I awoke before my alarm (at 4:22) and still, I was adding strips of tape to my box in line at the check-in counter. In part, I was running late because I needed to make a fast walk up the street at 8:00 to get one last order of khanom krok. Food first? Some things never change.
I returned with my steaming hot treats to the hotel’s Rexa Coffee Hall to share and to get a little protein. However, the kitchen was so slow in cooking my breakfast that I had had to return to my room to finish packing without it. Twenty minutes later, with our bags and boxes safely in the van, the seven of us heading to the airport said our goodbyes to those taking a little additional time in Bangkok. (Oops, forgot to take a group photo. We’ll have to collage it together later.)
Traffic was not bad and we arrived at the check-in counters before they opened. A man wandered down the line with a passenger manifest checking names. Why was I not on the list? Yesterday I received an email message from EVA saying I should call them, but they were closed by the time I saw it, and hadn’t gotten through the hold queue this morning before giving up. Fortunately, after much conferring among the staff and a lot of typing, I got my boarding passes and could stand by for an upgrade on the first leg. My boxes almost stayed in Taipei, but they managed to catch and correct this before sending them down the conveyer. Passport control was a breeze. So far so good.
Three of us paused at an airport restaurant for a last Thai-cooked meal. The pad Thai, chicken larb, and mango with sticky rice were okay, but even in Thailand, airport food is airport food. We sampled some overpriced snack products, but ultimately felt no need for further purchases. At the gate, I got my new boarding pass for business class. There was a confusing discussion about the special seafood meal I had pre-ordered when I was seated in economy, and whether I could switch to a business class meal instead. The confusion continued on board when the flight attendants explained the rules to me. Ultimately, I had to accept the economy meal first, but I didn’t really need to eat it because they could supplement it with a business class entree. Since I can’t in good conscience throw out a big piece of salmon, I just went with it. My favorite thing about business class is the frequent refills of your choice of different Chinese teas. The big comfortable seat is great, too.
Our layover in Taipei was only about two hours, so we had just enough time for a round of dumplings and a bit of shopping. The tea tasting at the duty free shop and the remarkable tea cups were just for my entertainment: the prices were too much for an impulse purchase. I used a free token to try one of the massage chairs situated behind a row of potted plants in a rest area. I needn’t have worried about dozing off and missing my flight: the rollers shook and squeezed and pounded vigorously.
The long flight was long indeed, and I worried over the agricultural inspection. I had prepared a detailed list of snacks and seasonings in case I was asked to go over them in detail. As I approached the “A” line, my cart was comically overloaded with two large boxes topped with a duffel bag and a roll-aboard bag. Those and my backpack went into the x-ray machine — not all at once, because the excess weight stopped the belt in its tracks — and then, nothing: they just sent our little band of Thailand travelers on our way. The shuttle service had no customers today, other than me, so I had a van of my own to haul my oversized quarry home.
Now that I’ve had a shower and checked email, a question has formed in my mind. I still have 3,000 baht in my wallet. How soon can I return to Thailand to spend it?
(Funny thread on TripAdvisor forum: Who’s going to Phuket?)
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