Monday, September 26, 2005

From one City of Angels to another

Today was the longest day of my life. Waking at 5:00am to the very first hints of light in Bangkok I hurried to finish packing my cases whilst struggling to wake up. After calling in at our office tower and taking in the view for perhaps the last ever time I flew down the expressway in a typically noisy and decrepit taxi to Don Muang airport. The next thing that sticks in my mind is boarding the packed 747 to Osaka and regarding my economy class seat that was to be my berth for the next 17 hours with absolute disdain- a hamster would have complained about the leg room! In fact this was the second time I had traveled to Osaka in the same week as I left on a red-eye night flight on the previous Tuesday and returned on the Thursday evening, now two days later the flight passed quicker and surprisingly more comfortably.

At 15:00 Kansai airport was beautiful shrouded in a sea mist and I took the 30 minutes break from my assigned seat of pain as an opportunity to check if my legs were still capable of walking, stretching and bending out of the prone position. Looking across the water over to the edge of Osaka I remembered eating and chatting on Wednesday night with my old friend Andy and wondering what he would be doing on such a sleepy looking Sunday. Then just as my knees felt like joints again we were herded back into the same seats for the leg to LA. Being my first trip to the US and having a fairly daunting work schedule ahead it was with some trouble that I fell asleep. Today is the 25th of September and it marks exactly my first year living in Thailand first- In my mind I tried to recall almost everything I had done, accomplished, eaten and enjoyed and soon I fell into a contented slumber.

Arriving at 11:00 am into Los Angeles and I could not understand that it is still Sunday, In fact I am still not sure what time it really is?!.. Surviving immigration, customs, and the drive to my hotel in a strange car on the wrong side of the road took a great effort and I can not tell you a great deal about what I have seen as I simply concentrated on driving and following the instructions given by the on board navigator: “Turn right, immediately!” - I write this now at 20:30 and I know that the longest day of my life is finally about to end in a lovely deep sleep..

2 Comments:

Blogger Steve Margetts said...

Rough day! Cattle-class isn't fun, but for someone of your height it must be torture.

How long are you in LA for?

1:45 pm

 
Blogger BigMangoDave said...

Hi Ste,

Well I am here for maybe 6 weeks depending on how the work goes- actually if the last 2 days is anything to go by then it will be 6 months not weeks!!

Hope you are well.

Dave

9:51 pm

 

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