June 2007 archive

Re-routed through Mumbai

Tuesday, 26 Jun 2007 | Journal

It had never happened to me before. I was booked on a flight from Bangkok to Delhi last night (a mere 38 hours after arriving in Bangkok, what do you mean ‘home’?) and when I got to the airport all seats had been taken. Overbooked flight. Bad luck for this guy, I should have checked in earlier.

Of course I started raising hell, delaying my departure would take away a day in Delhi and that by no means was something I could afford. I did not care, put me in an economy seat, on the stewardess’ seat (she can sit on my lap, not an issue) or on the floor for all i care. To no avail, it was not going to happen. Okay, well then what can you do for me? Book you on Air India. Well, no. Although never experienced personally, the horror stories and the poor state of the airplanes (at least from the outside) made me not want to go down that route. The Jet Airways airport manager insisted, but Air India had no flights. The next alternative? Fly to Mumbai on Thai Airways, spend the night there and then fly to Delhi on Jet Airways in the morning. Ok, fine, whatever will get me there.

The hotel was pretty bad and on top of that I could not unwind from the evening, which resulted in me sleeping a mere 4 hours. Oh well, such is life.

“Good morning sir, this is your wake up call, your car is ready to take you to the airport. Kindly make it to the lobby by 6am.”

And thats what I did. The kind lady at Jet Airways the night before had checked me in and handed me a boarding card already, saving me some time at the airport. I departed from the domestic terminal, which is a whole new experience. No walkways into the plane … bus service and stair climbing! Well ok, fine, it was by no means the first time but it was the first time I was at an airport that had no walkways at all. Complete mayhem on the tarmac, India style. I boarded the plane, took out my laptop and forgot all about what had happened. Listening to some Dave Clarke, I’m sure I was not the quietest of passengers but I was very productive these early hours.

Mumbai (Bombay) seemed like an interesting city, what little I saw of it. It felt a little more organised than Delhi does, I felt right at home with all the palm trees lining the streets, it was described in the inflight magazine as the most exciting city in India and after departure the skyline seemed a lot more interesting than the Delhi skyline does. Perhaps worth a visit at some point in my life, to be combined with the beaches of Goa which I always hear great stories about. Note-to-self.

Me and my baby on a plane

Sunday, 24 Jun 2007 | Journal

The past week has been unreal. Much more than last time, have I spent time running around the country in trying to see people. I had a lot of fun at the Haagse Hogeschool, but wont bore you with the details of this. I saw quite a few people and enjoyed seeing my family and friends again, even though they were all brief visits and quick sitdowns.

The week was different than my previous visit. Perhaps because I had been in Holland only a few weeks before, it felt like a continuance more or less. One of the things I have learned on this and the previous visit is that a one week visit is too short to see friends and family the way I would prefer to. I think on a future visit, depending of course on the frequency of future visits, I will try to come for two weeks instead.

Leaving the Netherlands was easier than it was the two departures before. I guess both myself and others are getting used to it. My parents had come to the airport (my dad offered to deliver my espresso machine to the airport, thanks dad!) and Kim & Given were also there. I said goodbye to Kim and Given at the elevator, different and less emotional as a result. My mom and dad saw me off and even waited for the plane to take off (mail me the photos mom!). The weird thing is, I have no idea when exactly I will be returning. There are events which I guess might be worth returning for, but no plans and so better I not discuss it until I do.

And here I am, aboard an EVA Airways flight again and going back home, back to Bangkok. It is not a very pleasant flight, fully booked and with a lot of kids crying. I can’t really sleep anyway, so it doesnt really matter. I was able to negotiate with the Taiwanese family around me that the seat in front of me would not come back in exchange for giving up an isle seat. So I can at least use my computer. I’m halfway into the flight and flying into Aghan airspace. Looking out the window I can see the moon and on the horizon the last rays of sunlight disappearing behind us. Down below I can actually make out the roads, I guess because of the mountains everything is much closer to the plane and so easier to spot.

Down in the belly of the plane is my beloved espresso machine. I decided to take it with me and there was no extra cost or even an upgrade required. So, while it is a big thing to have with me, I’m happy I will now be able to make my own espresso. Won’t happen very often, but it never did back in Amsterdam either.

Back in Bangkok for just a day and a half and then onwards to New Delhi again for the rest of the week. Snapping back into reality and back to work again!

Too many flights

Sunday, 17 Jun 2007 | Journal

The last couple of weeks have been crazy I started early May with a trip to India. After that a week in Bangkok, onwards to Amsterdam for a week in the Netherlands. Upon return I spent exactly 13.5 hours in Bangkok and then flew to Delhi. Then two weeks in Bangkok and then back to Delhi again. And here I am, about an hour to go before I land in Amsterdam. And when I get back to Bangkok next week, its off to India again. Thats 6 trips in 8 weeks. Yikes.

When I landed in Bangkok yesterday morning (back from India), I had the most amazing view of Bangkok. Jet Airways arrives a few hours later than the Thai Airways flight I usually take from Delhi and thus arrives after sunrise. The plane flew just north of Bangkok and we had an absolutely breathtaking view of Bangkok. As the plane turned to land at the airport it became even more breathtaking because at that time the yellow blanket of smog covering the city became very visible. Still, I really did wish I had my camera with me.

When I flew to Amsterdam in May there were a few reasons to go there. This time, there really arent any I couldn’t have cancelled on. Originally, I thought I would have to physically be present in the Netherlands for a government formality. But during the visit in May I learned this was no longer required. There was of course the Haagse Hogeschool thing, but if I really wanted to I could have cancelled that.

In the end, I decided to go through with it and confirm the ticket. It is a cheap trip for me, because of the money I get for the Haagse Hogeschool thing. So I figured ‘why not’, but when I was in the airport this morning I was wondering ‘why’ …. almost there now, I am looking forward to being there for what is looking to again be a very busy week. The ‘to do’ list starts when I land at the airport and will ask EVA Airways for an okay to take my espresso machine back with me.

Blocked creditcard

Sunday, 10 Jun 2007 | Journal

The other day I had to buy some stock photos for our designer. So I pulled out my creditcard to pay for them and was greated by a message that said the transaction had failed because Mastercard refused it. So I went into Skype and called my bank (customer service can actually be reached via Skype, great service!) and asked what was up.

A few transfers and I was with the fraud department. My card had been blocked, because somebody it appears purchased a 1350 euro painting in Italy on the same day I booked a hotel in Ayutthaya, Thailand. Possible, but Mastercard decided to block it for precautionary reasons anyway. A whole series of questions followed, I was going to get a new creditcard and I was going to have to report this with the police in Holland. Good thing I’m about to fly there then! I thought the entire process was rather interesting because this never happened to me before. I can’t figure out where my number got ‘stolen’ and so I’ll just leave it up to the fraud department to figure this all out. So here I am, without creditcard and about to travel to Delhi again next week. Great timing!

Luckily, the ladies at American Express have been very helpful in the application for one of their cards - which actually combines with the THAI Airways frequent flyer program and I’ll be earning miles for every Baht I spent with it very rapidly. I had been wanting to get this card for a while, always using a Euro based creditcard gets expensive, because you pay for currency conversion every time you use it. This card is based in Baht and so I will not be losing any money there anymore. And because I told them the problem I was in, they made sure that a day and a half after I applied for it, the card was delivered at the diner I was sitting in at that time.

The boat from Ayutthaya

Sunday, 3 Jun 2007 | Journal

The whole reason for going to Ayutthaya was not the actual destination itself. I’ve never been someone who goes all gaga over ruines and churches (temples in this country) or enjoys visiting tourist destinations that are historically important. There has to be something that emotionally impresses me, to this day I remember being caught in between buses on my first visit to Bangkok. I guess you could refer to it as ‘experience tourism’. I don’t like to walk on the canals of Amsterdam because of the historical importance of the buildings, waterways, etc. but simply because it is a beautiful thing to see. Similarly, I love just walking around in a new city …. ANYWAY, bla bla bla. Ayutthaya!

So on to the bus we went. It turned out it was set to leave from, har har, the historical center of Ayutthaya which shows all kinds of sites clustered into a small area. While we waited for the bus, we decided to walk around a little bit. We saw some sites, one of which I had taken a photo-at-night of just the day before. Didn’t really get into it a whole lot. And had a look at the elephant rides that so many people took. Did I want to do that? No, thanks. I’d love to sit on the back of an elephant at some point, but I’d prefer to do that somewhere a little bit more native than the sidewalk of Disneyla… err, Ayutthaya. So the bus arrived and off we sped, towards Nonchaburi from where the boat was set to leave.

Beautiful boat called the Grand Pearl. But inside we were sat at a table with two strangers and enjoyed some tourist quality food (which means expensive and bad), the other section of the boat was left empty and no more tables were used than required to accomodate the number of tourists. Oh yeah, and drinks were not included and priced at European prices. Yay for quality service. After lunch, we quickly made our way to deck to enjoy the view. Thats what it was all about anyway, getting a proper view of Bangkok from a different perspective. Sure I had done boat tours before, but I was looking forward to gliding from Ayutthaya (ahum) to Bangkok and getting a different perspective on things.

The first part of the trip was ‘rural Bangkok’, I guess. Nothing really interesting, other than the huge diversity in houses built along the river. It was a calm and quiet experience and just nice to look at the way all those places had been built. Especially interesting was how all those houses were connected, walkways only a few inches wide sometimes and huge common platforms where big groups would sit together and eat at other times. We also saw a lot of kids swimming in the water in houses by the river I guess makes water such a big part of your life that swimming in such a river is really natural. Some Japanese girls on the boat were excitedly waving at some kids who were swimming in the water, they had no clue the kids were actually swearing at them in Thai!

This being the rainy season and the end of the afternoon, the rain started sweeping in just as we were entering the not-so-rural-anymore part of Bangkok. A large group stayed outside and found shelter on the back of the boat. There was a thunderstorm which actually got quite close, but especially when the storm went away and we were left with the the rain did the scene become covered in a vail of gray. And then there were those huge transporter boats just silently laying in the water, which made it all just a little too eerie if you ask me. Good setting for a horror movie!

As the boat glided along, we got into a more populated area of Bangkok with less green and lots more buildings. While passing all this and in a wind that was a bit more chilled because of the rain, it becomes apparant what an important role the Chao Praya river actually has in Bangkok. I don’t really see the river all that often because there is no reason for me to go there. But, I guess like any river city, it really is somewhat of a lifeline for the city. Not only to transport bulk goods over (using those transporter boats) but even logs from upcountry make their way down the river to be processed into furniture. There were a lot of these sawmills lining the river, an example in one of the photos. Also, one tends to forget the ‘klongs’ of Bangkok. Small waterways not unlike sidestreets off a main road lined again with countless houses. This in a way is the original Bangkok and one of the many many aspects of the city I never really saw up close.

And then we were back in Bangkok. The height of the buildings quickly shot up and soon the boat was one of the countless boats carrying tourists and locals up and down the river. Most of them with huge PA systems blastic all kinds of languages and talking about Wat Po, Wat Arun, the Royal Palace, etc. One final photo of me, with the Rama IX bridge which is named after the current King who is the 9th in the dynasty.

Trips in Thailand

One of the great things about doing trips in Thailand, is that one soon discovers a daytrip to for example Ayutthaya consists of several different segments packaged as one deal. But if you want, you can buy all those segments individually, because they are usually done by different companies anyway. And that company of course could not care less if you booked the rest of the segments too, as long as they got their money.

And so when I decided to do this trip, I looked at the options and it turned out all trips were pretty much the same thing. I decided I was in no mood to get up at 5:30 in the morning for a busride to Bangkok and thats how I ended up in the train yesterday. I booked only the boatride back, which really was the reason to go to Ayutthaya, the rest I would do on my own account.

Anna, the ladyboy who sold me the boat tickets, told me the boat would leave from Ayutthaya. So after breakfast this morning I walked downstairs and asked how far it would be to where the boat was leaving, showing a map in Thai. They looked at me and said it was about an hour driving and would set me back 1600 Baht (34 euro) with the hotel car. An outside taxi was even more expensive of course, me being in a major tourist destination and all. When I asked for more details, it turned out the boat would leave from just north of Bangkok. I had come all the way to Ayutthaya for no reason.

Fairly annoyed, I just called the contact on my receipt for the boat, Mr. Jack. I explained him the situation, told him that I was none too happy with what had happened to me and that I was not planning to pay for a taxi at that price and that if he did not arrange something I would take the train back to Bangkok and would come by to collect my money. This was of course by no means Jacks fault, lovely Anna was to blame here. Nonetheless, 5 minutes later Jack calls me back and tells me I can join the bus tour when it leaves Ayutthaya and this bus will then bring us to the boat. Free of charge. Good job Jack!

Its about the journey, not the destination

Saturday, 2 Jun 2007 | Journal

One of the very popular destinations for tourists, a daytrip from Bangkok, is the old capital of Siam called Ayutthaya. It is about 60km/38mi north of Bangkok and has a very rich history. And so for this weekend trip, I made my way to Bangkok Hua Lamphong train station.

“Two first class tickets to Ayutthaya please, one way” … sold out.
“Okay, second class aircon tickets to Ayutthaya then” … no aircon second class on this train.
“Without aircon then” … sold out.
“Do you have anything?” … yes, third class tickets.
“Two please, thank you” … that will be a total of 40 baht (less than a euro)

Appearantly, there is this rule for railway travel that within a 100km radius of Bangkok train tickets can’t go over a certain price. Or so the ticket guy told us. Dirt cheap… and great fun it turned out!

Travelling third class in Thailand, all luxury goes out the door. Except I guess being able to sit on a bench. There are no windows, the sun is blocked out by metal panels to be moved up or down. A few fans mounted on the ceiling are useful when the train is standing still, when its moving the air is warm but blowing in your face from outside and so it really is not that hot. I was the only farang in the cabin, which I guess was a little to be expected.

As the train moved along the track, I saw all kinds of things pass by. Especially in Bangkok it is amazing how close houses (shanties, really) are built to the tracks. You could literally grab stuff from these houses. It gives a whole new perspective on life in Bangkok, which one sometimes forget for the vast majority of people is still all about poverty. Little eateries, houses, bathrooms, shops, people playing games, kids playing football, neighbors chatting, etc. It all happened right beside the track. And I really do mean right beside the track.

The people inside the train were just as much fun to look at. There was this really old guy who passed me by and went on to the ‘balcony’ (doors were left open, for airing purposes I presume, or maybe they just didnt close, or maybe forgot, who knows, this is Thailand) to cool down a little and then have a smoke. He repeatedly smiled at me, signalled he was hot and eventually offered me a smoke. I got all exciting about this, but my company just looked at me as if I had been taking drugs. And when you think about it, imagine somebody comes to your country and gets all excited about some old guy talking to him … you would think he is weird too.

All sorts of things happened in the trainstations and inside the train itself. Leaving from the trainstation in Bangkok was fairly smooth. Just get a coffee, some snacks for the trip and off we went. People take all kinds of stuff with them on the train, I saw people with a fridge, tv, boxes, cabinets and god knows what else. On the train itself people selling goods were coming and going, as anywhere on the street in Thailand, you will never go hungry or thirsty on the train!

When we got to the trainstation in Ayutthaya, we walked a short walk to the hotel (obviously declining the “200 baht, 100 baht” offers made by the local tuk-tuk mafia. The hotel, Krungsri River Hotel, was quite nice and comes recommended for Ayutthaya. Late afternoon already, we headed for a dinner cruise. The same tuk-tuk driver we took there was waiting for us as requested and just as we got in the back of his little limousine it started pouring. Perfect timing, lets watch a movie!