I was frantically feeding the last of my Baht into the international phone-call machine in the luxurious and futuristic Bangkok airport. My mother was on the other end. It must have been two or three in the morning there, but  we struggled against the Bhat clock to relay vital information:  from my mother to me: that I had most likely contracted and E-Coli infestation, and that the discoloration of my hands (now almost completely gone) was due to blood vessels inside me breaking apart and bleeding into the interior of my body cavity. Furthermore, it was the right move to be on the, Cipro, despite the disappearance of my symptoms. I was trying to communicate to my dear mother a sense of confidence and that she should not worry. Some 30 seconds into this reasonably complicated exchange, the Baht ran dry and the connection was cut.

At least some information had been transmitted, and it looked like, as I had been hoping, I was not going to die. After a nip of Thai tea (not to be confused with bubble tea, as it so often is in America). The creamy beverage was more like a mildly sweet melted ice cream than an iced tea, but none the less, blew me away. We sipped and looked out the window at the face of the Thai king. Thailand is a thriving monarchy, and the likeness of the king is to be found everywhere.

We reached the waiting area for our flight and sat down near the first class flight attendants. This day we were flying Emirates, and the first class attendants were dressed in the most lavish uniforms, with tan veils hanging from their bright red caps. On the flight, though, we were not treated by these women. Instead we had an honest to goodness prince working the cabin. He was tall and majestic and very regally told the Indian fellows ahead of us that, no, they could not have another beer before they finished the one they were currently consuming. All in all, the flight on Emirates was splendid. The food was great,

service was impeccable, the airplane was clean and smelled so good, and I was feeling the best I had in days.

This entry was posted on Monday, June 23rd, 2008 at 11:14 pm and is filed under Air Travel, Asia. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.