03/10/20- The day is here. Been a bit of a battle preparing for this East Asia trip over the last few weeks as some of our flights have cancelled. This coronavirus has put people on edge, and even though fewer tourists may be a good thing on our travels, it also means companies will be scrambling to make changes. One of our tours was also cancelled in Taipei so unsure what we will do about that yet. In any case, a month long journey begins tonight, as along with Taipei we will be hitting Bangkok and Phuket in Thailand; New Delhi, Agra and Jaipur in India; Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia and Bali in Indonesia..
Made it to LAX by UBER three hours in advance just in case of any added security, and as we pull up to Thomas Bradley Terminal we find it eerily empty of people. The lines were non-existent as we breezed through the ticket counter and security. We did have to walk in pairs down a carpeted path, with a drug sniffing dog weaving in and out. A lady that went after us was sniffed hard as the dog went haywire. Needless to say, she was stopped but I have no idea what came of that situation.
At this point, I’m very thankful that we made it this far. For the past few days I’ve been feeling a head cold and in the back of my mind I kept wondering if I would get stopped. All it might take is me sneezing at the wrong time and perhaps our trip is over before it even starts. Thinking ahead, I brought some cold medicine to keep my nose from running and my body active. I have no doubt this cold will pass soon, but I need to make it through this long, fourteen-hour flight first.
Shortly after 11pm, we board the flight and find that it’s only a quarter full. Sharece and I ended up getting the entire middle section of seats to ourselves (four across). A very nice way to start the trip and maybe a good omen after all.
03/12/20- That’s right! It’s now the 12th as we skipped over the 11th on the plane. The empty seats around us came in handy as we got some much needed sleep. I didn’t even try to look up movies as I laid there like a log for most of the journey. With our flight arriving at 5am, we knew we had to stay awake the entire day in order to flip over to the drastic time change (fifteen hours ahead).
Upon arrival, we flew by customs, grabbed our bags and looked for an ATM. We tried two different machines and both gave me a slip written in Chinese characters. For whatever reason it didn’t want to work, and I wasn’t willing to keep trying and possibly locking up my money market card. Forgoing that for now, we called for an UBER to take us to our hotel “Hotel Relax II”.
Our room wasn’t ready as we arrived at 7am, but they stored our bags to allow us to walk the city for a bit. We had a notion to jump on a tour today (you know, the one that was cancelled before). Today would have been the only day they were actually available, however, we didn’t want to confirm that before we arrived as we weren’t sure of any delays or even how’d we feel. Unfortunately (or maybe even fortunately) the tour was already fully booked, so we decided to hit the city on foot.
Our first stop was over to the 7-11 next door. The rain was already starting to sputter, making it necessary for us to go back upstairs to get our jackets, despite the outside temperature being a pleasant 65 degrees. We grab some hot dogs, find a working ATM (apparently, I had to withdraw as SAVINGS and not CHECKING) and walk towards Chiang Kai-shek (Memorial Hall).
It’s amazing how both Japan and China influence this city as there are many similarities to both cultures. Just walking through the Peace Park brought back memories of a Japanese Tea Garden, and once we got to the Memorial, that reminded us of the Forbidden City in Beijing. We climbed the vast amount of steps to the top only to see a statue that was inspired by the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC. We were even treated with the changing of the guards, which looked more like a karate/ animation dance training ground, but was awesome to see regardless.
Before we left, we hit a souvenir shop and came across a beautiful hand-made glass dragon that we knew we had to get for display at our home. It seems fragile, and we still have a month left of this trip consisting of eight more flights to get through, but I think we can protect it well enough. We shall see.
As the time approaches noon, we find a noodle place and sat down. We were the first ones in but soon another couple walks in and stands in line at the register, making us realize that’s how we need to order. A few moments later, we are both greeted with big bowls of beef soup for me and dumpling soup for her. A bit spicy, but definitely much needed. Afterwards, we make it back to our hotel around 1pm to find our room ready.
A few hours of relaxing and organizing before getting a driver to take us to the downtown area of Taipei. We spent some time taking photos of Taipei 101 tower (which used to be the tallest building in the world some 15 years ago) and walking around. The mall area inside was nothing but high end shops that didn’t interest us, so we grabbed some food and waited until dark for us to get night shots of the tower as well.
On our way back to our hotel, I read an email from my driver in India stating VISA’s to the entire country have now been suspended for travel to India until mid-April. As you can imagine, my mind is doing complete flips at this moment trying to comprehend the magnitude of that on our trip. We planned to be in India for over a week in the middle of this vacation and now it appears we will have to make some crazy phone calls to airlines and credit card companies to get this all straightened out. We also now have about a week to kill someplace close that we need to figure out. Do we spend more time in Phuket and Bali, or try our hand at Vietnam?
I guess this shall all be in the TOO-BE-CONTINUED pile for now.
03/13/20- Slept pretty well through the night and got up around 8:30am for breakfast. I was on a chat hold with IndiGo (airline that we had two bookings with) and decided not to wait through the queue as I was feeling hungry. Breakfast was very good. Eggs, French toast, sausage, salad and bread were available as well as some pasta and a mixture of pastry type buns. We each had several plates.
The next few hours were spent with my credit card company about filing a dispute and on hold through chat with the airlines. IndiGo agreed to cancel both flights with full refund (minus a small convenience fee that equaled to $12 a booking), which I am happy with. Also, all of the India Hotels booked will be fully refunded. Only hold-over is AirAsia, which I already had issues weeks before when they cancelled a flight and refused to rebook, so not holding my breath out for that one. It appears my credit card may be able to step in for the difference, but will have to see. In the meantime, Vietnam is looking very good as a substitute for India.
Finally, I get a hold of AirAsia by chat, and of course, they refuse to credit or change the booking. The flight is still 15 days away, so there is time for them to have to cancel the flight altogether. Either way, I will be getting my money back, somehow. I can’t believe they would take advantage of a world crisis like this and not refund any passengers who couldn’t fly out through no fault of their own.
Around 2pm, we were ready to check out Taipei for day #2. We take an UBER to Confucius Temple, yes the famous Confucius you’ve heard about, and find it free to enter. They did have a person taking temperatures of our foreheads, but we passed. There were several rooms to take in, showing the six styles of teachings, from calligraphy to music and so forth. Nicely done with intricate design for every building.
Next place we went to was DaLongDong Baoan Temple, which was around the corner. This Buddhist temple was still very much in use and more crowded with worshipers. It was interesting to see the contrasting styles of both temples and the people that frequent them.
Around 5pm, we stroll down the street to see an early version of the night market before catching a ride back to our area. We finish the night off with some noodles and a bit of shopping. Tomorrow is still undetermined, so hopefully we come up with something good.
03/14/20- Happy birthday to my wife, Sharece. I gave the reigns over to her to decide what we should do and she came up with some interesting ideas, so if this falls on our face… it’s not MY fault! All I have to say is… Foot massage, foot massage, and finally foot massage. But we’ll get into more of that later.
After breakfast, which was different than yesterday but still filling, we took an UBER to the National Palace Museum. A nice collection of calligraphy, stones and other artifacts of the area which took us a few hours to walk through, even though we’re not really museum people. There was also a garden next door that we walked through, despite it being chilly and windy at this point. Afterwards, we went out for Dim Sum, which was fantastic as everything on the menu was in English. We spent perhaps an hour and half there before making our way to Xi-Men Station to check out the Rainbow Taipei Crosswalk.
This area reminds me so much of Tokyo, with anime all around and lights on the buildings. There was music bump’n and crowds of people, but felt open enough to maneuver. We enjoyed just walking the streets and seeing some performers. Around 5pm, the tiredness began to hit, so we decided to head back to our hotel, but not before hitting up a foot massage place across the street. With it being Sharece’s birthday, I had to treat her to one, and of course she convinced me to have one too. All I have to say is WOW! I never had something hurt so bad feel so good, and those hot towels… felt like my feet were going to burn right off. They do seem as light as air now, and the crazy part is it was only around $15 USD.
With our time in Taipei coming to a close, we retreated to the hotel for the remainder of the night. Tomorrow will be a very early wake-up call to catch our flight out.
03/15/20- A few things to reflect on so far. Taipei is an interesting blend of culture and politeness, which adds a unique feel to the area. Driving here is crazy with lanes merging together as you dodge scooters zooming by you at every corner. The weather was not very good to us as it rained on and off the entire time, and was overcast each day. Absolutely no blue skies to capture, which was a bit of a downer, but we had a great time regardless. Speaking of the virus, sanitizer, temp checks and face masks are everywhere.
This morning, we check out around 4:30am as our hotel gives us a bag with sandwiches and bananas. That was very much appreciated as it will be a bit before the airline feeds us on the plane. Check in was easy enough once we found our ticket counter (which had no signs around telling us where to go, so we walked around all of the aisles trying to find China Airlines).
As we walk to our gate I find a departures board showing three quarters of the flights cancelled. I quickly survey to find our flight still on-time, so crossing fingers at this point. Fortunately, we board without any issues only to see that it’s almost empty. I’m talking about a large (8 seats across) plane with only a handful of people spread throughout (which holds upwards to 150+ people in just our section of the plane alone). With the flight being three and a half hours long, I was able to stretch out as long as I wanted as if I owned the jet.
Breakfast was served but wasn’t feeling the choices too much as I was still somewhat full from the sandwich earlier, and after getting almost two hours of sleep we were interrupted with a bout of turbulence. We read the forecast to be ninety-percent chance of rain but the wind was really kicking up as the plane dipped and swayed. Welcome to Thailand!
We did land safely, of course since you are reading my blog, and soon was outside the terminal setting up the UBER. We had some trouble finding where to go as there are no signs for it and when I tried the app it just kept circling. After about ten minutes of fumbling we decided to hit the taxi rank. Good thing we were able to get cash out of the ATM first.
There was no line for a taxi, and all we had to do was grab a number and walk over to the car in that spot. Of course, we got a guy who couldn’t speak English and had no idea what hotel we were telling him, or even how to read the address we had. He was able to call the hotel by the phone number we gave him and find his own directions. The ride took about forty minutes, and I made sure he had the meter on as well as followed with my own GPS. The rain was also really coming down, which didn’t make me feel too well about how today was going to go, but luckily it started to die down.
Once dropped off, the fare was only 500 THB (about $15 USD). The hotel was also able to get us a room right away despite it still being in the morning, and give us a welcome drink. The room was very nicely made up, however, very hot as the warm climate outside has made its way in. The air conditioner was able to help cool it off, but it took some time.
With the weather holding up a bit, we weren’t sure how long we would have before it started pouring down again. Knowing we only have a few days, we decided to forgo relaxing and head out on the town. As we were leaving, I grabbed the key from the holder on the wall only to see the light flashing a countdown. Yup, we have one of those rooms where you have to have the key in the room in order to have the power work (including the air conditioner). We tried a few makeshift card size things around the room until we finally realized that only one of my credit cards did the trick. Good ole’ Capital One Silver card. None of the other cards worked, so this one must be made of the exact material to trigger the power. Ingeniously, we were able to lock our door and keep the air conditioner running while we were gone.
We had a hard time trying to figure out how to dress as the humid hot air was combined with the rain. Knowing we were going into temples, we had to wear long pants, but left our jackets behind. We walked to the Grand Palace, which was only about twelve minutes away, and as we tried to find the entrance we were bombarded with scammers trying to claim that it was closed. We heard about this where they try to get you to go to another temple and end up almost kidnapping you until you purchase some high dollar items from their shop. We weren’t even close to falling for that.
It wasn’t long before we found the entrance gate, but upon trying to enter Sharece was stopped for wearing leggings. Apparently, they thought they were too tight and had to buy a wrap from the shop next door. Didn’t cost much so no big deal and we got a wrap for future temples we’ll be entering.
Our umbrellas made it a pain trying to take photos; enough to where we just let the rain hit our heads while walking around. We did have to take our shoes off at one point to enter a worship area and by the time we were able to put them back on, the rain had stopped. It was here when we set out to try and find the Emerald Buddha that was talked about. Checking my phone, I find that not only was it back at the worship area where we had to take off our shoes, but that photos weren’t allowed anyhow. Ah well, what can you do?
The palace was absolutely beautiful with all of the gold color layered on all of the buildings. Despite the rain, it was definitely worth to see. Our next destination of Wat Traimit was too far to walk, and closing within the hour, so we used an app called GRAB to take us there. What’s GRAB you ask? Well, it’s their version of an UBER, which now explains why we had so much trouble at the airport earlier. I find it funny that we are in Thailand and they named it GRAB. It sounds like a play on words for being kidnapped, but actually it was quite convenient and cheap.
This next temple is where we saw the Golden Buddha. Apparently, this 83% solid gold statue is ten feet tall, weighing 5.5 tons and made in the 13th century. It was plastered over to hide from enemies and not found until 1955 when a crack was formed on the outer shell. We had to climb several flights of steps, but it was worth the journey.
Finally, after a full day’s work, aching feet and tired eyes, we make it back to our hotel around 6pm. We had a notion to go back out but the place we were looking at didn’t have tickets available until tomorrow, so purchased it for then.
All in all, it’s been a fairly easy trip with little to no interruptions on what we have had planned to do so far. The India thing has kicked us in the head a bit but perhaps for the best anyhow. We have been looking at Siem Reap, Cambodia as a possibility and may have to do just that as Vietnam has been popping up new cases of the virus and closing their borders to Europeans. Looks like we’ll havet o time our flights with little notice to find out if it’s worth getting a plane ticket for. Last thing I want is to have another cancellation (or worse, we get there and are not allowed to go further).
03/16/20- The bathroom here hates me. Firstly, the toilet seat won’t stay up (or as I call it, the emasculator). Then, there’s no hot water in the sink so in order to shave I have to go back and forth between the shower. Did I mention the shower goes hot in spurts? A far cry from the heated toilet seat in Taipei.
We were able to sleep very well last night as the room temperature and bed were perfect. Even the booming, club sounds outside of our hotel didn’t bother us. We didn’t leave until after 11am and set out to go to a place called ART IN PARADISE first. The car ride took about thirty minutes, and the heat outside was already getting above ninety degrees but at least it was air conditioned.
We reach the mall and go to the 4th floor for ART IN PARADISE. If you’re not familiar with this place, it’s a web of painted walls scattered throughout two floors where you can take interactive photos. Most are done very well where it looks realistic, but there were a few that just fell flat with bad lighting and reflections. Overall, we had an awesome time for the two hours, and funny enough we were the only ones there. Had the entire place to ourselves. There’s something a bit sad about that, but it worked out for us today.
The ride back into town took longer and was jerky from the guy’s driving, but we arrived at Wat Arun temple around 3:30pm. This place was awesome, with temples systematically aligned in a square pattern. We were able to walk up into it and enjoy the beautiful designs with the blue sky in the backdrop. The sun was out, but at least we were mostly in shade.
Our last temple we visited was Wat Pho (I know, sounds funny like. “I’m going to the temple… What for?”) This place is the home to the leaning Buddha which was around 150 feet long and 50 feet high. Again, the crowds were down so not much competition for enjoyment of the site and taking photos.
The last thing we did before calling it a day was go down to the water to get a view of Wot Arun from a distance. I contemplated coming back for night shots, but it’s just not worth the hassle. We have an early flight out to Phuket tomorrow and will need to get some sleep.
I did do some more research on places to visit and found that Cambodia has put a travel restriction on the United States for entry. Even though we would have been traveling for almost two weeks by the time we would arrive, it doesn’t seem to matter. With Vietnam and Cambodia out of the picture it appears an extended stay in Phuket is all that’s left on the menu. Hopefully nothing happens to where we won’t be able to go to Bali later.
03/17/20- Where to start? Oh wait I know, how about at the beginning! So we wake up as normal, hire a car to the airport and arrive with over an hour to spare. It’s domestic so no need to get there too early even with this epidemic going on. Again, we pass the temperature test and fly through security. So far so good as I’m hoping nothing weird happens to stop us from boarding.
Nine-thirty rolls around and we board the plane. It’s actually fuller than the previous flights, as it’s domestic, but we still end up with an empty seat between us. The flight took a little over an hour and before we knew it we landed in Phuket. Without any customs to worry about we find baggage claim immediately, and just as we arrive we find that our bag is the first one down the shoot. A good omen perhaps?
Next, was the adventure of finding our ride to the hotel (Chanalai Hillside Resort). We use the GRAB app and as I’m standing there figuring out where our pick-up spot would be I’m bombarded by people asking me about taxis and shuttles. Constantly, I’m waiving them off like flies before I finally ask one place how much? A shuttle is half price compared to the app, but we would still have to find a ride from the station. Best to just have the app do everything for us.
As soon as I book the car I get a text from the driver asking which terminal, followed by telling us where the pick-up point is. We had to walk through the parking lot, which I thought was weird, and when we got there we find cops on mopeds pulling over other drivers. I look down at my phone and see a text stating, “I have to wait for the police to leave, first”. Oh yeah this is going to be good, I just know it.
We waited there like pigeons wondering if the police were actually going to leave or not. I mean we were standing there with our luggage so it’s not like we are hiding the fact that we’re looking for a ride at all. Once they finish handing out their tickets, they get on their mopeds and mosey down the road. A few seconds later our driver shows up in a van, grabs our stuff to throw into the trunk and immediately flies down the road.
The journey to our hotel took about an hour and once we arrived we still weren’t entirely sure if our hotel was still good. That was all alleviated when the staff greeted us with warm smiles and booked us in. I did mention to them that Sharece’s birthday just passed and if there was anything special they might be able to do. With a wink and a nod, they told me no problem. We would have to wait about fifteen minutes for our room to get made up though. Hey, I’m just happy to have a room at this point so what’s an extra few minutes.
Putting the time to good use, we leave our bags at reception and head across the street to the market for snacks and drinks. Our plan was to stay four nights; however, at this point we may definitely stay longer so better stock up. By the time we came back we were told our room was ready as the lady at the counter showed us to it. As we walk in and down the hall, we see the hotel staff waiting for us in our room with a lit birthday cake. How awesome is that! They took pictures and a video as well as selfies with us while singing Happy Birthday. Completely unexpected and applaud the effort on that one.
Once we had the room to ourselves, we open the sliding door to find that our terrace leads straight to the pool. We have our own entrance! Can this get ANY better! Suddenly, a knock is heard and as I open it the hotel staff gives us a full pineapple already cut up and placed neatly back into half of the pineapple. Okay, this is way too much!
Wanting to take it easy today after the crazy few days of travel notifications and walking, we jump into our swimwear, pour some drinks, and enjoy the pool from our terrace. I’m immediately drawn to a basketball hoop in the pool as the ball flies my way. From the terrace, I take a jumpshot and bank it in from about twenty feet away. Okay, now THAT’S a good omen! The next several hours were spent lounging, swimming and enjoying the beautiful day.
Once we return to our hotel, I check my email to find that not only our AirAsia flight officially cancelled but also our Malindo Air flight (to Kuala Lumpur) cancelled as well. This is a good thing as we were not able to take those flights anyway, but with the airline cancelling for us that means we get a full refund. I added it up and the total amount of flight, hotel and tour cancellations comes up to about two thousand dollars to this point, with almost all of it being refunded back.
The crazy thing is, we don’t have any flights to catch until about two and a half weeks from now in Bali. We have the freedom to stay here as long as we want if we so choose, or until they kick us out. Either way, I’m completely okay with that. Still hoping for the best on our health as anything could happen. In the mean time we plan to spend what we can enjoying the views and drinking by the water.
03/18/20- A week into the trip and already we have another plan. It appears Phuket will be our last destination as Indonesia is suspending its visa-free exemption. Only way to get one now is to go to an Indonesian mission and submit a health certificate from your home country. Well, that’s not happening.
With all of these changes, we’ve already relegated to making this a whatever trip anyhow. We will have to call up China Airlines to rearrange our flight back to the states out of Phuket instead of Bali, but we aren’t prepared to do that just yet. I think extending our vacation here would be pretty cool considering how bad the US has been anyhow. The downside would be if the world went crazy and cancelled all foreign travel, which I don’t see happening.
The breakfast buffet included with the room was good for the most part. We went around 10am and the place was packed; I guess we know where all of the people in Thailand went… to our hotel apparently. They had an array of choices from freshly made omelets, fruits, cold meats and pasta. Not bad to start out the day.
First destination was to Wat Chalong. The drive took about twenty minutes and it was very hot and humid. So glad the driver had the AC blasting. We immediately take off our shoes to go into the first temple and are greeted rudely by the harsh, hot concrete for the several steps we had to take before entering. Definitely a sunscreen day, but my feet may not survive this. Inside there were multiple levels with many Buddha’s arranged throughout. The top also gave a nice view of the surrounding temples.
After skipping around the shadows for a bit, we enter the second temple which was much smaller. Here, they had people kneeling and praying upon the Buddha’s so we were careful not to interfere. Outside, we walked the grounds a bit before hitting up the local shops nearby. Once we saw the drinks we bought a cold one to quench our thirst, and also found some souvenirs that would go great in our place. All of the ladies at the market waited patiently as we looked around, which was very nice compared to being hounded.
We found another driver to take us up the mountain to the Big Buddha statue, which has only been around for about thirty years. It’s 148 feet tall and visible throughout the island of Phuket. On the way we passed by several Elephant farms that looked interesting so perhaps we may check one of those out. Oh, and my Fanta popped like a champagne bottle when I opened it. Literally made a huge sound as the lid shot into the air.
At the statue, we had to climb the long, white staircase to get to the base of the Buddha, but the view from up top was very enjoyable as it showed the beach landscape. There wasn’t much else to do so we trekked down to the bottom and called our ride again. This time, however, the app stated there are no drivers nearby and to try again later. I looked around and saw an empty taxi stand and thought, perhaps drivers don’t come up here too often. I waited a few moments before trying again, and to our luck found a driver. We did have to wait about ten minutes for him to arrive but well worth it.
Back at our hotel, we took about thirty minutes to freshen up before eating at a restaurant across the street. We ordered a seafood spaghetti platter that was bathed in a sweet and sour like sauce. Very, very good! All together, with a plate of garlic prawns and two fruit shakes came up to only $12 USD. We left around 5:50pm, just as we saw the sun starting to come down. Feeling energetic, we walked the few minutes it took to the beach in hopes of getting some nice sunset pictures.
The sand felt awesome on our feet and the water temperature was a warm 85 degrees. We will definitely have to plan a full day here tomorrow as this was amazing. We ventured down to the end of the strip (away from the crowd) and found a secluded spot. There were a few photographers taking photos of newly married couples, which I was able to snap a few myself. And as the sun came down, Sharece and I marveled over the red and orange colored skyline. What a fun day this was! While most people around the world are worrying about sanitation, going back to work, and whether they need to get themselves checked out for the virus; we are out here wondering which beach we should go to today. Doesn’t seem right, and I feel for those in a less desirable situation.
Whelp, that’s over as now I feel more human! Back to today. We ended our night swimming in the pool and enjoying an all-you-can-eat grilled barbecue at our hotel. We also asked how much it would be to stay an extra two nights and got a very favorable rate, so we most likely will be taking them up on that offer soon. Now it’s time to get some sleep. I say that lightly because their bed was one of the hardest I’ve slept on in a long time. It’s almost like sleeping in the back seat of a car… if the cushions were taken out of it! We asked for an extra comforter to be brought up, so hopefully that will help.
03/19/20- So, found another flaw with this hotel. Last night a group of people checked into the room next to ours, and you could hear everything. Of course they were being overly loud, so not like the walls are that thin, but the adjoining door apparently doesn’t muffle that out. I had to go to the reception and have everything typed out on my phone with a translator so they understood exactly what was going on.
This morning at breakfast was about the same but with less people. We talked with our hotel about staying the extra nights and were told they will get back to us. Not sure what that means, but I’m assuming everything would be okay.
We started our day with a ride to Kata Noi Beach. We chose this place because it’s less populated and has some interesting snorkel areas. Good thing we brought our own gear with us. We found an empty umbrella with chairs and put our stuff down, but before we got into the water we were approached by a man asking us for 200 THB ($6 USD) for the spot. We knew coming in that there would be a charge, but after I paid I took a picture of him just in case someone tried to say we didn’t.
Sprinting down the beach, and I don’t say that lightly because the sand was literally burning our feet like hot coals, we make it to the rocks to begin our swim. At first it was a bit of a chore trying to maneuver through the waves that kept crashes us into those rocks, but it wasn’t long before we were able to navigate around and find the schools of fish we’ve been looking for.
I took my new GoPro 7 camera out and started filming as much as I could, not even sure what I was taking photos of at times. As I reviewed them I was very happy with how it worked. Man, I can’t wait to see these on the editing room floor.
On our way back to our cabana we run into another English speaking couple from Canada. We talked a bit about how the virus was affecting the world and what each other’s plans were. They mentioned that they just came from Bali not long ago and loved Phuket much more. Well, if you believe in signs then perhaps that’s our cue to stay here after all.
Several hours were spent lounging, enjoying the sun (despite how hot is got at times) and swimming in the 85 degree water. We even ordered a margherita pizza from a nearby restaurant that was very, very good. Didn’t cost much and came with a free can of soda.
5pm rolls around and we are spent. We called a ride back to our hotel and decided to check out the rooftop pool at our place. Unfortunately it wasn’t that well kept as everything seemed old and even the umbrellas were all torn up. The view wasn’t too bad but not worth staying as we ventured back to our terrace side pool. Oh and we finally met our Russian neighbors out front. We didn’t talk with them but they seemed almost cool, if it wasn’t for the smoking and loud talking yesterday.
Lastly, our hotel finally got back to us about staying the two extra nights and accepted. I didn’t realize it was a competition so not sure why it had to go through a chain of command, but I’ll take it. Only $50 a night here with breakfast buffet included…. Yes please…. May stay even longer!
03/20/20- It finally happened as we now have an official date to go home. It appears the longer we wait the more likely it may be that our flight back won’t exist anymore, and as much as I would like to stay abroad for another few weeks, it’s time to call it. But not before we get a few extra days in Phuket!
I called up China Airlines and got our flight switched, leaving from Bangkok now instead of Bali. They wanted to charge me $250 per person for the change but I talked them into $250 total for both of us, which helped as we also had to book our own flight from Phuket back to Bangkok. Our flight doesn’t leave Bangkok until about 5:50pm on Sunday the 22nd, so I booked the hour flight from Phuket to arrive around noon to give us plenty of time. Hopefully that flight isn’t delayed too long or even cancelled otherwise we will have to do some more scrambling.
Also, asked the front desk to help us find a tour tomorrow for James Bond Island. The first one we called couldn’t do it for that day (which was about $90 per person), but we found one that did and the price was only $78 total for both. The hotel helped book us an elephant trek for today and negotiated a lower price since Sharece wasn’t into riding, only taking pictures.
The driver picked us up at 1:30pm and once there we were greeted by three large elephants. These creatures are funny as they appear to be smiling as they eat. Our guide took us on a short tour of how they can make paper out of elephant poop. You heard me right! They asked if we wanted to get our hands in it and we were not even going there. Then, we were able to get up close with a baby elephant. The hairs on its head are so course and prickly that I wasn’t sure how to even touch it, but before I could think of what to do it lifts its trunk and tries to kiss me. Nope… nope… not happening!
Finally, we get to the trekking part. I was loaded up on the elephant from a raised platform to a carriage on its back. As it went up the trail I was trying to see how this thirty minute ride will be, as perhaps all I needed was five minutes. Then, I brought out my GoPro camera and was getting some amazing photos and video. Did I mention how much I love this camera?
At the top of the hill, I could see out over the trees and to the water. Not the best view but felt surreal being on top of a big beast at the same time. The guide got off the elephant and took several photos with my phone of me riding, which I was very thankful for. By the time we were on our way back I was very happy with the journey and money spent to be able to do this.
Hitting up our hotel to cool off for a bit, we went back out walking around our area for food, ATM and some items from the pharmacy. Sharece may have gotten motion sickness from the ride earlier, and with our boat trip tomorrow we wanted to get some Dramamine.
On the way, back we stopped at the Friendly Restaurant across the street to order some soup and food to go, and just as we got to our room we saw the sun setting over the horizon. Only one more day left of this shortened trip and we will be on our way back to isolation-ville.
03/21/20- Last day in paradise. Our tour is set to pick us up around 7:30am, so we got up early for breakfast. The excursion today will bring us to several islands around Phuket with different activities.
Our shuttle picked us up and took over an hour to get to the pier. Once there, we were told that since there were fewer people than expected that we would be taking a speedboat around and not the cruise boat. Not sure how much that’ll make a difference as of yet but we’ll see.
I didn’t have to wait long to find out as the wind cooled me off very nicely from the hot sun. My hair was blowing every which direction, however, so I had to be careful not to get it tangled too much. And yes, I have heard of this thing called a hair tie.
First island we went was to see the stalagmites hanging out over the water. We only stopped briefly to get some photos before moving on to James Bond Island (Phang Nga Bay). This was straight out of a scene from the James Bond movie: Man with the Golden Gun, and very cool to see up close. The locals, however, kept trying to peddle their shop stuff on us as we walked by the market, almost screaming out as if we didn’t see them the first time.
Next, we took a cruise around another island in a canoe, which was very awesome. We went in and out of cave openings and took all of the photos we wanted. The heat was started to wear down on us when we were in open water, so the caves definitely helped cool us off a bit.
Close to 12pm, we dock at a small village on the water, with colorful buildings based at the edge of a huge rock formation. They had a restaurant where we were catered lunch before being able to walk the town. It has a working hospital and school, but most of what we saw was shops laid out for tourists. I’m sure the further inward you walk the more authentic this place seems, but we had our fill of shopping on this trip.
Our last stop was to Naka Island for swimming and enjoying the beach. As soon as the boat docked, a flock of locals rushed over to try and sell us on their drinks and activities. We told one lady no thanks and she began following us until we found a spot to lay down our stuff. Telling her no thank you one more time finally gave her the hint to leave. Other than that, the beach was awesome. We ducked in the warm water several times to escape the sun; then laid out in the shade.
The shuttle ride back to the hotel was another hour, and thankfully the Dramamine helped Sharece as cars go every which way while driving on the left side of the road. There’s always a battle between vans and motorbikes, with no crosswalks in our area and very few (if any) stop lights.
Once back, we used our last 300 Thai Bahts ($9 USD) and got some food to go from across the street again. The soup is amazing and the noodles aren’t bad either. We finished the night packing and swimming in the pool one last time. I’ll miss this hotel as it had pretty much everything we needed, but life happens and when it does it’s not wise to push it beyond its limits too much. Many of the travelers we’ve come across over the past few days also have flights out tomorrow, so it’s definitely a universal fear of the unknown.
03/22/20- D-Day! Going to be an adventure making three flights through all of this chaos brewing, but we’re ready for the challenge. We were up and ready by 6am, ate breakfast, checked out and ordered a ride to the airport (which took about an hour drive). So far so good!
We arrive and get temperature-wanded as soon as we walk through the doors. 35 degrees celcius means pass. I received an email message by China Airlines yesterday stating that all passenger temps need to be below 37.5 degrees and strongly advised to wear a mask at all times. We asked our hotel if they had any spare masks to no avail.
Now it’s time to check-in for our first flight to Bangkok. I tried to do an online check-in last night but it wouldn’t allow it, so I began searching for the flight history info to see how on-time it’s been in the past only to turn up nothing for the flight. A slight panic hit as I became concerned that this low-cost Vietjet airline (based out of Vietnam by the way) was still operational in Thailand when finally I found it. It’s actually Thai Vietjet (so the Thailand subsidy of it). Whew!
We were able to check-in without problem and went right to our gate. While waiting for our flight I heard over the loudspeaker about how powerbanks and lithium batteries are not allowed in checked luggage. Normally, this doesn’t concern me but this morning I do remember putting my portable electronic charger (i.e. powerbank) into our luggage instead of our carry-on. Whoops! Hopefully, it goes through okay because I’m not going to inform them only to say I can’t board.
Our flight actually left about ten minutes earlier than posted, as I guess all of the passengers made it on board, but it was strangely filled up about three-quarters of people. We picked the aisle and window seat in a row of three figuring nobody would sit between us, but there was already a man sitting in the middle seat when we got to our row. We kindly asked him to move over to the window so we could sit together.
Right before take-off, I noticed a few empty rows and asked if we could switch and they allowed it no problem. Now, I’m even more confused on why that guy was put between us when there were full rows empty. Seems weird! But of course, right before we take off we realize the new seats we picked are right behind a loud Vietnamese family with three kids. Sharece tried to move once more but the flight attendant told her she had to sit until after take-off. The lady even blocked her like a hockey goalie (moving side to side) which made me crack up even more. Luckily it was only an hour flight as the kids were running up the aisle and bouncing on their chairs, but we were too tired to really care. We land in Bangkok with over six hours to spare for our next flight. Round one complete!
Round two starts with us looking for food and a place to sit. We had to pick up our luggage first and when we checked with the China Airlines counter we found that we can’t check-in for our next flight for about another three hours. We trek towards the restaurants and hit up Burger King as we wanted safe food before our long flights coming. Two meals cost us $30 USD… at Burger King! Jeez! Where did they import the beef from… Australia? Oh wait, they did. Okay, I’ll give it a pass.
Again, we go on a search for masks and everywhere we went they were sold out. Even the airport hospital didn’t have any more to give. I’m sure China Airlines won’t disallow us to board without them, but I didn’t want to give them any reason to just in case. I finally decided to take a shirt out of our luggage and if asked I would wrap it around my face like a scarf. That should work! I also took this time to take out the powerbank from our checked bag and into our backpack so we won’t accidentally encounter any issues the rest of the journey.
Going to the restroom was a chore as well as lady attendants are constantly in there cleaning. Guys are at the urinal and they are sweeping the floor right behind them. I understand keeping the restrooms clean but no way could you get away with a man being in the ladies restroom like that.
After a few hours we decided to check the check-in counter and found a line already forming. Sharece got in the long line as I asked an attendant up front why I was unable to do on-line check-in. She stated she needed my original credit card that I made the booking with. I showed her my current card and told her that the original card I used last year I no longer have (as I was given a new number). To make it easier, I ran over to Sharece and got the credit card statement showing that old account number (something I was told to have just in case they ask) and that satisfied her enough to release the hold. She then had another person help me with the check-in from the airport kiosk.
Fumbling through the prompts, she kept having issues scanning our passports, as we did on our very first flight out of LAX two weeks ago. She escorted us to the baggage drop line and told us to say the kiosk was having issues. Luckily, when we got to the front, they directed us near the same lady that helped us the first time, so they pushed us right through without any issues. Whew!
Still a few hours away from boarding, we went through security but were stopped at passport control. They said they needed us to fill out our info on our disembarking card before letting us through. Another score! We finally arrive at our gate only to find it closed for cleaning; all the while the air is getting very hot. We went down the escalator to the gate next to ours and found it nice and cool, so we waited it out there for about thirty minutes before we were able to move over to our own.
With all of the moving around we did between eating, finding a more secluded spot, moving closer to the counter, checking in, hitting up the adjacent gate before finally parking at our own gate, the time actually went by pretty fast. Oh, while waiting I received an email from AirAsia (you know the airline that wouldn’t refund my ticket and had to wait it out until they finally cancelled the flight for them to do so?) Well, they just sent me a message “Get ready for your flight. Last chance to pre-book your meal and seats”. Hmmm, thanks for the nice reminder that we are not going to India anytime soon. Also, it appears I found all of the American’s in Southeast Asia as they all seem to be on this flight. Perhaps Taipei is one of only a few places still available to get back to the states. It’s like the apocalypse in happening and we’re the last of the stragglers.
We board our flight to Taipei and get our own two seats by the window. Wouldn’t you know it the guy across the aisle smelled horrible. After speaking with the flight attendant, she gave me some air freshener spray and also offered us to move to two empty seats in the middle of the plane. We decided to stay put figuring the inside air cabin, after takeoff, will take care of it. Luckily it did. Then, I overhead the flight attendant talk with someone nearby and all I heard back was, “She’s fine… not sick at all. Just has motion sickness.” Well that didn’t sound good. About five minutes later I heard that person coughing and thought, well great…. THIS is how we catch the virus. We were perfectly okay in our hide-a-way in Thailand but now we’ll catch it on our way home.
The three hour flight was rather long as I didn’t get any sleep. I tried to watch a movie but the shows weren’t very good and all they had for a meal was a bread roll, a weird tasting chocolate cake thingy and a cookie.
Moving right along, we transfer terminals in Taipei, go back through security check and get our temperature taken once again (which we passed). If all goes well we should be touching down in Los Angeles in about thirteen hours from now.
The flight ended up being uneventful. We had the entire middle four seats to ourselves, so sleeping on the plane was easy. Once landed, we were still able to use our mobile pass to go right through passport control (skip the line) and retrieve our bags. I did decide to upgrade us to an UBER BLACK so we can be picked up straight from the terminal and have curbside service. The driver was telling us all the stories over the past two weeks of how crazy it is at the stores and how empty the streets are in Los Angeles. Something to look forward to I guess.
All in all, it was a fantastic trip out, even if it was cut shorter than what we planned. We didn’t see any ill effects of the virus (other than temp checks and people wearing masks), and somehow we missed lockdowns and curfews as we traveled from city to city. Shortly after we entered Thailand they put a mandate that all foreigners had to have a health certificate from home country and proof of insurance upon arrival. Yeah, we could have stayed possibly another week, but at what cost? We got to see some amazing things (with the benefit of little to no crowds). I can truly say that this is one experience we will never PHUKET!
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