Thailand 2022

I have heard about Thailand from friends, colleagues. magazines, social media postings, and just about anyone “Ahh let me tell you about Thailand!” for a long time. They are generally very positives and encouraging and Thailand has always been on my mind. So when the opportunity arise to include Thailand as a destination on my visit to Taiwan (see my Taiwan 2022 posting), I couldn’t passed up this opportunity. I was determined to make the trip no matter what!  It is kind of ironic that I grew up in Singapore which is just a 2.5 hours flight from Bangkok and I was never able to make the trip. Back then, I was young and just completed my 2.5 years mandatory military service and honestly, did not have the financial means to travel or take any sort of vacation.  My primary focus then was what to do with my life and so Thailand was just a momentary passing thought. The closest I got to Thailand was when a group of ex-army buddies took a bus trip up to Penang, but still it is not Thailand.

Back in those pre-internet days, backpacking travel were only for the adventurous few. Information were limited and hard to come by for most people.  In fact, most Asian parents would get a heart attack if their kids did that back then. Nowadays it seem like it is a rite of passage for the millennials.  Our son Jonathan did this for two summers during his college days. These two trips changed is outlook and gave him the confidence in life that every kids needed after they left their parents’ nests. Of course Claudia was worried when she found out!  I envied him and wished I had the courage and the means back then.

Well, here we are in 2022 as the world is finally emerging from almost two years of “hibernation” due to the pandemic, like a fresh flower bud opening in the new morning dews!  We arrived early at Taipei-Taoyuan  Airport to beat the morning traffic. After checking in, there was still one loose end we needed to take care of, that’s our rental phones drop off. We were given different instructions or advises on how and where to drop off. We we pretty told to look for Chung Hwa counters and there should be a drop off box. Chung Hwa is the T-Mobile/Verizon/AT&T of Taiwan.  It was early before 9am when offices opened.  We found a Chung Hwa counter and was told by a staff, it is not their phones and should go around the corner. Went around the corner and found another Chung Hwa counter and this time we were told that we need to drop it off at the EZ-Wireless counter which was clearly listed on the invoices! Duh!, my excuse was I don’t read chinese. So finally found out where EZ Wireless is located and good thing is was just next to the security checkpoint entrance.  So off we go.

We were booked on a new upstart airline Starlux. Don’t know much about the airline except it is new and probably another one of those new budget airlines popping up in the Asian region.  We decided to checked in our carry-on instead of lugging it on the plane.  Not sure what I was thinking all these time during my domestic travels States. True, domestic airlines are charging for checked in luggages, maybe that’s why. But just being able to walk almost hands free onto the plane felt so good. Starlux allowed luggage up to 30Kg in weight which is more than we needed for this trip. The staff at their check-in counter were very polite and professional and they helped us with a smile. As we boarded the airplane, the interior was so new and modernize. They had the interior cabin misted all the time we were boarding.  When I sat down in my seat, I noticed how comfortable it felt and brought back horrible memory of my recent China Airline flight with the bobbing front seat passenger. There was more leg room on Starlux (Airbus) than China Airline (Boeing).  Once the plane is at a cruising altitudes, the flight attendants were busy serving certain passengers their drinks and luck. My thought was they must have pre-ordered their paid lunch. about 20 minutes later, they rolled their food cart down the aisle and asked what we like, “grilled pork on rice” or “shrimp pasta” and asked if we would like wine with it!!! Wine!! I leaned over to Claudia and said, wow, for a budget airline they sure serve better than any US airlines. She replied, “Who said this is budget airline?  This is a new airline!” I am impressed by their service and friendly attitudes from the ground staff to the flight attendants. In flight meals comes with real silverware, not the plastic disposable ones. During the short 4 hours flight, I was also able to take in an inflight movie. The new Top Gun 2 movie is on the menu.