Dateline: Bangkok. Wow, we pulled off a neat trick yesterday (I think it was yesterday, when you fly for 16+ hours and cross the dateline going west, who can tell?). The neat trick was checking baggage through to Bangkok, then leaving the security area in Narita (Tokyo's airport) to visit with some Japan-resident friends of Eileen's for over an hour, getting on our next flight, and finishing up at exactly the time we should have. With all the crazyness about increased airport security, no one could tell us if it would be possible - it was. I remained dubious until my backside was in the seat of the second plane and we were taxiing.
The last time I accomplished this sort of hat trick I was flying from DC to the left coast with a couple of hour layover in Chicago. I left O'Hare in a cab, raced over to an airport hotel where a conference was happening, gave a paper, caught another cab back to the airport, and flew on to CA w/o missing a beat or having an open-jaw ticket.
Bangkok is not the same place it was last time we were here, some 20 years ago. The traffic on the Chao Phraya River looks much the same, the heat and humidity hasn't changed, the green weed floating toward the sea is the same, but the skyline is entirely different - this is a big city now. From the airport to the hotel we were driven on motorways that had up to 6 lanes in each direction, and yes, the Thais do drive on the left as do the Brits and Japanese.
The Thai in the street are worried about the health of their king, who is elderly and hospitalized, perhaps with pneumonia. He has provided the stability in their nation since WW II.
Tomorrow we board the Ocean Princess and begin sailing and lecturing for 32 days. It is actually two 16 day cruises back-to-back: Bangkok to Shanghai and Shanghai to Bangkok. In these latitudes it will be hot and muggy, in Shanghai it is somewhat cold at this time of year. We had to pack for both conditionss, and get it all into one large suitcase and one carry-on each - not easy when we are carrying computers and cameras too.
What makes it possible is that most of the Princess ships, including this one, have laundramats on board. We bring just over a week's clothes and wear them repeatedly, we'll spend 3-4 afternoons laundering and folding clothes. That is no different than what we'd be doing at home - the weekly laundry.
