I think I told you that the total time of travel from Greenwood, Arkansas to Chiang Mai, Thailad was 48 hours, but I would like to share more of the trip with you.
We drove to the Fort Smith airport and waited for the first leg of our journey. We actually went through a pretty good security check. I showed my magic card that gave information on my pacemaker implant, plus my ID bracelet and they skirted around some of the xraying. Apparently, the security check was good enough that we didn’t have to do more until we were in Bangkok, Thailand.
This was a short one hour flight to the Dallas/Fort Worth airport, where we waited again. We had to do a lot of walking we weren’t expecting to GET to the railway or whatever they call it that will whisk you to the next gate. It was a bit much for two old recently sick people.
We then flew the LONG flight – 14 hours – from DFW to Doha, Qatar. This was in the lap of luxury, our first ever business class flight. We had good food, comfortable recliners that eased into all kinds of positions for maximum comfort, including the makeup into a bed by the attendants, with a nice pillow and the best blanket I have ever slept under. I think I showed you a picture or two of the seats we had, with my husband and I sitting side by side and across from our son with the partition removed. We basically slept most of the flight after enjoying the amenities.
All of the airports were nice, but this one at Doha, Qatar, was spectacular.
This was followed by another pretty long flight, from Doha, Qatar to Bangkok, Thailand. Another nice business class flight, not as nice as the first one, but nicer than any other flight I’ve taken in my life, 2nd only to the one to Doha.
We were met in Bangkok by a team of experts hired by our son to meet us, handle the baggage change, customs check, security check, and all the other things required when landing in the main hub city in a country. Even with all that my husband’s energy gave out and we needed to find a wheelchair to get where we needed to go.
We left the Bangkok airport only minutes before the earthquake. The pilot came on saying that we would have to turn around and return to Bangkok because the Chiang Mai airport had closed. Our poor son was then trying to figure out what he would do for accommodations there, booking a new flight to Chiang Mai, meals, and more. The pilot came on again saying the Chiang Mai airport had reopened and we were resuming our flight there. Whew!
Now we find we MAY have to fly to Laos to the Thai embassy there, to get a magical stamp on our passports that the banks here will like so they will let us open bank accounts. Then we should be able to take the bank account information to the visa people and get a retirement visa. Fingers crossed!
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Glad to read that you’re safe and settling in!
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Thanks so much! Things are coming together a bit at a time. I won’t feel really settled in until we get moved into our new condo, and that will be toward the end of April. We’re very comfortable in the nice air bnb our son arranged in the same building he is in, so NO complaints. Part of this is a little bit like being dropped into Heaven, being able to enjoy so many things we couldn’t afford in Arkansas. For example, my husband and I had pedicures yesterday (the first for both of us). They cost $20 together. I looked up the price of a pedicure in Greenwood AR when we got back. It said, prices range for $35 for a ‘basic’ pedicure to $65 for more. Our whole lifestyle is changing. We are learning a BUNCH every day and loving it!
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Oh wow! And here I was just thinking you are world travelers, and you will be! Laos, huh? I will be darned. That’s exciting, yet, it might be nice to rest more first. But also good to get everything straightened out.
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We would rather not have to fly to Laos, but if it’s necessary to get the magic stamp on our passports, then that’s what we’ll do. It seems to be a short flight. We may or may not stay overnight, and then we’ll be back ‘home’ again. 😊
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Hope you get sorted out quickly x
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We’re hitting a few roadblocks, but we’re solving things, one thing at a time. We’re learning to calm down and roll with whatever the program is.
There is a lot to learn here. Super grateful our son is here and willing to spend so much time with us.
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Wow! I’m keeping my fingers crossed for you both, Linda! 🙂
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Thanks, Susy. MUCH appreciated. 😃
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Very you are sharing your 48 hour journey from Greenwood, Arkansas to Chiang Mai, Thailand.
Iam so happy ☺️! You arrived safely Thailand.
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We are here and very happy in our air bnb until about the end of the month, when we hopefully will be able to move to our new condo.
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Very nice iam so glad.
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🙂
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Great post! Soon, I’m going to Chiang Mai 🙂 Glad you’re safe, hope the rest of your trip is awesome!
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Thanks!
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