Destination, long awaited!!!

From here onwards, I will be jotting down experiences from the Thailand trip that I took earlier this year, in my blog. There will not be any consistent sequence, as my creativity might trigger some other exciting stuff too. However, 10 days from this trip will be detailed slowly, one by one, for my loved ones to read and enjoy. So without wasting much time, here I begin my own travelogue, in my own words......

 

Venue: Chennai to Bangkok

Date: 18.01.2008 – 19.01.2008

Time: 02: 00 am – 06:00 am

Feeling: Sick

Childhood, then adolescence and now my present! All this while, I have been taken to various ends of the world, I have seen which many haven't, I have met people of unique ethnicity, I have eaten what I dare not say on this public platform, I have seen and captured some awesome images either with my little gizmo or my soggy eyes (as my eyes keep watering, if exposed for long in the sun, which apparently means that I do most of these things during the day :)), I have got the chance to enjoy some very rare moments in unknown lands and I take pride when I say I have been half round the globe.

Far East especially has always been one of my favorite regions of visit. Till date, I guess I have visited just, all of the lands that bear the well-known crazy foods, charming people, monumental richness, historical achievements, tai-chi, kung-fu, judo, chopsticks and what not, in the Far East. Right from Hong Kong to Bali. But there was this one place, that I always wanted to visit. In dreams, I saw this paradise, I did not get its name... But when I knew where it was, it was never the same...

For ages, my loved ones have been promising to take me to lands where nature begins and ends. I am not an adventurous person but the excitement of discovering something so ancient and oriental always gave me the thrills. When in 2005, this thrill did not face reality, thanks to my overdue passport renewal, I lost hope just like how a soldier loses hope when his ammo gets jammed and there isn’t a single soul to help him out amidst that entire fire raid….wow! Now why in the world, did I take up that analogy? Guess, I am still not over the mini-series mania ‘BOB’...

So, back to my real story, I simply thought how can I substitute a trip to the never ending scenic surprise filled experience with a cabby ridden trip to the Northern terrains of India? Thrilled, was not the feeling or the word I was looking for, when I heard this… But life is unfair, it has always been. So, then back in 05’ November, I said ‘Yes’ and I ended up enjoying a pretty decent trip to the plains of ‘goris’ and ‘choris’. A place filled with colors, palaces, great spicy food, good looking hunks, nice weather (only during the end of the year) and lots of leg pain (as you have to walk and trek all your way out, in these places)! But all this while, even while messaging my fiancee, or while nodding to the funny English lecture which our guide was trying to install in us, my head was dangling with thoughts, that filled pictures of nature, elephants, drinks, fun, colors, festivals, dances, beaches, smiling people and lots of shopping.

A slight amusement reflected in my grin and I knew I had to just go there, at least once.. Where? No prizes for guessing this one... but it was truly Thailand!

Years passed, I got married to my sweetheart, got a peaceful job and life was never so much better. I and my soul mate keep traveling to unknown destinations to explore regions of interest or to reveal something, which for many others is extraordinary. My days of courting with my sweetheart began when I was averagely enjoying my trip in Rajasthan.

How I wished then that I would travel the ends of the world with him. But of course, later we went places, we enjoyed places, we looked for new places and eventually we decided a great place to go for my next birthday! Any guesses? Yeah finally, we had decided to hit the coasts of Thailand. A dream that was becoming so true, that it was kind of hard for me to believe.SO, I started planning for this lovely trip to Thailand which was planned for around 15 days or so. So, I bid farewell to my dear colleagues, whom I would miss and would empathize with as they have no clue where I am off too.

I knew that these people were envying me, in their minds for the very fact that I was going to have a blast in the best exotic place, ever. For starters, the packing began and i was not even able to think what I need on this trip. I mean, the excitement was carrying me off from my presence of mind. The countdown began and the next I remember is, the final day, the night of our flight when me and my hubby rushed our ways to the airport (as always we rush at the last moment) to catch our much delayed, queue sticking, leg aching, roller coaster flight.

Apparently, it was the holiday season and all the flights were jam-packed. So we waited and waited, from one line to another, catching a bite or two, taking snaps, cit-chatting, observing and commenting about the people around us and the constant peek towards our watches. Finally, we got past the checking and security and the flight eventually kicked off at 2:00 am (it was initially scheduled for 12:00 am), thanks to all the commotion due to the enormous groups of passengers waiting to board various flights that day.

Finally, we squeezed our way into the flight and after the ‘welcomes’ and the ‘here’s your seat, Mam' session, I took a breath of relief for just a minute, after tucking my seat belt. Phew! But the marathon of disasters wasn’t the end for me, that day. More to come is what I say! I slept for a while which was quite tough, as the seats were cramped and my tummy wasn’t doing so good. I might have even thrown up if it wasn’t for my willpower of bearing and tolerating stuff.

So even before, I could blink an eye amidst all that noisy music, stuffed air and a hell a lot of humans around me not shutting their mouths, 'breakfast' was the biz word for the attendants. C’mon, give me a break! So, I skipped the smelly breakfast and just waited until that huge ton of fuselage reaches my most awaited destination.

And like an angel carrying away the weight of so many souls, our flight, sharp at dot time, ultimately reached Bangkok, the heart of the Thais, the city that never sleeps. The time was perfect, the weather couldn’t have been better, the process of immigration and other airport formalities were peaceful. But amidst all this, I had a head going nuts and a tummy going growls.

So strolling through the women only sections and peeking on my back now and then to ensure that my man is still behind, I reach for the conveyor belt so that we can just grab our baggage and get out to inhale some fresh air. Frankly speaking, I was tired of those artificial fragrances seeping through my nasals from the time we started from Chennai. It was high time that I really got some air, so fresh. Inside the airport corridors and lounges, we found some interesting tidbits to be shot at. So we reached for our cameras and shot some amazing masterpieces.

At the airport entrance, our hearts skipped a beat when we saw that there was no one to load our asses. After a minute's session of bargaining just like one of those common tourists that you see in an unheard land, we managed to yield in for their rates and was just desperate to reach our hub so that we can slosh off to sleep for the rest of the day (That is at least what I thought!) But back at the Bangkok Centre Hotel, we spend some time in exploring the arena of this new land, its people, trying out the food and so on. The camera shots had however become the routine for the day.

So after the initial check-in formalities and the exploration of our new hub for the next few hours, we raved into our new room – 412. Yeah, how could I forget that number? This hotel was exactly located a walk away from the local railway station, the Hua Lampong for which we had the subway right in front of our hotel. The best part of the day was we got to hear that China town was just 10 minutes away from the hotel. I hate Chinese food, so that is not why I am so excited but it is the fact that China is known for its great antiques and other weirdo stuff. And I was just waiting with my camera, to take a click of these out-of-the-world stuffs.

 

However, I sloshed off as soon as I saw the beds, all thanks to the freaking jet lag, that I had. It was so bad that after a long time, I had a sleep without any dreams, not even of holidaying in Thailand and I had no clue what time it was when I woke up. But all I knew was I was ever ready for an awesome, fun-filled Thai trip! :)