Hola amigos,

It’s been a few days since I last wrote, and quickly realizing how easy it can be to simply push writing off for a day or two, until it gets to a point where it feels overwhelming to write anything at all. Here’s a very brief update on my first couple days, with many more posts to come.

Getting to Bangkok

After my memorable flight experience to Chicago, I hopped on a long haul 15 hour flight to Hong Kong. The gate agent I had made friends with upgraded me to Premium Economy on Cathay Pacific, and due to my gold status on US Air, I received passes to the business class lounges at both the Chicago and Hong Kong airports.

The gate in Chicago, while nice, was definitely not worth writing home about. The Hong Kong business class lounge on the other hand was simply phenomenal. After nearly 24 hours of travel, the lounge felt like a gift from above. Delicious food, free wi-fi, outlets, comfy lounge, and a hot rain shower – yes, a rain shower. Asian luxury and design are simply in another league, and while I was embarking on a backpacking trip, it had me thinking I could get used to that lifestyle one day.

After a few hours of lounging around, I boarded the final leg to Bangkok, and after a delay (the tire was deflated, and then the device they used to change the tire got stuck under the airplane – not kidding) we took off to Bangkok, and after all the stress from the first flight, I was so relieved that I was on my way. The fellow from New Zealand sitting next to me was super friendly, and apparently a film producer for many National Geographic and Discovery channel documentaries. I’ll write about this at another point, but such a huge fan of making friends on flights, and I’d encourage anyone to say hello to the person next to ya – you never know where the conversation will take you.

After 30+ hours of travel, the flight touched down in Bangkok and I had finally made it! It was a long journey, but using points to get the trip for practically free was absolutely worth the extra travel time and I had a great experience on Cathay Pacific airlines. Though I was fortunate to have many miles saved up from my days in consulting, it really is not so difficult to rack up miles, and I’d strongly encourage anyone interested in traveling to look into travel hacking to save a few bills.

Briefly in Bangkok

I am traveling in Thailand with my close friend Jason, and upon arriving, he and his friend Tonggy were waiting to pick me up at the airport. It had been over a year since I’d seen him in the flesh, and the trip excitement immediately kicked in. We had talked about this trip nearly a year ago, and was stoked to have actually made it!

We were staying at Tonggy’s apartment, and naturally, the first thing I did was get basil chicken. Basil chicken has been my favorite meal for as long as I can remember, and I have always dreamt of eating it in Thailand, and it was the perfect way to start the trip.

Playing Blog Catch up

A ton has happened since we got to Thailand, and though I enjoy writing lengthier, more detailed posts, I’m going to try and break it up into quick and manageable posts as I catch up. More to come soon!