The Return

After leaving Detroit around 2 p.m. on a Thursday, and twenty-plus hours in the air, I arrived in Bangkok around 11 p.m. on a Friday.  Where did my Friday go?  I remember watching some movies, eating a lot of airplane food, laying across three seats for a quick nap in Tokyo's Narita airport, and making some headway reading The Shipping News (brilliant writing). Guess that could make my Friday disappear - can't help but feel a little cheated, though.

Bangkok airport was surprisingly crowded for such a late hour.  Following a long walk from the gate to immigration, I was now an experienced expat with my passport and Arrival Card at the ready.  I was mildly concerned when the immigration officer took a long time checking my passport, while three people passed quickly through the lane next to me.  But after dutifully standing on the shoe prints on the floor to pose for my entry photo, I was cleared to proceed to baggage claim.  I had been spoiled traveling with my SkyMiles Priority spouse, with luggage always arriving at the carousel quickly; but on my own, my "low priority" status meant waiting a while before my bags appeared. The customs guys were casually scanning people's luggage as we walked through the "nothing to declare" line, and I was quickly on my way.

I called Mick to say I was on my way out, and after unsuccessfully holding my breath through the rather long smoking zone and weaving my way through a multitude of monks, I easily found him at the usual meeting spot.  "So wat dee kap, Madam!"  (Nice to be back.)  Mick loaded my bags, but we were somewhat hemmed in by other cars, so he uncharacteristically sat patiently at curbside, waiting to pull out.  He showed me a picture of a really long fish he caught the day before, about which he was quite proud.  Finally, he managed to squeeze around the vehicles and head out, but then said, "Sorry, madam, have to go back, maybe pay some money."  In my jet lag fog, I didn't pay much attention.  He circled back around to the same spot, put the car in park and ran into the airport.  (Do I need to pull up "driver bathroom" on my translate app again?)  I was looking down at my phone when someone knocked on the window - it was Tim!  Mick pulled off the ruse perfectly.  What a nice surprise - Tim had told me on the phone that Mick was going to drive him back to Pattaya after he got in from India about five hours ahead of my arrival, then Mick would drive back to get me.  Instead, we had a nice hotel room in Bangkok, happily postponing the drive back to Pattaya until the next day.  We were able to spend about twenty minutes of our thirty-third wedding anniversary together before the clock struck midnight.  Fun Fact:  May 1st is Labor Day in Thailand - a national holiday!

We were back at Suvarnabhumi Suites (I no longer have to look up how to spell that!), where we'd stayed before our trip to Delhi.  This time we had a pretty little deck that overlooked a koi pond and

decorative waterfall, with the swimming pool just beyond.  Tim said they called this "a view of the city" when he checked in.  Breakfast was served until ten a.m., so I woke Tim at what I thought was nine.  We again enjoyed the rooftop breakfast, although french toast without syrup leaves something to be desired.  We lingered on the roof, enjoying the view, since we had until noon to check out.  We headed to the lobby at what I thought was precisely twelve noon.  After checking out, Tim looked at his own phone and said it was only eleven o'clock - huh?  I realized I was still looking at Michigan time, which was eleven hours behind.  Oops.  Made for a bit of a long wait in the little lobby for our driver, but the time passed quickly.  Had to grab a picture of this cool Transformers(?) structure in the parking lot before heading out.

The traffic coming back from Bangkok was very heavy, and it took almost two-and-a-half hours to get back to Pattaya.  Mick was in fine "creative" driving form, something to which I'll have to readjust.  We stopped home for about an hour, then went for a late lunch/early dinner at one of our favorite places, The Coffee Club.  They have, hands down, the absolute best waitstaff in the city.  The first time we went, we thought we were lucky to have such a great waitress.  But it has been true every time we've come, no matter who waits on us.  Hats off to you, Coffee Club!

We shared some delicious "Vietnamese spring rolls" stuffed with crab and prawns.  The shell was very unique; it looked like shredded coconut, tasted a bit like a crispy rice, and was crunchy and delicious.  I also had a delicious passion fruit "shaken" tea and a tasty chicken and avocado wrap.  Yum.

I managed to stay awake the whole day, as is recommended to battle jet lag, and kept busy with unpacking and finding places for all the stuff I brought from home.  I headed out to "temple" at five-thirty.  The road construction near the church is now in full gear, and I wonder if we will even be able to get into the church lot next week.  Found out Father Francis, the pastor, has left for another assignment, with two new priests coming to replace him.  I wonder how their English will be... Five mini alter servers were in attendance today.  The smallest one seemed to be the one in charge, correcting the form of the others.

Ran into Tesco-Lotus after mass to pick up a few grocery essentials (no good veggies left at the end of the day, unfortunately), then Tim and I picked up "House of Cards" where we left off in March.  We thought we'd finished Season Two, but, holy moly, did we miss the juiciest bits.  I had Frank Underwood invading my dreams that night, and not in a pleasant way; not the best show to watch before going to sleep.  Kevin Spacey is so good at being bad.  I bet this show gives Obama bad dreams, too...