Sawat dee Bangkok

I had completely forgotten that NZ Customs and Immigration screen you as you are leaving the country. It’s the only place I have ever been that does that. As I stood in line, I was a bit nervous that I was going to be grilled about my work permit situation. Unfortunately, I am waiting for a Canadian criminal record check in order to be able to process a new work permit and my current permit expires two days after I am planning to return to New Zealand. I lucked out though. The Customs officer never looked at my permit or even asked about it. After complimenting me on my hair, he asked me about my travel plans. I think maybe I shocked him with the fact that I was going to Thailand for 46 days with almost no plans and he forgot about the work permit. I suppose this is the most unplanned trip I have ever done. I also think that will make it one of the best.

It’s been awhile since I have had problems with flights so inevitably I was due. No issues from Auckland to Sydney, but a broken air conditioner delayed our departure from Sydney by an hour and 15 minutes. That meant that I only arrived in Bangkok at 12:20 am which is 6:20 am New Zealand time. I managed to get a bit of sleep on and off on the plane, but arrived pretty sleepy nonetheless. I think Bangkok has taken over the top spot for my least favourite airport. I think the combination of poor signage and my tiredness resulted in me not being able to figure out how to get outside to the taxis! Eventually I made my way out and walked up to the taxi stand. The guy looked at my paper with the name and address of the hostel and wrote something down on a slip of paper and sent me off with a driver. I wasn’t quite on the ball when I got in and it took me about 30 seconds after we left to notice that the meter wasn’t running. Travel rule number one – ALWAYS ensure the meter is running in a taxi. (This rule doesn’t apply in some places where meters aren’t used, but in that case you always agree on the fare before getting in.) I pointed the non-running meter out to the driver who of course spoke no English. He pressed the button a bunch of times as if to show me that it wasn’t working and said something that sounded like “incident”. I figured it was my first night in Bangkok, it was probably good odds I was going to be ripped off. As it turned out, I was wrong. The price he charged me was actually less than what the hostel website says it should cost from the airport. I was so focused on finding my way out of the airport that I forgot to buy some water. So after checking in at my hostel I went wandering the streets at 2:00 am to find a 7-Eleven. Surprisingly this did not seem scary at all. With my sleep pattern and sense of day/night all screwed up, I ended up hacking into an unsecured wireless network to do a bit of research until about 4 am. Then I managed to get a couple hours of sleep before waking up at 6. A lazy morning and a pricey breakfast at the hostel were followed by the quest for a SIM card so I could call my potential CouchSurfing host for the night. Now I am going to head across the river to the Dragon Five Social Club, my couch for the night. Looks like an interesting place...