Post-India Week

Back to Civilization

On the morning of February 10 I was excited to be leaving India. I would first head to Bangkok for two days before vacationing in Hawaii for a week. I would then finally return to China. 

Bangkok (Feb 10 - Feb 11)

Quick 3-hour matter

After my plane landed in Bangkok at 2 PM, I went to the Korean Airlines office in the airport to pick up my paper plane ticket to Hawaii, but they were closed, out to lunch until 3 PM. I sat on the floor outside the office. I noticed the floor was extremely clean. You notice these things after being in India. Sitting on the floor, I watched airport employees return from their lunch break. Many of the Thai women smiled, which contrasted greatly with the women in India who rarely smiled at a stranger (me) unless they wanted me to buy something or to give them money. When the office finally opened at 3, it took two more hours to get my ticket, making this relatively simple task a small odyssey.

Traffic

I caught an airport bus heading downtown, but there was traffic. After an hour and a half of sitting through slow-moving traffic, I decided that I could walk faster, and got off. I have to admit, part of the reason I got off was the tempting food vendors I saw from the bus window. I bought some food as I looked for a hostel that had been recommended to me. I walked for an hour with my rucksack and finally found it hidden in an alley. By this point it was dark outside. I had snacked on enough street foods during my walk to the hotel to count as dinner, but I still decided to go out and get some real Thai food, as my time in Thailand was limited. I ate at a nearby restaurant and had cashew salad. It was 99% cashews, despite the waitress telling me that it was very similar to the regular Thai salad.

I went to bed early, but did not sleep well in my dorm bed. I felt like bugs were biting me all night. I got up before the sunrise, at 5 AM.

Day in Bangkok

I walked the streets as the sun rose, and then relaxed in a public park for a couple of hours. For the remainder of the day, I walked around, eating street foods and stopping in two temples (for only a couple of minutes each). I noticed that the streets were extremely clean, and that there were a lot of people cleaning them. I thought, "What a model country!" My flight was the next morning at 1 AM. After roaming the streets for hours, I returned to the hostel and watched a DVD in the TV room. I had a few hours before my flight and got a great Thai massage before catching a bus to the airport.

Seoul, Korea (Feb 12)

My flight from Bangkok to Honolulu had a twelve-hour stopover in Seoul. I took advantage of this time to check out the city. My first impression was positive. Seoul was modern, clean and scenic (as the city had many surrounding hills). The subway system was futuristic. A problem was that I had not dressed appropriately. It was 32 degrees, but I had no hat or winter coat, only a sweater. I  could only stay outdoors for so long. The highlight of my time in the city was when I got a haircut. Besides the haircut, I was given a shave, which included the inner parts of my ears. A man and women both worked on me, applying hot towels to different parts of my face. By the time the cut was over, I knew what the expression to "feel like a million dollars" meant. I was not hungry and my stomach problems had begun (more on that in a later write-up) but I grabbed a dinner anyway because I wanted authentic Korean food. It turned out to be terrible, not so different (just worse) from Korean food I'd had elsewhere. I then headed back to the airport.

Honolulu (Feb 13)

On my flight from Bangkok to Honolulu I sat next to a talkative and interesting, yet crazy man, who gave me about ten book recommendations. I was glad when he went to sleep because I too wanted to sleep.

In Honolulu, customs did a thorough check of my bags and at the end of the inspection the customs inspector forgot to give me my passport back. I realized this just before exiting customs, and when I went back to the inspector, she was very apologetic. I was very forgiving as well though I wondered, when is this adventure (the whole India trip) going to finally end? Enough is enough!

I had one day in Honolulu before heading to Maui for the next five days. It so happened that my dad's friend, Jerry, was in Honolulu. I stayed with him at his hotel, with his nephew and girlfriend.

My first meal in six months in America was at McDonalds. I got a large fries and a fruit and yogurt parfait.

I had planned to check out Honolulu for the day, but instead crashed on the cushy couch in Jerry's hotel room for the entire afternoon. In the evening, Jerry took his girlfriend and me to an Elvis impersonation show, which I enjoyed, though everyone else thought it was terrible. Since I missed American culture, even something cheesy like this was nice.

Some of my favorite restaurants were not far from the hotel. These included Outback Steakhouse and the Cheesecake Factory, but we ended up eating at a hotel restaurant. Jerry treated me, his girlfriend and his nephew. I thought the service was mediocre at best, and felt bad when Jerry's friend and nephew forced him to leave a large 20-25% tip. Further, they did not thank him for the meal.

Maui (Feb 14 - Feb 18)

The next afternoon I was off to Maui.

Why I went to Hawaii in the first place: My friend, Mike, invited me as his guest. Aelita Software, who he works for (and who I had previously worked for) has an annual sales contest. Those who make their sales number win a trip for themselves and a guest to whatever exotic retreat Aelita chooses. Mike made his number, but his new girlfriend could not make the trip, so he invited me, while I was traveling in India. Since the timing was perfect, I decided joined him. I arrived in Maui on a Friday afternoon and stayed until the following Wednesday morning.

The resort in MAUI was top-notch, with a private beach, amazing outdoor swimming pools, and a full gym -- pretty much, whatever you could imagine. I spent much of the week in the hot tub watching the sunset, relaxing on the beach, and riding waves in the water. I went scuba diving one day, and whale watching another. We saw tons of whales, but I felt seasick so could not fully enjoy it.

Highlights of the trip

• Seeing small sharks while scuba-diving. I was not scared at all. Because the shark was small, I did not feel like I was in any danger.
• Seeing Peyton Manning in the hotel bar (he is a famous NFL quarterback, and was this year's NFL co-MVP). He has a curious posture and strangely shaped shoulders and neck.
• Catching up with a lot of former Aelita co-workers

The resort was decadent and I felt lucky to be there. Still, I was very much looking forward to returning to China.

Trip back to China

On the airplane from Honolulu to Seoul, I ended up next to another crazy guy. He had to be close to eighty years old, and was traveling alone. He liked to take pictures of strangers, regardless of whether they granted him permission. The stewardesses got very annoyed with him when he took their pictures without their permission, and one of the male stewards came over to see if he could erase the picture, but alas, it was not a digital camera. The man next to me had a hair growing from a random spot on his face that was over a foot long.

I had another twelve-hour stopover in Seoul. This time, I decided to remain at the airport the entire time rather than head to the city. I slept well at the airport, as the waiting area benches were clean and nicely cushioned. The next morning, after a 40-minute security delay, my flight took off for Qingdao.