Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Warmth

Hi,

This morning Daku sensed that something was different. Suitcases on the floor, lots of running around, and signs he's seen before. "Yes Daku, we're going on a trip."

That 'Easy Monday' song was "Stairway to Heaven" by Led Zeppelin. On to another Wednesday 'year' as chosen by Seth. Anything after 1974 means 1975 to me. (555) Our first 'Song of '75' was written by a couple of musical giants who knew what they were talking about in this tune: "__, (__) makes a man think things over. __, (__) let's him loose, hard to swallow. __, (__) puts you there where things are hollow, __ (__)."

We left the house right on time. At the airport there was a question about one of our bags. The x-ray tech saw something she wasn't sure of, and it looked like a circle. What? We had to open the bag and look for the circle. No circle could be found so they x-rayed it again. This time I looked over her shoulder and I did see a circular image in one corner of the bag. They let it go and we checked in. It turns out that the circle was the margarine we had in an insulated bag. Hmm.

The flight from Chiang Rai to Bangkok was almost full. Our seats were behind the wing and we had an open seat. That's always nice. We managed to get in a little snooze on the way to BKK. After all, it was nap time. A smooth landing and a standing bus ride to the terminal was all it took to be wide awake. Once our bags were collected we went to door five in the main entry to look for the rep from our hotel. It was nice to be driven into town in something other than a taxi. Our car was the biggest Toyota in town and very comfy.

Our friend Jaffee booked the hotel for us since he's stayed there numerous times. I'm writing to you from the 22nd floor. They call it the 'Executive Floor' and it comes with a few perks. Of course we don't need a 'Happy Hour', but the cup of fresh coffee in the 24th floor lounge was a nice touch.

One of our missions on this layover was to shop for wetsuits. We took the SkyTrain during rush-hour to the Siam exit, where there are three department stores right next door to each other. We found the shop that sold the suits, but they didn't have what we wanted, so we'll buy them in The States. The next stop was iStudio, better known as the Apple Store. I finally got a straight answer about the iPhone 4S. It won't be released in Thailand until Friday of this week. As a consolation, I got a device that snaps onto my iPad and has a little horn to amplify the sounds from the speaker. Just what I needed, and it needs no batteries.

Before we left Chiang Rai I had called our friend Pete, who is lives in Bangkok. We spent a day with him and his girlfriend Jaeb back in May. They offered to meet us at Siam Paragon, and our visit changed the whole tone of the evening. Pete has a great sense of humor and is very quick. After dinner Lisa and I each had a Krispy Kreme donut and they had ice cream. Pete has a pre-release iPhone and told us tales of his relationship with the program 'Siri'. You can talk to it and it will reply. When Pete asked 'her' if she would marry him her response was: "Marry you, I hardly know you."

Tomorrow morning we actually get to sleep past 6:30. Not much later though, since we have to leave the hotel by 8:45 to reach the airport at the right time for international check-in. It's all quite simple, and yet so complicated. This will be the last post until we reach America. Oh boy, fast internet.

It's Time for Wacky Wednesday.

Peace,
Danny

"The consciousness of loving and being loved
brings a warmth and richness to life
that nothing else can bring."
~Oscar Wilde

No comments: