Bangkok November 2007

This past November we had the opportunity to go Bangkok. Continental airlines signed a deal to do a military charter for some Japanese troops that needed to go to Kuwait. Kelly was lucky enough to get part of the charter. His job was to fly to Nagoya, Japan, pick up the troops and then fly them to Bangkok. Another Continental crew would them fly them from Bangkok to Kuwait City. Since Kelly had a four day layover in Bangkok we decided that it would be fun if I met him out there with the kids. Another great thing about the trip was that the second FO (first officer) flying on the trip was our neighbor; his family also wanted to go. Having my neighbor to fly with made things a lot easier and way more fun.


We woke up at 5 am, flew to Fukuoka Japan, and then got on a Thai Air flight to Bangkok! If anyone else reading this also flies non-rev (Allie) you know that you don't always get treated very well. In Guam because this is such a small base everyone takes care of each other. We have found that flying as a non-rev out here is much easier and everyone is more accommodating.


Well after flying on a foreign carrier Guam isn't even impressive. When we got off the plane in Fukuoka an airport worker met us at the gate and took us into another room. At first we didn't really know what was going on... the gate agent then proceeded to check us into our Thai Air flight, made sure that each family sat together (as a non-rev that is sooooo rare), and made sure that I sat at the bulkhead, because I had a baby. Then they sent a private security guard to come down and scan us personally so that we wouldn't have to wait in the long lines. It was so nice! And the room we were in was HUGE so the little kids could run around and get out some energy before our next flight which was 5 1/2 hours. When that was all finished they escorted us up to our gate. Talk about SERVICE!!!!!! The Japanese are so organized and so accommodating.


Then on our Thai flight the flight attendants made a man move so that I could have the bigger group of seats at the bulkhead, and she made sure that I had the bassinet to use. Maybe none of this seems like a big deal. But in the states when you fly non-rev they could care less if you are traveling with a baby. Maybe every now and then you get a nice flight attendant who will fill up a bottle or a sippy cup, but that is the extent of the service.


They brought games and toys for Liam, they never woke us up to serve us food. And if we were awake they checked on us every 10 minutes at least!


We got to Bangkok exhausted but ready for some fun. The hotel that Continental had booked was 5-star! It had a kitchen, living/dining room, and a separate bedroom. It was awesome!!!!!


We did a riverboat tour on a local river taxi, we road tuk-tuk's, we saw beautiful temples (or wats), and we ATE ATE ATE ATE ATE all the time. The food was UNBELIEVABLE!!!!!! We also inhaled an unbelievable amount of pollution!!!!!!!! I could feel my lungs turning black with every breath. We also got caught in some tourists traps, and several people tried to rip us off! it was just what you would expect a vacation in Thailand to be!


My favorite part was my many massages. My wonderful husband agreed to watch the kids, some times twice a day, so that I could enjoy some of the amazing Thai massages. It was so cheap over there, that you felt like you had to take advantage! The first day and got an hour leg massage, a mani/pedi, and an hour shoulder/neck/head massage... all for the grand total of $12. AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


My neighbor and I went the next day to get some full-body massages. Let me warn you for anyone going to Thailand soon... the full body massage is very full body! And no I don't mean from one of the red-light district massage parlors either, this place was nice and clean and legit. But I think I made a CRAZY face when they went to uncover the front part of my top portion that they knew I wasn't comfortable. I didn't know what to say but I think my face said it all! FUNNY!!!!! The girls were giggling in Thai (where is Stacy when you need her).


The trip was fun too because Liam really noticed that we were in a different place. All of the wat's are decorated with lots of colors and gold. Every time we saw one Liam would say "Look at the Kingdom!" It was fun to watch him soak up everything and ask questions. He really noticed a lot.


Well this is getting longer than anyone probably wants to read.... so here are the pics!