Welcome to the Land of Smiles.. (Candi's Corner: Wanderlust and Passions)

Welcome to the Land of Smiles..

After a long,long day of traveling,we finally made it to our final destination, Chiang Mai Thailand! And all I can say now is wow! A beautiful country, with beautiful people and awesome food. Even food at the airport Thai restaurant was delicious!

Our "main" flight from Honolulu to Bangkok was uneventful, and I may even add pleasant, despite the fact that it was super long. China Airlines provide great customer service and even coach seats were pretty comfortable. When we were checking in at the Honolulu Airport, the agent asked us twice if we want to sit together(me and Bill that is), we had a good laugh about it. Why would we not? I guess they have many people who travel together and would not want to be seated together for a 13 hour flight?!

After about 15 hours of travel, we arrived at the Bangkok Airport, and were very impressed. It has a great layout, signs are posted everywhere and easy to follow, and everything is easy to find . Customs and baggage claim went quickly, and we had about two hours to kill before we board our AirAsia flight to Chiang Mai. So, we ate for the fifth time that day:) My curried prawns were delicious, and not as hot as I expected, I guess airport food is cooked with tourists in mind. Bill had some soup with duck meat and he loved it as well.

Our flight to Chiang Mai was delayed by 40 minutes. And maybe that was the reason, our luggage,along with fifty or more passengers' luggage,were not there when we arrived Chiang Mai an hour later. Bummer! Only half the flight received their luggage, and the other half stood there for about 15 minutes, until one of the agents came out apologizing and asked us to follow her to file claims. Tired and a bit disappointed we filed the claim, and learned that our luggage may be on a flight arriving twenty minutes later, so we decided to wait, but alas, our bag was not on that flight. So we got taxi voucher, and took taxi to our hotel. Twenty minutes and seven dollars later(with tip), we were at the Lanna House, a charming small guesthouse with smiley faces! With not much change of clothing,we got ready for bed and crashed, at about 1000 pm Thailand time, but maybe 0500 am our body time(about 24 hours after we woke up at the hotel in Honolulu).

We got up this morning to a gorgeous day, and got a call that our luggage will be here in about an hour. We had delicious free vegetarian breakfast, and here I am using the internet in the cafe next door to the hotel for less than a dollar an hour.

And now, off to explore Chiang Mai!

Posted to Thailand 2009 by Candi on May 18, 2009 8:06 PM
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Comments (11)

Annie:

So far so good! Sorry about the luggage but glad it wasn't more of a hassle. Have fun!

Posted by Annie | May 19, 2009 6:09 AM

Posted on May 19, 2009 06:09

Kathy (Trekcapri):

Hi Candi, great to hear from you! Glad you and you husband made it safely and are about to start your wonderful visit in Thailand. Sorry about he bag being delayed but glad to hear that you they were sending it within the hour! Yay.

Enjoy the beautiful day and have fun!

Posted by Kathy (Trekcapri) | May 19, 2009 6:51 AM

Posted on May 19, 2009 06:51

sandrac:

Candi, I'm so glad to hear that you and Bill have arrived safely -- and I hope your baggage has arrived by now as well! Have a wonderful time in Thailand.

Posted by sandrac | May 19, 2009 9:23 AM

Posted on May 19, 2009 09:23

nancyhol:

Candi, I'm glad you arrived in Thailand safely.

I look forward to further installments of your adventures.

Posted by nancyhol | May 19, 2009 10:21 AM

Posted on May 19, 2009 10:21

Anne:

Yay! I love the thought of a Land of Smiles! :) Hope you have an awesome time. I have heard it is so very beautiful there, can't wait to read about your impressions. Oh and glad your luggage arrived!!

Posted by Anne | May 19, 2009 3:43 PM

Posted on May 19, 2009 15:43

girasoli:

That is so funny that they kept asking if you wanted to sit together! Good to hear from you and glad you arrived safely! Sorry your luggage did not arrive with you though. I am drooling just thinking about the food! Enjoy!!!

Posted by girasoli | May 19, 2009 10:36 PM

Posted on May 19, 2009 22:36

Eden:

Exciting times! Have fun in Thailand.

Also, I want to say how I appreciate your letting me crash the "party" at the Pyramids in Honolulu. :)

Posted by Eden | May 20, 2009 7:27 PM

Posted on May 20, 2009 19:27

candi:

Thanks all for the comments.

Eden, it was great meeting you.

girasoli, we loved seeing you again, next time, maybe we'll meet on Maui:)

Posted by candi | May 21, 2009 3:17 AM