Almost Time to Leave

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TWO DAYS OF PACKING

It is the morning of the day we leave. Jerry has been working 24 hours a day on finishing his projects for all of his classes. Meanwhile I have been trying to tie up all the loose ends at the office. Work is almost done, but still much to do before we get on the plane. We did last minute trip shopping yesterday then began packing. Since neither of us has been to Asia before, deciding what to pack was a challenge. Jerry wants to take 5 pair of shoes, but that puts you over the baggage weight limit very quickly. I have few slacks to take, for reasons that need not be discussed here, so I packed mostly shirts and other necessary items. Last night and now this morning the packing is done. Only one day of work and school, then on the plane and Thailand here we come.

THE ITENIARY

Bangkok - 5 nights

Cruise to Ayutthaya - 2 nights/3 days

Overnight trian/bus to Phuket

Koh Yao Noi 5 nights

Bangkok - Final night in Thailand


The real story begins tomorrow, well later today now. We fly out of San Fransisco to Taipei connect to Bangkok. Our flight from Portland, Oregon leaves at 7:17 pm. I splurged and used some United miles to upgrade us to First class for that portion. Unfortunately, China Airlines is not part of United network so we were unable to upgrade to business class for the flight over. Heres hoping that we get lucky and can upgade at the last minute for not to much money. Well I can dream can't I?

The flight to Taipei/Bangkok leaves at 2:05 am Friday. We will arrive in Bangkok at 10:05 am on Saturday. Will be the shortest Friday of my life.

A LITTLE ABOUT THE TRIP

In Bangkok we will doing a great deal of sight seeing and having some clothes tailor made. We also hope to get off the beaten path and experience life as the locals live it. One thing for sure, is we will be in search of the best drag show in down, or as the Thai's say ladyboy show.

The cruise is to get out of the city, and expereince river life and visit the ancient capital of Siam. This will be our first cruise of any kind and I think we may get a little spoiled. There are only 4 state rooms on board.

After the cruise we take an overnight train, then bus to Phuket. From Phuket we take a boat over to Koh Yao Noi (little long island). This part of the trip is pure relaxation after the heavy city experience and sight seeing.

The last night in Thailand will be back in Bangkok. It is our tradition to have a very nice dinner the last night of a long trip. Where we will stay and dine is always a last minute decision. In Barcelona we lucked into a 5 star hotel for $200 (regular price $800). Thank you hotels.com.

The final night of our trip will be in San Fransisco, a night to catch up on jet lag and readjust to Pacific Daylight Time.

Stay tune for more as we begin our travels.

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