Dhaka to bangkok on thai airways
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Bangkok,
Thailand
Thursday, January 4, 2007
december 25, 2006, dhaka, bangladesh
one evening, my friend imran came to visit me at the guest house and it being almost time for dinner and both of us being hungry i called down to the restaurant and ordered kebabs, nan bread, and a bottle of south african shiraz wine. i learned on this trip that there was such a thing as south african shiraz wine and not only that i found myself instantly in love with this fine fruity wine that had a rich floral nose and a long but crisp finish. it was a great meal. once in graduate school i asked each of my students for their last request at the gallows and a student from italy said " a good meal". this meal reminded me of that student. we talked about everything under the sun and that certainly in cluded our love lives (yes, both of us actually had one at that time), our careers, our travels, music, and golf.
imran had a cold and was sniffling and coughing throughout dinner and i, being superman, was not the least bit worried about catching a cold. i woke up the next morning to discover that i was not superman and compounded my error by admitting to pencil in a phone conversation that i was not well. the short of the long story is that i had to go back to bangkok a.s.a.p.
first i went to the gmg office to change the date of my return flight and after an hour or so of jostling and fighting my way to the counter they said that they could not find my ticket in their computer and in any case their agent in bangkok had not yet paid them for my flight and so they cancelled my ticket and asked me to settle the score with their agent in bangkok. i took a deep breath and quietly walked out of the office even as my fellow jostlers were coming to blows shouting f-words, and jumped into a taxi for the sheraton hotel where the thai airways office is located.
jostlers are not to be found at thai. as you walk in you take a number and sit down on a very comfortable sofa in a spacious and air conditioned place with george winston on the intercom playing soothing elevator music. when it is your turn a calm female computer voice calls out your number. at the counter you don't stand. you sit. one way to bankok please, i said, handing him my passport and visa card. thank you for flying thai, he said with a smile. and that was that.
tg flight 322 leaves dac at 1320 and i checked in at 1130 with no hassles at all except that the sidewalk porters don't take no for an answer and in fact there is no question to answer because they simply just come over and take your luggage and you find yourself running behind them just to stay with your luggage and then of course you have to redeem your luggage from them with a suitable tip for their kindness.
they tell you to come two hours before your flight so that you will have a chance to sit in their waiting room for 90 minutes to sample their fine foods and beverages. in the thai airways waiting room at the zia international airport in dhaka they had fried chicken nuggets, vegetable somosas, fresh fruits, an assortment of roasted nuts, cold beer, spirits, wine, fruit juice, and sandwiches as well as newspapers and magazines from all over the world. i dozed off reading the bangkok post and sipping on cognac and was gently awakened by a beautiful maiden who informed me that it was time to board my flight.
it was a great flight. i ate good food, drank fine wine, listened to music (me and bobby mcgee and lucille), and slept my way to bangkok and before i knew it i was in my car driving down the expressway in the big mango and all was well with the world except that i could not hear because that is what happens when you combine a cold with rapid changes in air pressure.
I made it to khao yoi where i have an apartment and being tired i decided to sleep in khao yoi that night. pencil nursed me back to health. the next day i was on the golf course and soon i was back in cha-am where i belong and within a few days of breathing thai air and eating thai food i was myself again.
