Tuesday, June 2, 2009

June 1 / May 31 -- depending where you are -- Bangkok Airport


June 1 / May 31 -- depending where you are.

Today I discovered that airport food in Thailand is about the same as airport food anywhere. It’s weird, rubbery and over priced. The beer is nice though. Singha. Unfortunately I can already feel its effects on my exhausted mind and a comfortable place to sleep is going to be hard to come by here.

The flights were nicer than I expected and I got a little bit of rest, but not nearly enough. Now, after a 2 hour stop in Taipei, I’m on the big layover in Bangkok (9 hours total).

The Bangkok airport is quite nice. High ceilings, modern architecture -- cement, exposed ducts, beveled sheet-metal offset by faux mahogany. I don’t check in for my next flight for another––hmm, need to change the time on this computer––five and a half hours. So I’m trying to decide how to occupy my time. Normally I’d just drink, but I’m not too sure about the exchange rate here or extra charges for using my debit card, so I want to take it easy. Plus, I want to have some kind of head on my shoulders when I land in Nepal.

So far everything’s gone smoothly. But the real test will come upon landing in Kathmandu. There’s supposed to be a Bandhs or general strike today. This is apparently enough cause for concern that Dale, the director of the CEDPA office in KTM, notified me in advance via email, with a tone of urgent concern. Kashish (the friend who is supposed to be picking me up at the airport) said it “shouldn’t be a problem” but I lack his confidence. I also lack his phone number or any way of reaching him should we have trouble finding each other at the airport.

The next thing I need to do is find an internet connection. (man, this food is gross). Once I get connected I can send Kashish an email with my plan. It goes like this: There are shuttles that will take travelers to popular hotels when a Bandh is in progress. If I can’t find Kashish I’ll hop on one of these busses, get a hotel room and wait it out. Should be a piece of cake. If it gets later in the day, I should be able to contact Nick on his cell. He’s getting back into ktm the same day I am, but in the evening. Alright. got the plan, time to execute.

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