The long, hot trip over: now in Bangkok...finally!

Susanne is finally getting around to writing this:
well, it is just before 7 am on Saturday and when I press ``time 2`` on my watch, it tells me it is 9 pm in Nova Scotia on a Friday. Time and days have run into one another after the long journey here. I think we are 10 hours ahead of those of you on AST.
The flights here were ìnteresting`to say the least. 2 hours from YHZ to JFk were unvenetful. After trying to cram everything into our bags and packpacks, Michelle was the winner of the competition of `who packs the best``: 28.8 pounds, Chelsea`s backpack was 38.9 with Susanne deadlast at 49.6 of the allowed 50 pounds. In my defense, I highlight the big emergency kit pack as well as gifts from home even from dear Glenda, an EMC colleague who gives me things she collects throughout the year which I had to try and find space for. It all worked out though and we were good to go. Arriving in JFK, it was a balmy 37 degrees. We didn't care much when we first heard as we thought `hmmm, we will be in the airport and then on the plane, so it will not affect us much``. Well, let's just say we were slightly wrong in this interpretation. What was supposed to be a 13.5 hour flight from JFK to Beijing started with an extra hour on the 37 degree plane on the tarmac. Wow! Not sure what the reason was but we boarded the plane and sat there with 400 other people in the double decker huge airplane for over an hour with people as cranky as we were. Air China, we were not impressed. Boy, we are spoiled in Canada. I was expecting my own little tv screen and Michelle and I took a look behind our shoulders coming down the aisle and were in shock to find a `community screen``. Seemed like we went back a decade or two ago when you had to watch the same movie as everyone else. Things were already starting to shape up- this would be an experience. As we waited on the tarmac we said a little farewell to the veins in our feet as they would surely disappear with this heat and long flight. Michelle aka. Michelin was the best at the lose-your-veins-game. Her ankles and calves combine and were the subjecy of much chitter chatter among us on the way over. They get huuuuge!!! :) I looked at the magazine and the movies that jumped out were `The Princess and the Frog`` and others like it....hmmmm, an overwhelmingly large selection of children's films, fantastic! All we could do now was hope that our books would be good and help bide the time. Luckily they did- we made it through the long flight with a few naps along the way and finally arrived in Beijing at 7 pm on Friday night. Meals are worth a mention. it did not seem to matter whether it was 2 a.m. or 7 a.m or 2 p.m.: rice and chicken are the order of the day. already then, we like rice...
Let the comedy of errors begin- first problem: our flight to Bangkok was supposed to leave at 7:20pm, so of course we missed it. After many debates with various poeple who actually had great difficulty speaking a single word of English, we tried to find another way to get to Bangkok other than taking the same flight we missed the next evening at 7:20 pm which would have meant a 24 hour layover. We eventually found a way with Air China to Singapore at 11:30 (which, with our luck, of course didn't leave until 1 am) for another 6 hour flight to Singapore,with an hour layover there and then a flight to Bangkok with Thai Airways. Well, next problem: Chelsea`s luggage was nowhere to be found!! Bummer. She was actually quite good about it and seemed to feel better once I reminded her about her insurance policy for this kind of thing . Maybe `free shopping spree`popped into her head???
We made the tight turn-over in Singapore (20mins to get off one plane and board the next by running through the airport) and arrived in Bangkok mid morning after eating yet another airplane meal consisting of rice and chicken or shrimp. Not sure how hot it is here but somewhere in the 30`s with a crazy humidity factor. Soooo hot and muggy, yikes! The cab ride from the airport to our ``Roof View Hostel`` was $14 US dollars, quite acceptable. As our fellow Habitat folks who also came in early were already on their way shopping etc, we went out on our own for a whole shopping and sight seeing day on Kho San Road (hundreds of little stands with all kinds of clothing, flip flops, knock-offs and lots of quite smelly food, fish, fried things etc. It's very hot, many locals walk around with umbrellas over their heads. We went back to the hostel to nap and made plans with the others for dinner at 7. We had zonked out around 4 pm and overslept. Crazy heat and I guess the 24 hours on the plane and 12 more hours at airports etc had caught up.
Supper consisted of various Thai dishes in an open terraced restaurant, a few cold Changs (beer) and then a Tuk Tuk ride to the night market. Great for cheap shopping but almost overwhelming with the choices. The Tuk Tuk's are great- they are these little motorized golf carts for lack of a better comparison and fit just about anywhere as we quickly found out crusing in and out of traffic at warp speeds! On the way back to our hostel we all of a sudden heard this loud siren and yelling- it was a Thai fire truck! A red pickup truck with firemen (we guess) standing in the back yelling fire fire fire! they were louder than the actual siren. Another beer in the hostel and called it a night around midnight.
First impressions of Bangkok:
hot!
humid
lots of tuktuk`s, motos and traffic (mostly japanese cars)
you better be a good pedestrian and a FAST one....cars rule here
lots and lots of people
many temples, Buddhas and religion is obviously very important
people are very friendly here, they do smile a lot and are very helpful...land of smiles it is

over and out.8:35 a.m., off to the Royal palace.

We are off to Cambodia at noon tomorrow.