As my phone alarm went off, I rolled over to read a message that our flight had been delayed an hour and a half. In reality, this flight had already been delayed by three weeks. It all started when I met Joan. She’d gotten my attention by agreeing to a first date that entailed a 10 day trip through Mexico. Mind you we hadn’t spent 10 minutes together prior to that.
Sure she’d been to several of my walking tours, but she really didn’t know me, and her willingness to jump into such an adventure without reservation naturally caught my attention. We both figured, at worst, it would be a lovely one week affair beneath the sunny skies of Mexico. What we hadn’t anticipated is meeting someone so well matched to our adventurous personalities that we would both change our lives in the span of just a few days.
Joan had spent the previous three years transitioning from living in a 3000 square foot house to renting a 150 square foot bedroom with a storage locker. She shared with me that she was planning to buy an RV and hit the road as a permanent nomad in the next six months. To that, I inquired, “why not start that life immediately and save yourself the cost of an RV?” Joan admitted she’d been admiring my lifestyle for awhile, and after further discussion she decided she would end her lease immediately, pack up all of her things, and head off into the world with me.
I was so moved by her willingness to get started now, that I offered to postpone my trip to Thailand so that I could come help her pack whatever belongings she could fit into her car, drive to California to store them at her parents’ place, and fly off to Thailand at the end of the month.
In addition to the miserable rainy weather, the expenses of coming back to the US from Mexico killed me. Every time I left the house, I seemed to spend $50. In Asia, I can live on $30 a day including meals and lodging, so I was motivated to help her unrelentingly sort through what was left of her things and get started on our new life. It didn’t help that my friend Vora was already sending me pictures from her trip to Thailand. Somehow she’d managed to hop back from France and through Portland faster than the 3 weeks it took me to help Joan.
Packing all of Joan’s belongings turned out to be a bit overwhelming, and she admitted that had I not been there, she probably would have postponed her joining me in Thailand until the Spring. At one point, packing was going so poorly, she suggested staying at her friend’s house for another week while we packed. Horrified at spending another week in that miserable Pacific NW winter, I thrust myself with even greater determination into packing so that we could get it done before her surgery.
You see, in the time between our Mexico trip and my return to help her pack, Joan realized that the fast growing cyst in her breast should probably be taken care of before our trip so she scheduled surgery during the packing week. I was pretty impressed, and a little trepidatious that she would take all of this on at the same time, but she was clearly committed to getting to Thailand with me before year’s end.
Not surprisingly, the stress of packing and surgery took its toll. We did postpone our departure by a couple days, but come the next week, we headed south with everything she owned crammed into the car. Along the way, we made one stop in Ashland and another in Sonoma to visit with my sister, who I hadn’t seen in two years thanks to Covid.
I had hoped as soon as we got to California, the sun would begin to thaw us from the near freezing temperatures of the previous week, but the storm system continued all the way to Los Angeles, delivering several inches of, albeit needed, unpleasant rain and snow. On the plus side, the foul weather had been conducive to our packing progress the previous week.
As the days progressed towards our flight departure to Thailand, the weather forecast worsened to the point that on the day of our scheduled flight, two inches of rain was anticipated. That would have been unusual for the Pacific NW and unheard of in Los Angeles. Knowing they cancel outdoor activities in southern California at any hint of precipitation, I began to worry about our flight.
Additionally, due to the rapid spread of Omicron, hundreds of flights were canceled the preceding days due to staffing shortages. I took some solace that Japan Airline employees were probably more likely to wear masks than their American counterparts.
I had wanted to leave before the end of the month since countries often use those dates to change travel restrictions. As it was, Thailand had just changed its restrictions last week, no longer allowing international arrivals without quarantine. Fortunately for us, they left a loophole for those who had already been approved under the Thai pass test and go program. That meant we were permitted to travel anywhere in Thailand after getting a negative Covid test within 24 hours of our arrival.
The earliest we could find a ticket to Thailand was for the 27th of December. Joan booked hers, but when I tried to book mine, it said they were sold out. As it happened, there was only one seat available on that date. The next available two tickets were for December 29th.
In the end, that benefited us in multiple ways. First, while waiting at the airport, we met another couple whose original Dec 27th flight had been canceled. Second, the only option for leaving on December 29th was to book a flight in business class. While it meant using 65k mileage points instead of 40k, it turned out to be well worth the difference.
After booking the flight, we were informed that we would be assigned to bed-type seats and were presented with a list of at least 25 types of complimentary meals. We chose the Hindu meal figuring it to be the healthiest and most flavorful of the options.
On the day of our departure, Joan’s Dad drove us to the airport despite it being a four hour round trip for him. When we arrived, Joan told me that the breast she’d had surgery on had begun to hurt. She contacted her doctor, stepped into the airport bathroom to snap a couple pictures of the surgery site, and was informed that the pain was natural from the swelling and there was nothing to be worried about.
Undeterred, we headed to the Covid testing station at the airport to get our required pre-trip test. I was glad I had booked an appointment because, with the outbreak of Omicron, I’d read about the difficulty in getting tested. The line was so long at the test station, that one of the workers urged those of us with appointments to follow him to their secondary testing site.
We had to walk through a construction area, moving a barrier and crossing four lanes of traffic to get to the other side of the airport. I’ll be honest, I am pretty disgusted by the US testing system. At the airport in Mexico city, there are several testing stations outside the airport with no appointment required, and they provide results within 10 minutes at a cost of $30. In what is supposed to be one of the best developed countries in the world, we had to walk through a construction zone and then wait 6 hours to get our results, for which we had to pay $125 each.
The flight delay I’d awoken to that morning was significant since it was an hour and a half delay, and the layover in Japan was only two hours. I thought it best we get to the airport as soon as possible, but the first shuttle we tried to catch from the airport to our hotel was full. I called Japan Airlines and waited on hold until the next shuttle arrived. The phone representative didn’t think we would be able to make the connection but suggested we talk with the ticketing agent at the airport.
When we arrived at the airport, the agent acted as if everything was normal, and I was impressed that JAL was going with the f@%# it attitude: “We’ll work it out when you get to Japan.” It didn’t seem like a wise idea since current Covid regulations in Japan only allowed for transit through the airport, and overnight stays or leaving the airport was prohibited.
The agent examined our passports, vaccination cards, Covid test results, but I was flabbergasted when she asked if we had an exit flight from Thailand. We had already had to jump through many hurdles to get approval to enter Thailand, but because the Thai visa was only for 45 days, they wanted to know how we planned to leave the country, a prerequisite I had not anticipated.
We’d already had to book and pay in advance for a one day quarantine hotel in Bangkok. That guaranteed that we would be picked up by the hotel shuttle, taken for a Covid test and locked in our room until we received a negative result. We needed that approval and travelers insurance that guaranteed Covid coverage before we could apply for the Thai Test and Go pass. The traveler’s insurance was no big deal since I always carry that, and World Nomads has coverage for Covid 19.
I quickly hopped on my phone to search for the cheapest flight I could book out of Thailand, and I bought two to Singapore for $100. I emailed the confirmation to the desk agent, and we were on our way to the gate. I cannot express enough how nice it is to have Global entry, a pre-approval process that allows you to not only enter the US after nothing more than a facial recognition scan, but also allows you to take advantage of TSA pre-check. We conveniently bypassed the long line of holiday travelers, some of whom had already been delayed for days.
One thing we hadn’t counted on when booking business class was access to the Star Alliance lounge. We arrived at the airport early because we wanted to be first in line if there were any flight changes or cancellations to be negotiated. With our easy check in, we had 5 hours to spend at the airport, and I can’t imagine a place more comfortable than the Star Alliance lounge at LAX.
It included a full breakfast and coffee unlike any I’ve ever had out of a machine. In retrospect, I think that’s more about the beans you put into it than the machine it comes out of, and those were good beans.
There was also a cocktail lounge where you could make yourself a mimosa or a bloody mary. We decided that if our flight was any further delayed, we’d spend the duration of our time in this lounge as they served three meals a day. In my head, I added up the costs I would have spent on breakfast and lunch at the airport, and it began to edge towards the cost of the business class upgrade and I felt validated at the use of the extra miles.
With no further delays announced on the message board, we headed for the gate, but a couple more hurdles would be thrown our way. When we arrived at the gate, we were told the flight would be delayed 15 minutes further in order to decontaminate the cabin; then again we were delayed as we sat on the tarmac waiting for clearance from the tower. Flights that are already behind are given a lower priority than those that are running on time.
When we took off, I was actually surprised since I’d already begun to formulate the alternative plan of spending the winter in Mexico. I figured if things got too complicated with Thailand, we could catch a flight to somewhere else from LAX, and had I prepared myself to begin searching for flights to Belize or Oaxaca. I’d even begun entertaining planning a couple tours in Mexico for my Meetup group.
When we arrived in Japan, I realized the reason that the airline agent wasn’t worried about our missing our connection was because ⅔ of our flight had that same connection, and they held the connecting flight until we were all on board.
The delay meant that we didn’t arrive until after midnight on the 31st, but we would still be able to celebrate NYE in Bangkok, provided we passed our Covid test. After clearing customs, we were escorted to a taxi. The airport representative took a picture of the taxi license, the taxi driver, and the two of us sitting in the taxi before signing off on our departure.
Even though it was early in the morning, I was excited to be passing through Bangkok, as the taxi driver headed down the left side of the highway. Already enjoying the exotic experience of driving on the other side of the road. The driver pulled into a hospital, rolled down both of the rear windows, and the tester came to each us for our nasal swabs. While we thought this to be a convenient way to do it, we did get an overly aggressive technician, and Joan later described the experience as the equivalent of a nose rape.
After the unpleasant but efficient experience, we were driven to and checked into our hotel. The staff member told us that we were to be quarantined in our rooms until they had our test results, something she expected to be delivered by the time we woke up in the morning.
At 9am, the phone rang, and we were told we could leave our room and that we were free to travel Thailand. We spent the day on a ferry along the Chao Phraya river before joining up with my friend Vora for a New Years Eve party and fireworks along the river.
Against all odds, Joan and I had converted a one week fling to the beginning of a new life together for both of us starting right here in Bangkok, about as far from our old lives as we could possibly have gotten.
