The #5 airport hotel

Day 15: Paro, Bhutan to Bangkok, Thailand

Things I forgot to put in here earlier:
- We were pronouncing the country names wrong before we got here. It is Mean-mar, not Me-an-mar or My-an-mar. And it is Boo-tan as if the second syllable is the color or what you get when sitting in the sun. We had been saying more like Boo-tahn which was wrong.
- New guide (whose name we never found out) once has to climb Tiger's Nest with a US Navy Seal. The guy practically ran it and didn't want to stop for tea or lunch. They did it in 2.5 hours round trip. New guide didn't think of himself as a trekker (Tiger's Nest is the highest he does) so that was quite an accomplishment.
- Yesterday, we were a few minutes late for our 8 AM pickup as our breakfast was really slow. We didn't realize it was made to order. When telling us our pickup time for today, new guide told us 9 AM sharp for our 11 AM flight. We said we would be punctual unlike the day before. He said it was ok, that it was BST, or Bhutan Stretchable Time. Apparently people are usually a bit late here mid the king says he will be somewhere at 10, he usually arrives at 11 so people follow his lead.
- The yellow strings that the monk blessed and gave us keep falling off. Steph tied hers to her camera bag and retied it after we went through security in Paro. It feel off somewhere. As we were getting up to board, Lallande thought she saw it on the ground. Steph went back to investigate and returned empty handed, saying, "No, that was a noodle."
- A number of people we ran into in Paro had been out east (somewhere a two and a half day drive away) for some famous monk festival. They do the mask dances. But this one is different as it starts at 2 AM and runs throughout the night (or morning?) and the monks are naked. No pictures allowed though. New guide took the French group there. I suppose you don't need pictures to describe that.
- Throughout the trip, as we often walked around with our iPhones in our pockets for quick picture opportunities, we were frequently, and inadvertently, opening up apps. It wasn't unusual to be walking or climbing and all of a sudden hear a voice saying "Siri not available." The worst was if this happened in temples or anywhere it was supposed to be quiet.

As we approached Thailand, the pilot told us the temperature was...wait for it...32 degrees. Of course, it was. Interestingly Drukair played music as we started to land both in India and Thailand. At first, we all looked around, afraid we had accidentally set off our phones like we did so many times this trip (or really it was Moira and me that did that). Then we realized it was coming from overhead. It included Sinatra. Ok then.

Here's an accomplishment for you...we all now have three Thailand stamps in our passports and saw nothing but the airport and the Novotel airport hotel. How is that for the glamorous life? But that was about to change. We had one actual night in Bangkok and the world's our oyster (cue the one hit wonder 80s soundtrack). And how glamorous can you get but to spend a night at the Novotel which proudly touts itself as the #5 airport hotel? Seriously. They are very proud of that. We had a long discussion on this. Given the number of airport hotels in the world, if they are number 5, that is pretty good. But without the context, to say you are number 5 doesn't sound that impressive. Perhaps they should change it to "Among the top 5 airport hotels in the world" or "Ranked number of 5 our of xxx airport hotels" or "Ranked in the top 1% of airport hotels in the world."  Sigh. Can you tell we all spin and position for a living?

But I digress. We had a list of restaurant recommendations and were ready to hit the town (or the city, as it were). Given that we weren't sure when we would arrive, and how much time we would have, we hadn't chosen a place or made a reservation. The concierge helped us and we got a reservation for a place called Baan Khanitha. After freshening up, we got some baht (the local currency...there are 30 baht to a dollar) and hopped a cab to the restaurant. It is very interesting, or maybe I should say strange, when you have no clue where you are going or how long it will take. You just put your faith in humanity (or the Thai can driver) and go from there. We did know it could take up to about an hour and should cost about 300 baht (all of $10). I have no idea where we went or what we saw. But I do know we hit a couple of traffic jams, saw a ton of 7-Elevens, and took about an hour to get to our destination. It cost 301 baht so the concierge was very accurate. The cab driver did have to call for directions (even though they were printed out) and clarify them twice by asking people on the street.

How is that for a set up? It was a lovely restaurant and very good dinner. It will shock no one to hear that rice was involved. Because we have eaten enough rice to sustain a small country for a year. We ordered a number of dishes and ate them Thai style, or family style - spring rolls, some shrimp type of rolls, cashew chicken, some type of fried squid and pad Thai (because that is the law here). There is definitely a different taste with each country we have visited so even though we had some of these things along the way, it was nice to get a different spin on it.

Moira, Lallande and I tried the local beer, Chang Classic while Steph stuck with wine. I only bring this up because the wine by the bottle was super expensive, which was why we didn't get it. I am not sure if the cost was just this restaurant or the country, because it has to be imported. I am guessing the latter. But if it is this is expensive everywhere, that may influence our decision to come here for an extended period of time. We like our evening bottle of wine whilst on vacation. We also had our first chocolate dessert of the whole trip. Going without chocolate this long could be a record for some of us (or maybe that is just me).

The restaurant got us a cab back to the #5 airport hotel, aka the Novotel. This trip was much faster and felt like the driver knew more where he was going. Even his back alley drives seemed to have more purpose. It was also cheaper, 200 baht or a little over $6.50. I don't think I can even get the 20 blocks from my office to home for that cost. With early flights, that was the extent of Bangkok. Exciting end to our trip, huh?

I only have one thing left to say and it is somewhat consistent with what I said (wrote?) at the end of our last trip. Traveling really reminds you that no matter how different people are around the world, most people are basically good and kind. We may not be Buddhists but I think I can speak for all of us in that the message we learned about it, that the basic tenet is kindness, is one that we saw throughout the trip and one we will take away with us.

Until the next adventure...