2/16–Home sweet home

Got up at the crack of dawn, of course.  Our bodies are not yet over the 50 hours of no sleep, but they still only require about 8 hours of down time before we can no longer be in the bed!  Twiddled our thumbs for a while until we went down for breakfast. Very good – buffet with all the fixin’s – but very pricey.  United vouchers don’t go very far at all here (since we spent them all last night – they didn’t go at all today!).

We hop on the 9:30 shuttle because we want to be sure to be at the airport early.  Once again, security is a breeze, no one around. We head to the gate for the 12:20 flight and find the customer service counter – which is also empty. Wow – what a difference a day makes!  We talk to the very nice agent, who listens to our story (everyone keeps asking whether we bumped ourselves or got bumped – to which we always answer – we weren’t bumped we were scrubbed due to mechanical – oh!!!!) which obviously gives us more clout because he clicks and clacks on his keyboard for about 5 minutes and finally comes up with a real live boarding pass for me!  YAY! I’m on!

Ed and I aren’t sitting together but the customer service agent says we can ask the gate agent. So, a little bit later, the gate agent arrives and I ask. He can’t do anything now, but he says when we board he may be able to get us together. Ok.  But then Ground Hog Day occurs!  The incoming flight is late. Our flight is delayed.  Ugh. I talk to the gate agent again – who is so sweet – and after ascertaining, that indeed, we are delayed, we go have a drink – what the hell – if its going to be a long day – let’s start it off right!  

I go back to check on the flight status – and the gate’s now been changed!  Double ugh! So, we drink up and take the long hike from C terminal to A terminal.  Still delayed, but at least we’re at the gate.  The A gates are the multiple gates where there are 4 planes at one gate. So we watch the little CRJs sitting there, one by one leaving for other destinations (like Richmond).  I ask the gate agent for seats together, and he gives them to us easily. Hmmm….what’s up with that?

Then at 12:45 they call the flight. What? We are escorted to the CRJ that has been sitting there ever since we arrived a little before noon. Ok, now we’re confused. Did they change equipment? This isn’t the plane that was late arriving from Detroit? Then, to add to the confusion, the darn flight isn’t even full! WHAT?  You had me on standby and there isn’t a full flight?????? Sigh…..the angst for nothing!

But, long story short, we make it back to Savannah in good time, smooth flight, our bags are miraculously waiting for us in the locked United luggage office, our car is patiently (and in one piece) waiting for us at the hotel and we are on the road to HHI before 4. Not too shabby!  And that is the end of that!

2/15–Almost made it home!

Oh, the indignity!  After flying 10,250 miles, over 2 days, 29 hours, 3 flights, one of which we had 2 aborted landings (because of wind shear and microbursts in Tokyo), turbulence to scare you enough that you really were re-thinking getting on the next plane (hey – we can learn Japanese), over-heated cabins that caused us to sweat through all our rapidly ripening clothing and a 4 hour delay because of missing flight crew – our flight to Savannah is scrubbed in Dulles! You’ve GOT TO BE KIDDING US!  But, let me give you the details…..

Our LOOOONNNNGGG  day(s) starts off at 5AM Friday 2/14 (Happy Valentines Day ) in Chiang Mai– we couldn’t sleep – argh!  Finished off our remaining eggs and salad for lunch.  Tried to nap. That didn’t work. Decided to go out for a drink to waste some time – but oh yeah – it’s Makha Bucha today – the first Buddhist holiday of the year.  No alcohol sales today (now we know why a bunch of restaurants moved their Valentine’s day special menus and celebrations to 2/13 or 2/14.  Aha!

Double aha! Hotels have exceptions to the alcohol rule. Yes!  So, we decided to go to the Terrace bar at the hotel we stayed our first night in Chiang Mai, but fortunately we called first (well, we had Yui call!) and they aren’t serving (we think because their bar is actually outside in a free standing area, not contained inside the building).  Next we call the Shangri-La next door – they are serving! Ok –well heck, we’ve looked at the hotel from our balcony for weeks – let’s go explore.

Lovely place – most expensive drink round since we’ve arrived but hey – we’re wasting time and the environment is beautiful! Back at the condo, we grab our cab to the airport promptly at 6PM.  It takes forever to check in, but we do, with luggage checked through to Savannah.  Dinner is at the little Khao Soi House at the end of the terminal – Northern style!  Oh, boy, our last spicy Thai meal. We sit in the corner, surreptitiously drinking our beer and wine that we snuck in (remember the holiday!), then go off through security to wait for the first flight to Bangkok.

All goes according to plan there – quick snack service – not the sandwich we had expected but a little chocolate heart cookie (for Valentine’s Day) and no alcohol – no choice actually, coffee, tea or water.  Arrived Bangkok on time – holy cow that place is a ZOO!  It is freaking midnight and it is teeming with people.  Our flight is delayed an hour.  Poop.  We find a bar/restaurant and get chicken wings (those teeny little flats) and 2 pitchers of beer – yes beer – because this place is crazy expensive – we ain’t in Chiang Mai any more! Honestly – sorry – I am NOT paying over $10US for a teeny glass of crappy wine, it’s bad enough we are paying over $10US for a small pitcher of beer, but at least we are getting 3 glasses out of it.  2 for Ed, 1 for me.  Volume-wise – way better deal!  I also want a bottle of water – 140b for Evian?  Get out. I walk next door to the Halal restaurant and by a Nestle bottle for 35b.  Sigh.  But – we manage to de-baht ourselves and end up with only 50b left. And we wasted the 2 hours we needed to before the flight!

Boarding goes smoothly after the delay.  It is amazing how quickly these foreign flights can board – I mean it only takes 15 minutes for the whole thing – people get on, stow their stuff and we’re gone. Why doesn’t it work that way in the states?  We don’t get it.

Once we’re up, the flight crew tells us that there will be a lot of turbulence as we approach Tokyo and they won’t be able to serve breakfast (oh crap – its going to be that bad?), so they are starting the service now.  First comes the little snack bag with a cute little teeny square ham and cheese sandwich.  It’s about the size of the little Square mobile credit card readers!  Plus there are chips (french fries with ketchup it says on the package), a little kit kat bar and a bottle of water.  Cute. And cool bags too.  So we munch on the sandwich, before we realize that they are serving us the breakfast now!  Oh, ok.  Breakfast is continental, which is a little too sweet and starchy for us at this time of night. We eat some fruit, the salted pretzel roll and the ham and cheese off the salad, then I save the apple turnovers for tomorrow in the little sandwich bags from the snack bags.  That works.

Now it is time to try to get some shut eye.  It’s actually not too noisy (no screaming kids, phew!), but OMG, it is HOT.  I don’t know if they turn off the air or turn on the heat, but I wake up drenched – and Ed (who isn’t really sleeping) just stays drenched.  Thank God I decided to wear my sleeveless top. Otherwise, I’d be a disaster.

After the sauna, as we approach Narita, it gets a little cooler, and we prepare to get rocked around.  It’s bumpy.  The clouds close in the closer we get to the airport.  We start our final descent.  Bump, Bump,  gear goes down, full flaps down, oh crud, there goes our stomachs!  At about 1500 feet, back up we go. Fast! Nope – not going in on this one.  We’re sort of tossed about a bit, and the captain comes on to tell us we are trying another approach because there is wind shear and microbursts on the ground.  You can feel it up here – buffeting and popping up and down. We meander around over the water for about 15 minutes,  then here we go again.  Bump, bump, gear down, full flap, damn!  Up we go again at about 2,000 feet.  Oh, please get us on the ground and off this plane!  Once more over the ocean (if you could have seen the flight tracking details, it’s pretty funny – well in hindsight it’s funny - all these circles and trajectories out over the water while we wait out the weather).

Third time (it better be a charm), here we go.  White knuckle all the way, it’s still pretty darn bad, but the Captain manages to land this sucker! Thank God!  Everyone is so scared, that it is dead quiet on that plane when we get to the runway. No one even claps.  Pretty bad.

Our wobbly little legs get us off that plane in a hurry – and up to the waiting area for the flight to Dulles.  This is the loooonnnngggg one – almost 12 hours – we’re dreading it. But, it is what it is.  There are a ton of press in the waiting area, videoing the passengers.  We can’t figure it out – but if anyone is watching Japanese TV – look for us!  We should be on a very long segment as we surf the web on our phones waiting for the plane. 

This flight is delayed too.  But only for about 15 or 20 minutes.  We board – and darn – there’s freaking lap child in the row next to us. No – don’t even go there.  We need to sleep and the screaming 1 year old may just be an international casualty.    Take off is a heck of a lot smoother than our landing – fortunately.  We get our lunch right away, which is hashed beef in wine sauce (actually you get  choices – one Japanese, one western – for every meal, and they’ve got these cool little menu choice cards they hand out…

…so you always know what you are getting exactly!).  Anyhow, the beef is really tasty – and of course the wine and beer keeps flowing!  After lunch we read a bit, then settle in to try to sleep. Fortunately screaming baby has zonked out (good sigh) and we think we have a good chance of catching a few hours of zzz’s.  Well,  I do anyway, Ed of course gets maybe an hour. But, OMG, the heat again! What is with this?  These people are all dressed in winter gear too – sweaters and boots – and they’re fine – I’m in yoga pants and sleeveless top and I’m dying!  Yuk!

We make it the rough the 12 hours with movies (Ed watches Gravity and then Man on a Wire on his Kindle; I watch Captain Phillips), reading, general napping sort of and food:  A snack of tomato/cheese bread which I was really looking forward to, and turns out to be too doughy for me, and finally breakfast which is an excellent eggs benedict thing.  That works!  We land on time, with no incidents. Then comes customs. Wow – it’s a breeze – there is no one there and we get through passport control in 5 minutes, the bags come in about 10, customs is nothing, we re-check the bags to Savannah and then breeze through security back into the airport in 5 minutes.  That was amazing!  All this means we’re in the United Club by 10AM.  Which is nice because our 1:16 flight is now 2:50. Here we go….

Coffee, newspapers, snacks, bananas, visit with a colleague from my SunTrust days who is waiting to fly to St. Thomas (it is a small world!), then on to the beer and wine, more snacks, and finally head to the gate around 1:30.  Everybody’s just hanging – we have the pilot crew, just  not the flight attendant.  Bad sigh!  We walk the concourse just to get some circulation back in our bodies, then see the flight time has been changed to 2:12.  Cool. We hustle back. Only to find the same situation. No FA.

Let the waiting commence!  Departure at 2:30, 2:45, 3:00, 3:30, 3:55, 4:15….You get the drift.  Finally I go back to the Club and get one of the agent’s to put us on stand by on the flight out Sunday at 12:20.  I want to go on the 5:00 flight today, but it at the far other end of the airport, and the agent is afraid that our flight might go, but if we are all the way over at the other flight, we’ll miss them both. So, we go with Sunday standby.

Finally – the FA shows.  He’s been here all along, was actually on the plane at 2:00 but was supposed to be on another plane to Chicago. Don’t ask – we don’t know where that CF happened.  But nonetheless, we’re all relieved to finally be on the plane and ready to go. 5:00 pm, taxi out, watch all the emergency and police vehicles at the South African airlines plane (FYI - body found in wheel well), first in line for take off, ready, set start rolling, speed up, and rotate….or not!  Just as we are about to get off the ground, wham, slam on the brakes. Abort!  I’ll repeat – YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING US!

Seems there is an indicator light that the luggage door is open. So now we have to go back to the gate and get the luggage door checked out. Only, oops, there are no gates. We sit for a bit, then taxi over to the A terminal, where we finally pull up to a gate and the maintenance checks it out. Meanwhile, the United app keeps sending us all emails – your flight has had a gate change, you will now depart from A1C – uh, yeah, duh, we know, we’re on the plane!  Your flight will now depart at 5:35. Ya think?  We don’t!

After about 20 minutes, here comes the luggage racks. Crap – we’re done. The pilot comes on and tells us he’s working with the company, that they are thinking about scrubbing the flight but they are trying to find another plane for all of us.  Ok.  5 minutes later, he comes back again and says the company has found another plane for us, we are to go to A1B gate and get on that plane – take our carry on’s from the rack, but they’ll transfer all our checked luggage.  Well great! Let’s go.

All 47 of us troop off the plane and over to the other gate – and try to board that plane. Well, this is hysterical. The gate agent says, yes, this is the plane to Savannah, just show us your boarding passes. Great. We all start to scan our passes but they aren’t working. What?  He says you have to get rebooked. We say what? No, the pilot told us they company found another plane for us at this gate and we were all to come here.  Another 5 minutes of funny, but frustrating, conversation ensued and it turns out that the plane we are trying to board is the 5:13 scheduled flight, that has been delayed. I already know the thing is over sold and has at least 6 wait listed, so it’s a no go.  This is not looking good!

Off we all troop to the customer service line – which is horrendous.  Ed stays at the gate on the very slim chance the pilot and FA will show up with another plane! No surprise that doesn’t happen!  So, now, we are all in line, we get an email telling us we are booked on flights on Monday – oh and btw – through Chicago!  What? No way! After about 45 minutes, we get to an agent who tells us that actually Ed is booked on the Sunday 12:20 flight, I’m on standby, and we are both confirmed on the Monday flights if Sunday doesn’t work!

Jeez!  Ed regales them with our exploits of the day, the gate agents love him!  We ask for vouchers – and of course get them – hey – it was mechanical!  Hotel for the night, vouchers for food (only $28, that’s not going to cut it for 2 meals, but it’s something) and they reassure us if we don’t make it out on Sunday, they’ll give us hotel and more food vouchers.  Ok – well – what are you going to do!

So – out into the freezing freaking cold we go – to find the hotel shuttle. Thankfully we had the presence of mind to change out of our sneakers – but we don’t have our coats (calculated risk – too big for the carry one and we figured if something like this did happen – we’d only need to be outside briefly).  We do have warm weather clothes with us though – because – yeah – we are always prepared and we saw the weather and actually thought we might get stuck in Tokyo!

The hotel is actually quite nice – the beds look fantastic – and if we weren’t so hungry we’d just jump in them right away. But we hit the restaurant instead and have a nice snack of chicken wings and fried green tomatoes (with a mustard sauce that makes us think we are still in Thailand – spicy!).  But we ain’t in Chiang Mai anymore –this meal costs more than a week of food there – and it wasn’t anything to speak of.  The vouchers cover the food and 1/2 a beer!  Oh well – welcome home!  Showers (heaven), bed (even heavenlier) and we will see what tomorrow will bring.

There you have it!

2/14–My new job

I’ve made up my mind!  We’re moving here and we are starting a proofreading/translation service.  We will offer our services to all the companies and small businesses we see, making sure their translations – and in particular – their spelling – are correct.  Some examples:

Ok, so we know Pho can be a little sloppy to eat, but Vietmamess? 

Shrimp Ships – wow how do they sail?  This in addition to the “fist” sauce that came with Ed’s chicken last night!

Also, “Rib aye stake” from the restaurant across from Sababa.  “Fresh fruit sheks” from Sababa.  And last but not least, Johnson & Johnson for heaven’s sake….

I think we have the beginning of a beautiful career here!

2/13–Last night in Chiang Mai

It’s like leaving the neighbors!  This is sort of sad!  We start the morning out with our last walk to Warorot. On the way, we see Tommy who gives us big hugs goodbye and wishes us luck and a happy new year.  Then we stock up on spices and sunglasses at the market (it’s the last buying spree!), as well as awesome looking strawberries, because of course, it’s now strawberry season.

As we are walking back, past all the street breakfast stalls, I decide to get some of those little donuts I love for a treat – they’ve still got tons left and the one stall, so I get a plate of 4 of them to go (she’s trying to sell me more because she has to get rid of them, but 4 is plenty thanks!).  They are only 10b – which is about 35cents.  Oh, I could easily overdose on these things!

Then back to the condo for the rest of the day – which turns out to be one of the warmest days yet.  Probably good thing we are leaving, because we’ve had beautiful weather for an entire month!

And, to commemorate our departure, the very first clouds we have seen all month (seriously, 30 days, no clouds) appear on the horizon at sunset.  Think it means it’s time to leave.

Last night dinner is at Roadside.  As we walk toward the market we say goodbye to Dancing Man at Sababa, then make our way through the throngs to the relative quiet at the end of the market. At the bar, I indulge in Pad Thai (which is so good there), Ed has some chicken dish and then tops is off with their teeny chicken wings (with fist (sic) sauce).

We hang for a while, listening to the singer, then say goodbye to our cute little waitress and bartender. 

Heading back through the market, we find a roti (or rotee in the “Thai” spelling) stand – so I go for it! Last night, I want to try Banana Roti. OMG – I’m so glad I waited until the last night!  I thought those darn donuts were good! This is freaking amazing – and it’s only about 75cents!  Oh boy, when we come back, I am going to have to be on my best behavior!! (From top left:  making the roti, adding the bananas, folding the little roti package, finished product!)

Last night to troll the market, I pick up a couple of cool earrings and Ed negotiates a deal for his koozies – and we’re done!  My little dress lady tries to entice me for “one last one”, but I resist and tell her next year.

Ah, next year. Or maybe the year after that. We shall see, but definitely not our last visit to Chiang Mai.  This has been too much fun, and too nice a time not to repeat it!

2/12–Slug Day

Did we even leave the condo today? No – not until dinner!  We planned to go over to Nimmanhaemin, a growing “trendy” neighborhood on the west side of Chiang Mai, but you know?  Why?  We had lunch at the condo (because we have tons of eggs and salad left) which means we’d just be meandering around looking at restaurants and bars we have no desire to go to.  So, slugs we were!

Sat in the sun on the balcony all day, reading books, then inside blogging (the one bonus is the blog is up to date!!).  Afternoon gym time, then out to dinner at Sababa for our Shawarma and Baba Ganush.  Tonight my dancing man is actually there!  So – of course we dance!

Sababa Dancing Man

Dinner tonight is a “buffet” – the owner says he can offer us the food variety and charge us as plates.  We aren’t arguing!  And we add Schnitzel to the list.  Excellent – everything is so good -

- we chat with the owner, learn he’s been here 10 years, came to visit and loved it – so came back to stay.  He had another restaurant further down the street – closer to the Chabad House, the Jewish center – but moved to this location.  He’s married (to a Thai girl – of course!) and has a daughter, etc.,  etc. Great chat, and we leave, stuffed to the gills, for a night of TV watching and more relaxation!

2/11–Chiang Mai Saloon and troll through the market

It’s dinner time and there are just too many darn places from which to choose.  We know we are going to Sababa tomorrow night, and have decided to save Tiger Kingdom in Town for our last night out – so tonight we decide to go to Soi Cowboy – ok, ok, the Chiang Mai Saloon – I just call it Soi Cowboy – for dinner. We’ve not been there since day 1 – and I LOVE their chicken strips – which is exactly what we get – and a burger (that’s my half below).

It’s a great place to just hang out – wine (carafe – yay), beer and interesting people, including the owner who sits at the table by the street and gets into a great conversation with some young Aussie.  Too funny!

We end up buying a polo shirt for Ed too – we wanted the T-shirt, but they are all out, so we opt for the polo which is really good quality and really cheap!  Then we head back through the market – trying to negotiate for Chang koozies – a no starter at 120b each – and he wasn’t going lower.  Cool earrings are up next, but they too are 120b each and I want 2 for 100b. No go.  We’re not doing well.  Past another clothes vendor, just out of curiosity I ask about the top I just bought – 350.  Ok – I got a deal then!

Next up are wallets – I want a back up for my new one, and here again, the guy starts at 550. No way Jay!  I know I can get it for 200 at Warorot, so we say no way, he comes down to 300.  We just laugh, and I pull out the one I have and say 200 – that’s what we paid in Warorot.  He just gives us a smile, and says ok!  Ed asks if anyone actually pays 550 – and he says yes – he looks at the people first, then hits them with the prices and goes from there!  Gotta negotiate!

Next we hit an unexpected purchase, nice chop sticks and holders. These are really nice wood and very attractive. The guy starts at 170 and we can’t move him – not 100, not 120.  Nothing going.  We end up with 150 – which is fine – these are good quality and Ed is not allowed to use them for other purposes (like trying to get his shoelaces in the holes properly – we’ve already lost one of our original sticks this way!). 

So a very profitable night for us…and we’re dwindling our shopping list down. The only things left are more sunglasses, maybe a koozie, and the cool earrings I now know I’ll have to pay at least 100b each for…eh, we’ll see how tomorrow night goes!

2/11–Art in Paradise

Last week here, so we are packing in all the things we didn’t do over the last 3 weeks (slugs!).  Today, since it is going to be one of the hottest days yet, we are going to the Art in Paradise museum which is located just down the street a little bit.  We’ve read about this place and it looks like fun – the entire museum and exhibit in 3-D illusion art.  It’s pricey (for Thai standards), Foreigners cost 300b each (about $10).  But as it turns out, it is so well worth it.  The most amazing art – and you just can’t imagine that it is not real – but flat on the walls!

The museum has 3  floors of illusion art –starting with the outside entrance…

…the ornamentation is all painted – it’s not really concave! Once inside, we spend a couple of hours wandering around, just gawking at the different paintings and trying to figure out the best angles for photo taking! 

Here are a few pictures at the start of the museum “tour” – they really are painted on the wall – there is no frame or anything!

Same with the underwater scenes – it’s all flat!

Feeding the dolphins and feeding the penguins!

Oh no! Jaws!

Sharing a coke with a polar bear and visiting with a giraffe.

No, don’t let the tiger get me!  Phew, the elephant will save me!

Ed – look out!

More awesome paintings.

Ed’s painting too – such an artist.

Time for wine!

At the Trevi, in Japan, taking pearls from a Lady and the stairway to heaven?

Standing on my head, jumping for joy, Ed just hanging out!

Into the land of the Pharaohs we go….

Don’t let it get me! Oh, I guess it did…I’m an angel now…

Just a puppet on a string…better than being stepped on…

Catching a big one – fish and wave!

Ed – shame!

Look what I found…on the floor and, well….off the table…

Ancient Rome, and praying to the Buddha.

Ed the adventurer!

It’s Sochi!

We both love Chiang Mai! Even made the news.

Pitt stop – a BIG one.  LOL

Wow – this was so totally unique and fun!  And we timed it just right, as we were sitting in the café with the biggest cappuccino this side of Italy….(it’s real, not a painting)…

…two tour buses filled with Asians pull up.  We’d have never been able to take the pictures we did with that many people around! 

Back to the condo, relax, take our laundry in, hit the gym, then dinner.