FABULOUS FALL FANTASY: Day 17-- Seoul to Tokyo to Honolulu

Left the Sheraton D-Cube City in Seoul on the 6AM bus to Incheon International Airport, which is 11AM in Honolulu.  I should return home at 9AM, which means I'll be traveling for 22 hours.  Why so long?

Kind of complicated, but my original trip was only from Honolulu to Tokyo to Honolulu, paid for by the Tokyo University A&T.   They said I could upgrade the economy ticket, which I did, and ended up spending $1890 plus 60,000 miles.  Kind of ridiculous, actually.

• Anyway, as I was going to be in the Orient, why not spend another week and see Bangkok and Seoul?  
• So I used 50,000 miles to go business class from Tokyo to Bangkok to Seoul to Tokyo.  
• A lesson to be learned is know what you are doing when you use your miles, which are getting more and more diluted.  
• The Tokyo-Bangkok-Seoul-Tokyo legs are unbelievably miles effective, even for business class.  
• The only problem is that only a few seats are available for this option, and I had to leave Seoul at 9AM, arriving in Tokyo at 11AM, but my wait at the airport was to be 8 hours.  
• You wins some and you lose some, but there is no better place to spend eight hours than the ANA Lounge at Narita Airport.

It was around 40F when I left the hotel on the bus at 6AM.  There were ten stops, and we were at capacity at around the time we ht the freeway.  That blue bear means I'm getting close to the terminal.  Fall is encroaching.

The traffic going in to Seoul at this time was gridlocked on the highway.  However, the Incheon direction was fast.  Click here for cost:

• Train and bus are slightly less than $15
• Taxi depends on what kind you catch and can be two to four times more expensive.

There is that controversial piece of art at the entrance of the airport;

If you think Koreans are lewd and that statue is out of place, take a look at the Taiwan equivalent, found in Terminal 2 of their international airport.  Click on it.  One is enough for me.

For the record, the early Greeks and Romans had their share for  the sake of fertiity.  Phallic architecture can be found everywhere.  Lest I smirk my way through this subject, have you been to the Phallic Rock of Molokai?

Anyway, I had a decent breakfast at the Asiana Lounge.  I again comment that the stewardesses of Asiana are all thin and tall and beautiful, something which probably would be illegal in the USA:

Just for this relatively short trip, I boarded the jumbo Airbus 380-800:

This plane, first put into service just about exactly a decade ago, has 40% more usable floor space than the Boeing 747-8.  United will retire it's final 747 with a flight to Hawaii next month.  Can you believe the first 747 flight, between California and Hawaii, was in 1970?  That's almost half a century!

So I'm sitting at my business class seat, the remote control looks like an smartphone, and works well:

The breakfast is Korean, with some makgeolli:

I watched a tense Korean film, A Day, which was like Groundhog Day for three people.  The link is far-fetched, but the effort was entertaining.   Just as the film was ending I looked to my left, and, my first glimpse of Mount Fuji on this trip (I didn't even see the Sun once on all the time I spent in Tokyo):

Interestingly enough, the landing pattern from the West was such that the 380 had to zoom over Japan and make the same approach as if coming from Hawaii:

Here is what the whole plane looks like, which has two decks:

After I got off the plane and went through airport security again, I walked to the United Club to see if I could get an aisle seat, for my window seat might have made getting to the restroom a problem.  I was too early, and the desk did not open for another hour.  So, I picked up a minestrone soup, salad and spam/egg musubi, and watched the World Series:

My flight to Hawaii was full, so I couldn't make any adjustments.  It was only 1PM, and six hour to go, so I walked over to the ANA Lounge, which is far superior to United's.  I'm now having my fourth meal of the day, and it's only 3PM:

Salad, musubi, pork ramen and chicken curry.  The World Series was in the ninth inning, when, suddenly, BS101 puts on the news and moves on to another program.  I guess here in Japan NHK doesn't cancel scheduled programs, especially if the subject matter is unimportant to them.  I had to later go to my computer to see that the score ended up Astros 13 - Dodgers 12.  Must have been a great game!

Oh, what happened to Typhoon Saola?  It weakened, drenched the airport last night and moved on.  Business as usual today.

I'm posting this now a bit early and will add items if anything interesting happens.  Otherwise, I return on to my regular schedule on Tuesday.

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FABULOUS FALL FANTASY: Day 16--Bangkok to Seoul

I was schedule to leave at 6AM from the Sheraton Grand Sukhumvit in Bangkok.  The hotel fixed a free takeout breakfast box, which I ate in my room:

On the Thai Air flight from Bankgok to Tapei, I had the following:

In Taipei those continuing on to Seoul had to take all our carry-on baggage, walk a long distance to again go through the security process, walk all the way back to the wait area, eventually board an hour later, then proceed to our same seat.  Second meal:

Interesting views just before Incheon International Airport:

The bus to Sheraton D-Cube City was easy, and the cost was less than $15.  I decided to check-in through the Executive Club, and good thing, for the happy hour was closing in ten minutes:

The next morning was a tad foggy:

Fall colors were just only beginning.  For breakfast, I met up with the Feast manager, Hoon Cho:

He remembered me from my previous visit.  Feast is in the very top tier of these breakfast buffets in the Orient:

This was my final real meal of my trip, for my dinner would be in the Executive Club, I leave at 6AM tomorrow morning, then I have access to Asiana/United/ANA clubs in Incheon and Narita.  They also serve food and drinks on the planes.

The Sheraton D-Cube City is in the middle of a nice shopping mall, with the #1 and #2 subway lines in the basement.  I took the #1 line two stops to the Gassan Digital Complex Station, where I went shopping at the Lotte and Mario outlets.  That is a very large statue to the left.  I bought a couple of shirts.  I stopped by Uniqlo to compare prices with Japan, and the same items cost 20% more here.

I checked on what was playing in the D-Cube City theaters, and was mildly interested in a broadway show, Billy Elliot, with music by Elton John.  The seat prices varied from $55 to $125.  However, I had to wake up at 5AM.

I ended my busy day with dinner at the Executive Club for free:

Well, this is my final posting in the Orient, for my next effort will be from home in Honolulu.

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Typhoon Saola has weakened into a tropical storm and will pass over Narita a few hours before I arrive from Seoul:

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FABULOUS FALL FANTASY: Day 15: What You Should Do in Bangkok

If some of you wondered why I did not indulge in the conventional activities of Bangkok tourists, consider that I've been here more than 25 times and I took this extended trip down South mostly to rest.  I've been to all the great restaurants in Bangkok:  Gaggan (Pellegrino's best Asian restaurant), Nahm (#5), Eat Me (#31), The Dining Room (#39),and #40 L'Atelier (#40).  Actually, I've never been to #15, Suhring.  Maybe next time.  Gaggan is that tall guy.


However, if you've never been here and plan to come, here is a top fifteen of things to consider:

• Visit the most important shrines and temples:
• The Grand Palace (above)
• where the King lives, but he also has 19 other royal palaces and a bunch of other mansions
• this is the only location in Southeast Asia where I dropped Pearl's Ashes
• here rests the Emerald Buddha in Wat Phra Kaew (or Kaeo)
• is not made of emerald, but of jade or jasper
• also has an origin about 800 years ago, but one story has it going back to 43BC in India
• visitors are expressly warned not to take a photo of the statue...but you know me:

• Wat Arun

• Wat Pho (reclining Buddha)

• Erawan Shrine (which was bombed two years ago, next to the Hyatt Erawan, where I've occasionally stayed)

• Wat Traimit (Golden Buddha)
• made of gold:  body (40%), chin to forehead (80%) hair and topknot (99%)
• weighs around 5.5 tons and worth around $250 million just for the gold
• origin could have been 800 years ago, probably in India
• through most of its life was covered in stucco and only rediscovered in 1955 when it was dropped, revealing the gold
• housed in new building in 2010
• Chao Mae Tuptim Shrine (also known as the Phallus Shrine--and I am not showing photos out of respect for the King)
• Then too, there must be thousands of temples just in Bangkok.  A popular number seems to be 30,000 for the country.  Even Quora has no answer.

• Special dinners
• rooftop (try Vertigo and Sirocco)

• Chao Phraya (their main river--just don't look at it...but I saw many splashes of large fish in the muddy mess)

• Chatuchak Weekend Market (only on Saturdays and Sundays--be prepared for heat stroke and the same old stuff throughout the shopping area)

• Walk through Khao San Road for street food and cheap shopping

• Visit the Bangkok National Museum
• Try Sea Life Bangkok, an aquarium, and Dusit Zoo
• Have a massage
• Experience the nightlife at Patpong, Nana Plaza, etc.
• Stroll Lumpini Park
• Consider a motorcycle taxi or tuk-tuk, but reach an understanding on cost before you depart (read this to gauge how much to pay)--and, by the way, taxis all have meters, but you need to negotiate double or triple the fee in special situations such as coming back from a Royal Cremation ceremony

• Watch Muay Thai (kickboxing--I went once and left because a large cockroach kept circling my seat)
• Come during Songkran (April 13-16, 2018)
• Try not to come during the monsoon period, but this lasts from late June until October, so wish on luck; plus, here are eleven things to do if it rains (which you can also do at home)
• Visit Jim Thompson House for the history, but don't buy anything--I bought a $150 Thai Silk tie, and stained it the first time I wore it
• For once in your life, taste durian

Come to think of it, kind looks like and has the texture of jack fruit...except for the horrible smell.  A few otherwise normal people I know, very few, actually crave this noxious putrescence.

There is a variety of options close to Bangkok.  Perhaps the most cultural is Ayutthaya Historical Park, a city founded in 1351.

You've heard of Murder on the Orient Express, that classic book by Agatha Christie and movie.  A new version starring Kenneth Branagh, Penelope Cruz, Willem Dafoe, Judi Dench and Johnny Depp will soon come.  Rotten Tomatoes has given it a 99% "want to see it" rating.  Well, there is another one,  train, that is, the Eastern and Orient Express, from Bangkok to Singapore.  I made this journey.  What an experience.

In Thailand, aliens will be referred to as farang, which is sort of like haole in Hawaii for Caucasians.  This can be an insult or not depending on the circumstances, and is mostly applied to Europeans/Caucasians. There is also farang dam for blacks.  Farang is innocently, Thai for guava, while potatoes are called man farang.

My final meal in Bangkok was mostly free at the The Sala, the colorful square below my room:

Satay, prime rib sandwich, Singha Beer and a martini.  I just couldn't refuse a Johnny Walker Gold label on rocks at the end.

I sat there just in total contentment about my Bangkok stay.  Earlier in the day, taxis were difficult to get, so the bellman negotiated a high, but reasonable, price from the Plaza Athenee' to the Sheraton Grand Sukhumvit.  The going was so slow that I finally gave the driver 20 baht (65 cents) more than that amount, about a ten minute walk to my hotel  As I was picking up my bag, he bowed to me with his hands together in prayer and wished me a pleasant trip to Heaven.  My first reaction was that I was not ready for that royal ascendence, if there is one, but I think he meant well. Secondly, you don't need to give a tip in Thailand.  However, my Sala server was so efficient and friendly that I left a 100 baht tip (about $3).  As I was leaving, she bowed the same way with her hands together and said I had a good heart.  The people of Thailand make a crucial difference!

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Typhoon Saola will pretty much roll over Narita Airport late Sunday night:

I am scheduled to arrive around noon on Monday.  Still looks okay at this point.

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