Sure enough it was Jono and Hugh yelling in the airport. Needless to say they packed nothing, especially Jono. Hugh had a man-purse that would work well in Europe but we were going to Bangkok. Jono had no check-in luggage what-so-ever. Nerida got finger-printed because of her Australian accent at US customs. Contrary to popular belief a 13 hour flight is A LONG TIME TO SIT DOWN AND WATCH THE SAME MOVIES!!! Jono was feeling a little nervous before take-off and only Steve's manly hands could comfort him. Japan Airlines is great but the language barrier can get in the way occasionally. Hugh's 'Rum and Coke' was just coke and when he repeatedly asked for rum he had to settle for whisky. Jono saki'd it to them with Steve to get rid of the nerves. After watching another over-the-top Michael Bay movie I noticed we were only over Winnepeg. My God, we were in for the long haul. We finally got through the flight and arrived in Tokyo where everything in the airport was absolutely stereotypically Japanese. After some food and lots of sleep we had to board our final flight to Bangkok which was a quick 6 hours for me sleeping the entire way. Finally in Bangkok, customs was easy to get through and we Baht a cab-ride into the city to go find a hotel. The Lonely Planet book suggested to go to Soi Nana when arriving late in the night. The cab driver seemed to be oblivious of lanes and did not know where the hotels we were asking for were located. Eventually we ended up in Soi Nana and got a heaping dose of reality. He dropped us off in the seediest area any of us had ever seen or been to. We paid the fare and set off to find a hotel and got mauled by many locals trying to sell something. We found a cheap hotel and checked-in. Still awake and ready to check-out the city we set out to find a bar to grab a few drinks. Sure enough we got haggled to either pay for some sex from questionable looking "women", cab drivers trying to bring you anywhere and random people trying to bring you to their 'open bar.' We unfortunately walked our way into what seemed like the red light district. Hookers left and right, cars and motorbikes driving on either side of road, it was absolute chaos. The funniest part was when we came to a corner and Jono got mauled by at least a dozen women grabbing his ass and trying to lead him away. We decided then and there to never stop walking to make sure we did not get mauled like that again. We finally settled on a nicer hotel lobby that gave us sanctuary from the chaos outside. Of course inside, as we drank, we noticed the many older white males that clearly had come to Thailand to find this kind of area. We talked about our travels and then headed over to a 7-11 to grab more beer before bed. It's been an eye-opening day but very fun and exciting! I can't wait to see what tomorrow brings. Shit will continue to get REAL!
-Kev
Woken up by Jono's mom at 6:30. About 36 hours later we're getting out of a cab in the red light district of Bangkok despite the fact that Kevin asked for the hotel recommended by his Thailand travel book. Almost dragged away from the group by a few excited hookers, we caught up just in time to see Jono wrestling himself away from at least a dozen more. An extremely long day filled with my first experiences of Sake, Japanese stewardesses and Thai lady-boys. Flying over the Rockies and glaciers of Alaska was a real beauty too. Stay tuned.
-Hugh
"It's not the flying. I just have a hard time with crashing" said Jono as he clutched my hand purple. The long flight touched down finally at about 5pm your time. We attempted to make our way to some discount accomodations but we were dropped at a bedlam of hookers, poverty and alcohol. We walked timidly down the narrow pass in search of excitement and beer but were met with harassment by tuk tuks or fuck fucks. It was eye opening to say the least. We tried to seek sanctuary in a local McDick's. but were met with a bottom tickle and a promise of good times by the locals. Tired and violated we retied to a local bar for beverages. Once we got a few in us we made our way to the "Family Mart" and bought ourselves some fine Chang beer for dirt cheap. we made our way back to or rooms and hastily consumed the beer in the glow of some Thai cable TV. The day was LONG but fun. Cheers fuckers I'll see you soon!
-Steve
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