Ok, well I don't know how to begin to articulate the last 48 hours + of my life. My eyes are blood shot, I am as sleepy as ever, I have virtually no belongings here, and am jjjjeeetttllaggged... so here is my best attempt to recap...
2/13 8:15 am Carlsbad Airport -
On time
1 checked bag full of all my stuff
1 laptop bag with work and personal laptop and See's chocolate for our office
1 awesome owl bag with 3 books, 1 bible, makeup bag, jewelery, and purse
Normally I pack a back-up outfit, shoes, underwear, and deodorant. However, this time I was packing and I was like you know I waste space doing this everytime, I'm over it. So I packed back-up nothing.
9:30 am LAX -
About an hour until our flight to Tokyo leaves. I am preoccupied with collecting breakfast and lunch before our 12 hour flight to Tokyo. My biggest concern is the cougar wearing the same shiny spandex pants as me - ugh nothing worse than showing up to LAX and some chick wearing the same outfit as you.
11:40 am LAX -
Board plane. Awesome, I am in premium economy and no one is in the seat next to me. Life is good
12 pm LAX -
"attention folks we have no water pressure and are actually losing water". Mechanics run up and down the isles.
1 pm LAX -
"alright folks we are good to go, it was a value that was shut off. the mechanics fixed it up. Prepare for take off"
1.05 pm LAX -
Taxi back 5mm. Stop.
1:30 pm LAX -
"Well folks. we are losing our water from the back. We are bringing the mechanics back on". English speaking passengers - sighs of disgusts, rolling eyes, and nervous lip biting. Non-english speaking passengers - panicked looking around for a translation.
2 pm LAX
"Passengers of 891 please deboard the plane, take all personal belongings. If you have missed your connecting flight please consult customer service at 71B." We only had a 2 hour lay-over in Tokyo, we have missed our connector, off to 71B we go.
2:10 p.m :AX
In line at customer service 3 reps, approx. 25 people ahead of us.
2:40 pm LAX
2 service reps. 20 people ahead of us. Contact our travel department.
2:58 pm LAX
1 service rep. 19 people ahead of us.
3:15 pm LAX
Lay on the floor and commiserate with other passengers. Travel department responds that they have booked us on Thai airways departing at 9:30 pm but we have to confirm with UA at the airport (aka stay in line)
3:45 pm LAX
Situps in line.
4 pm LAX
Doing the plank in line, 60 sec intervals. Mical is embarrassed
4:15 pm LAX
Reading
4:20 pm LAX
Girl asks to cut us. Excuse appears reasonable and I feel bad, I say yes. 5 people ahead of us.
4:30 pm LAX
2 customer service reps. 2 people ahead of us
4:40 pm LAX
I approach the counter. to rep - hello, how are you? We were on flight 891 that was having problems. Rep - Please get back in line, i did not call you. Me (not out loud) - !?!??!&%^
4:45 pm LAX
Rep - next please. Me - you need to book us on flight 795 to Bangkok at 9:30 pm on Thai airways, now
5 pm LAX
Rep - well I can't confirm you are on Thai airways, you will have to go to the counter yourself and confirm. Oh and your luggage has been sent on to Tokyo. Mical and I - ahhhhhhhh kill us.
--
We eventually make our way to the international terminal, confirm our bookings with Thai Air which is a direct 1.5 hour flight to Bangkok, and settle into the bar/restaurant.
Then it hits us. We have nothing. Mical is scrubbed out and I am in shiny spandex and a volcom hoodie. My director recommends we take a taxi to the Nordstroms rack .5 miles away from LAX. Serious?!?!?! with the luck we've been having today, thank you but NO.
--
8:15 pm LAX
We make the final boarding call for flight 795.. we walkthrough the ticket check and walk out on to a bus. Mical has had it - "seriously, a bus, wtf, are we driving to Bangkok?" I am dying laughing. We proceed to drive across various tarmacs with no lights on and passing through "stop for planes" signs. Eventually we arrive at a massive jet. We board and taxi forever. It was soo long, I couldn't stop laughing. Mical had hit his "point". It reminded me of when we got lost on the way back from Kyoto in Japan.
... the next 17.5 hours...
I sleep a solid 12 of them. I pound some chicken curry, woke up for breakfast in an ambien haze which consisted of peas, potatoes, and egg (i think), and a funky lunch of which I can seriously not remember, still in an ambien haze.
arrive 7 am BKK (thai time)
We make our way through customers to the baggage claim customer service. We stink and we are exhausted but it's time to practice thai.
Me - Swandee Ka
Rep - Hello
Ok english it is. We carefully explain our situation.
Rep - Ok, so you originated from Carlsbad, New Mexico
Me - What? No, California
Rep - not Carlsbad
Me - No not New Mexico. Carlsbad, California
Rep - i don't understand.
!!!!!!!! We finally get close enough to an understanding. The rep assures us our bags will come, eventually. Rad.
--
Mical and I head for the exit and are pleasantly surprised to find a driver waiting to take us to the hotel, score.
--
Driver - You like club, you like small men, you go Siracco (no idea on the spelling)
Me - No I like tall men
Driver - hahaha, you like tall men
oh goodness, welcome to Thailand
--
Check in at the hotel. Mical and I agree not to shower, because really what is the point, we have nothing to change into. We drop our laptops in our room and head out for necessities. I smell. Deodorant and a toothbrush never sound so nice to me.
-
1 pm Bangkok
We managed to sort our toiletries out and head off to Chitsolim for apparel. We take the sky train which requires us to grab the bar above our heads to stabilize. I sigh to myself, thank goodness we picked up deodorant first.
We make it to Central World Mall and for me it was like an adult shopping in the children's section. Meh. We managed to find clothes that worked. i think.
5 pm Bangkok
We head back to the hotel, opting to walk rather than take the sky train. At this point it is 34 C and saying it was humid would be putting it mildly. I am glad we walked, because I had fun, but my word, hot hot hot, I have never seen so many sweaty people pass me by. Like literally people were soaked through their shirts... but maybe i am the pot.
5:30 pm Bangkok
I smell. Like really smell. And then we realize we were so focused on buying clothes for work tomorrow we've forgotten to get anything to wear tonight after we shower. We grumble, roll our eyes, and decide eating isn't worth it. We'd rather stay in our rooms then attempt to shop again.
6:30 pm Bangkok
The best shower ever. I also realized my shower only has two temperatures hot and hotter. Cold water doesn't exist. I also decided to do laundry in my hotel sink, oh wait, my detergent is in my checked bag. Ahahahhaah my life.
8 pm Bankok
Here I sit, ready to crawl into bed, but I am try to wait until 9pm... we'll see:)
That is it, for now:) Love you mom and dad! Ps. i also appear to be allergic to Bangkok mosquitoes like in Yosemite, good thing I brought the extra strength cortisone cream you gave me mom, oh wait.. that's in the check luggage... oh well, they only attacked my face :) Ahahahhahah :)
