Arriving on American, and transferring to Singapore Airlines was quite difficult. I’m not a traveler who expects everybody to speak English. However, logo’d signage would certainly help, particularly since Tokyo is the gateway to the Far East.
To make matters worse, the bus drivers that take you from one terminal to the next (once you figure out where to actually go) are bizarrely rude. I’m standing at the bus stop, a bull pulls up, and I ask slowly “Singapore Airlines?”, and am met with a rude grunt, facial distortion and arms waving. I must be in the wrong spot. I walk back to the counter where there are English speaking people who assure me that I was in the right spot, and that that was the right bus. I return.
The next bus pulls up. “Singapore Airlines?” Grunt, distortion and waving. He drives off before I can approach the bus. I wait 10 minutes, then walk back upstairs. Reassured that I should just get on the bus, I return to see a bus leaving, and 6 Australian travelers discussing the rudeness of the bus driver. As the next bus approaches, I tell them, “Follow me”.
We get on the bus. Grunt, distortion and waving. We arrive at the proper terminal, where the people greeting us had friendly smiles, with only slight damage to our sensitivities. Soon, were on our way to Bangkok. Just 7 hours away. In coach. No sleeping.
One Night in Bangkok (International Airport) - Thou Shalt Not Sleep
I get off the plane with true excitement. Bangkok, Thailand. The name alone invokes various thoughts, many of which can be surely fulfilled within minutes of the airport. With a 9.5 hour layover, overnight, and being 23 hours into this trip, and 28 hours in to my day, and having slept only 4 hours the night before (stupid last minute packing), I was about ready for a nap. I read in the inflight magazine that Bangkok International had little rooms you could rent for a few hours to sleep. $10 / hour. Deal. They were located in the gate area. Nice.
We got off the plane and there were some number of uniformed attendants sweeping us through the terminal. Big smiles, but determined in every way. I asked where the rooms were, and was answered with “this way”, nodding toward the mass flow of people. We walk through a series of doors, the last of which dropped us off near ticketing outside of the gate area. Oh, shit. Tried to get back in the gate area, no luck. I was offered help from about a dozen un-uniformed people, mostly young guys and girls, but we were warned not to talk with them while we were still onboard.
“1 - see if there are any little rooms anywhere else at the airport” - no
“2 - wheres the nearest hotel?” 30 minutes to find out its located across the street. Take the skywalk they tell me. Carry bag upstairs, a quarter mile walk, carry bag downstairs, get to the desk of hotel. “Have a room available?” “Yes. $350/ night.” “Dollars?!?!” Of course. No way. Back to airport up stairs, quarter mile walk, down stairs.
“3 - where will I stay?” I’d bet that I can get $50 / night within 10 minutes of here, but I somehow doubt that things would go as smoothly as I would wish, and given the potential for downside (imagined or real), I thought I’d try to find a quiet and/comfortable corner of the airport, if there is such a thing.
After about an hour of looking around, I finally realized that the main area had a 3rd floor, and finally found my way there (its harder than you’d think). Oh, la, la… a starbucks knock off coffee shop/deli. By this time its 1am, and just 8.5 hours until flight time the next morning. I can do it.
I’m there about an hour, reading random things, and in walks this beautiful girl, 20ish, looking very USA. This should help pass some time.
I offer her a place to sit at my table, in this room of 30 emplty seats. She easily accepted. First few minutes of conversation went well. College student, from rural Mississipi, first time to Thailand, going to the up country.
“Oh, backpaking it?”
“Kind of. I’m on a church mission.”
Thats cool, I have nothing against churches. Well, yeah, I do, but she’s still a nice girl. So long as she doesnt try to save my soul, you know. But as it is in the world, dogs bark because they’re dogs, cats meow because they’re cats, and evangelical Christians evangelize because they’re evangelical Christians. Thats just how things work. Nature’s way.
“Are you saved?”
“From what?”
“Uh… hell”, making her answer sound almost like a question.
“Look, sweetheart, if you’re out here helping the needy or feeding the poor, or teaching children, I respect that. But please don’t try to save my soul.”
“I’m sorry, thats kind of what I do.”
Didn’t I tell you…
“Dont you believe in the Bible?”, she asks.
“I dont know. Its kind of a fantastic story, if you know what I mean. I mean the Gospel begins, more or less, with ‘Ok… this virgin has a baby’. And from there, you know magic powers, known as miracles, and all that. Did you know that the Book of Mormon was supposedly translated from a white salamander who whispered in the ear of Joseph Smith, who relayed the story to scribes on the opposite side of a room divider? Don’t get me wrong, thats out there. But so is a virgin giving birth to a messaiah. I dont know what to believe.”
And so it went throughout the night, with occasional bathroom breaks.
It was actually a good way to spend time. I told her early on that if she’s going to have this discussion, she would have to have a good sense of humor about it because I was going to challenge her faith. She said “Ok”. I didn’t shatter her faith, she didn’t save my soul.
Religious conversation and watching the other’s bag while they use the restroom creates a certain bond between a man and woman. But I’m pretty sure we both were happy to get away from the other as we split up ion the way to different gates; she going north for her God, me going south to God’s beaches.
I managed to catch the earlier flight that was direct rather than a quick stop, so I would be getting in at 9:30a rather than 12:30p. Things are looking good…