Up early to get a cab to the airport. After negotiating a price we set off through the winding streets of Kathmandu. My flight was for 9:30 and I should have been at the airport by 6:30, but with the late start and the traffic I didn't arrive until 7:30. Went to check in and they told me that the flight to Delhi was delayed and as a result I would probably miss my connecting flight to Bangkok. So they told me to stand aside with two other people in the same situation and they were trying to figure out what to do. I wasn't thrilled, but upon reflection, I haven't had any airport problems this who trip. So, I waited for a half hour and then they came and took us to a different check in desk and put us on a direct flight to Bangkok! Problem solved. Plus it got to Bangkok four hours earlier than I supposed to.
Then I caught a cab from the airport to my hotel. I could have been in Toronto, big highway, big cars, and modern highrises and skyscrapers. Then we got stuck in a major traffic jam, which was Friday afternoon rush hour. Plus, it was quiet... I didn't hear any horns honking and there were no cows!!
The hotel is beautiful, the room terrific and it has a nice pool on the roof. I asked the reception man if he knew of a company that might organize visas, and he did. I called them, and it seems like they can get me visas for Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and China! The more I want to pay the faster I can get them. Unfortunately, they can't do them on the weekend. So I will visit them tomorrow and check it out, and enjoy a couple of days in Bangkok.
Then I went up to the roof and had a swim in the pool. I struck up a conversation with a Norwegian named Thor, who comes here a few times a year for work. He came here 25 years ago as a backpacker and wound up marrying a Thai woman. After that I had a great Thai dinner at the hotel restaurant, before going back to the room for the night.
oh my goodness...how much things change in one plane ride
ReplyDeleteyou sure are not in Nepal any longer
that elephant looks nothing like the one you were sitting on last week
That is a beautiful hotel room
good to have a nice clean place to put your head if you are staying there for the week
Look forward to hearing how you like the Grand Palace and the reclining Buddah
When I was there --oh so many years ago , it was so hot and humid and polluted I was happy to get to the north of Thailand. maybe you will get a chance to get up there with your Indo China tour
instead of Wheres Waldo , this past few months has been "Wheres Joe now?"
No cows!
ReplyDeletemmm...Thai food