Thailand: Our Trip Begins...

Our trip began back in August. Melinda accepted a position to teach English in Thailand. I wanted to visit her in her soon to be new home, and my mother said let's all go to Thailand. Fast forward to December 26, after months of planning and anticipation we were off for an adventure. I have never flown internationally, so leaving LAX through Bradley made me anxious. I anticipated long lines of holiday travelers but instead was greeted with little to no line at the ticket window and security. Unsure of when our next meal would be, we picked up a quesadilla at the food court. Our first flight, which was 15 hours, was on an Airbus 380 which is HUGE. It is a double decker plane that seats over 600 people. To load the plane, the staff queued lines for the various sections of the plane, check our tickets ahead of time, and filed into plane. Within 25 mins everyone was loaded and the flight attendants began the safety speech, in Chinese.
Even though we were in coach, each seat had their own TV screen with unlimited movie, TV, e-books, games, and a live map that tracked our journey. Within an hour we were served refreshments, and then dinner. We had the option of chicken with rice and steamed vegetables or beef bourguignon with mashed potatoes and peas and carrots. Each plate also had a fruit cup with cantaloupe and the most delicious pineapple, and a strange side of chicken salad and two slices of turkey deli meat. After dinner number 2, we all pulled on our eye masks, put on our neck pillows and attempted to sleep with some success for the next 8 hours.
The second half of our flight included watching some movies, reading, and breakfast. Each meal on our journey was progressively more Chinese. We had two options for breakfast: Western or Chinese. The Western breakfast included a slice of egg fritatta, roasted rosemary potatoes, and a slice of basil steamed tomato. The Chinese selection was Shrimp Congee, I can only describe it as rice cooked with too much water to make a porridge topped with 3 shrimp and a few slices of carrot and ginger. Each breakfast was served with a strawberry yogurt, a fruit cup, and a croissant. The Chinese idea of bread is not what I consider good eats. We didn't eat the rolls the night before and the croissants were terrible. Also coffee should be avoided. It is way to strong and bitter and the only cream is weird non dairy powdered creamer. The tea is delicious. Always choose the tea.
We landed in Guang Zhou at 5am local time and very cold. China was clearly in winter and the weather was similar to back home, 50 degrees and foggy. We went through Chinese immigration which included passport inspection as well as a brief health inspection to ensure that no one had a fever or any visible signs of contagious virus or infection. Our layover was 3 hours and our tummies were signaling that it was time for another meal. The food in the terminal was limited. Allison found and coffee and noodle shop. We ordered coffee (which of course was terrible) and a chicken mushroom noodle soup and a beef brisket noodle soup. Both were delicious, however most of the beef pieces were fatty so we only ate the noodles and drank the broth.
Our second flight took us from Guang Zhou to Bangkok. The plane was much smaller, more like a Southwest flight from LA to Phoenix. The plane did not have fancy TV's in the headrests, and the staff knew little English. The flight was a three hour flight and included yet another meal. Lunch was a "Chinese Snack" of a dried out Shi Boa (pork sticky bun like at dim sum) with red bean curd or a "Muslim meal" of spaghetti with a cream sauce and shrimp. Neither were good. But again we were offered a bread option, fruit cup consisting of kumquats and a steamed veggie cup with carrots, green beans, and cauliflower. Again the tea was delicious.
There was some turbulence on the second flight, and the landing was not as smooth as our first one, but we had safely arrived. After disembarking, we headed to a water fountain for clean drinking water and then stood in line to go through immigration. We noticed a lot of Russians and Indians visiting on winter vacation. Claiming our bags was easy enough and we wheeled our way out to the taxi pick up. The taxi at the airport was very well organized with an English speaking woman who inquired about our destination, number of people and size of luggage. Our bags were large and required an SUV taxi. The fare was only 700 Baht from the airport to the front door of our hotel, and it was quite the ride. Our driver did not speak any English but let me tell you hand gestures and smiles work wonders here. He artfully drove through the heart of Bangkok, taking us on the highway, the toll roads, and short cuts through other hotels and businesses to avoid the busy streets.
Within 25 mins we were at our hotel, Heaven @ 4 in Sukhimvit Rd Soi 4. Our hotel is considered boutique, so it is not of the traditional british style and is fairly similar to an hipster or modern hotel back home. All of the rooms are various colors and the staff is extremely accommodating and helpful. Upon entering your room, you must stick your room key into a slot on the wall for the lights and air conditioning to work. This is one of the many green features of Thailand. They are very conscious of their energy and water consumption and have developed interesting methods to prevent wastefulness.