Asian Adventure 2020: Day 4

We had somewhat of a busy travel day because we left Bangkok and flew to Phuket!  We checked out of our hotel this morning at 10:30 am and took a taxi to the airport, which was about a 30-minute ride, then checked in for our flight and grabbed a bite to eat before heading to our gate.

last view of Bangkok from our hotel room

anytime I see anything that reads
"A1A" I have to take a pic
because it makes me
think of the song
"Ice, Ice Baby"
LOL

We flew on Thai Airlines for the first time, and the flight was only about an hour and a half or so. For the most part, it was very uneventful until the end, when we were about to land. We were seriously SO close to the ground, when suddenly the plane accelerated and we rose back into the sky. There was no announcement or explanation of any kind, and it was clear that the passengers around us were as concerned as we were! Basically, we flew in a huge circle for fifteen minutes (according to the time stamps on my photos), approached the runway the same way a second time, and then the pilot was able to successfully land the plane. I don't know if that runway was not particularly long and our plane was large, or the pilot just overshot it or mistimed the landing, but I have never had that happened before and I'll be happy if it never happens again, because it kind of freaked me out! It was mostly the not-knowing-what-was-happening that I didn't care for, and frankly, I think they owed the passengers an explanation! I guess all's well that ends well, and that's what really matters, but that 15 minutes felt like an eternity!

look at these unsuspecting faces

FIRST landing attempt

back in the air!

circling

still circling

SECOND LANDING ATTEMPT
fifteen minutes after the first attempt

After we arrived in Phuket, we took a taxi to our hotel, and it was about a 45-minute ride, but the length of time wasn't the issue. It was the craziest taxi we've ever been in, filled with Christmas decor, Valentine's Day decor, stuffed animals, fake flowers, and curtains on the windows. Our driver was a very nice lady, but the traffic was terrible so she was weaving in and out of lanes and it seems like scooters just make up their own rules on the roads here, so it was a harrowing experience made worse by the fact that C's seatbelt did not work and he was holding on for dear life, while the temperature in the car felt like 120 degrees and the driver ate chunks of watermelon from a plastic grocery bag as she drove. I cannot make this stuff up!

As you might imagine, we were thrilled to finally arrive at our hotel and head up to our room. When we stepped off the elevator, we saw a boxing ring. At that point, I felt it had been such a bizarre day that I took a picture of it and continued down the hall because I'd already asked myself, "What is happening?!?" a million times throughout the day and it had gotten me nowhere.

what on earth

enjoy?

Thankfully, we went out to find some dinner and had a very nice meal in a calm, quiet restaurant, which is just what we needed after the lunacy of the day. We are headed to bed early because we have a 4:00 am wake up alarm for a fun day tomorrow!

Happy Tails to you!

Asian Adventure 2020: Day 3

We had a very fun day of being tourists in a new city! We took a hop-on/hop-off river tour and spent our time getting off at different stops and wandering about!

One thing thing that I am really loving about Bangkok is the blending of old and new. There are traditional buildings steeped in history and modern buildings that look like they're from the future, and somehow it all works!

In terms of public transportation, the only thing I can speak to is the sky train, but I was pretty impressed. We bought day passes and were able to navigate the system very easily to get around to places we wanted to see. I especially loved the orderly fashion in which people get on and off of the train - no pushing or shoving, just people getting on doing so from either side of the car doors, while people getting off disembarked through the center of the doors. There were even directions provided on the ground! SO smart! One of my pet peeves is when you're trying to get off an elevator and rude people are already pushing their way on as the doors open. That would not happen if these common procedures were put into place! Walking on the streets here is another story, however; there seems to be no rhyme or reason for which side of the sidewalk people use. It's very willy nilly and we found ourselves constantly having to cross from left to right and back again to avoid running into people. It really makes no sense at all!

We went over to a place called IconSiam for a few hours to see the nighttime water and light show, and while the World of Color show at Disney California Adventure has set an unattainable standard, it was a fun thing to watch and it was not crowded, which was great.

We'll be checking out of this hotel in the morning and heading to the airport for the next leg of our adventure, so stay tuned!

Happy Tails to you!