Everyone has been so patient to wait for trip stories and I'm afraid of repeating myself, so I thought it best to get posting! I also wanted to wait until I could put some pictures up, after all, each picture I put up saves me from typing a thousand words, right? :)
Friday & Saturday, January 6 & 7, 2006
I left my house around 4:00AM to catch my 7:40AM flight out of Baltimore. Mr. O. was so kind to give me a ride to the airport so early in the morning.
I had almost had a panic attack the night before. The last task I needed to complete on Thursday night [before I tried to get some sleep] was to confirm my flights. I went online and tried to check my flight out of Baltimore only to read that no such flight existed. I quickly called United, talked to a very nice man who could probably sense I was about to freak out. He found me on a flight that left twenty minutes earlier than my itinerary told me. And then he answered all my questions, even going so far as to give me Korean Air's number to confirm my other flights. My fears calmed, I was able to sleep a bit... but any way you look at it, 4:00AM comes early.
I joined the rest of the group in Chicago-- during the layover, I tried to meet everyone and remember all the names. They were all so friendly. (They didn't even gasp in horror at the sight of me without makeup-- hearty folks, they are!) It's amazing to me now that I didn't know anyone else in the group from Fargo Baptist.
Our flight to Seoul, South Korea left about 11:30AM. What can I tell you about the next fourteen hours? It was long. And finally, it was over.
I have a new respect for anyone who flies that long. You try to walk around, drink lots of fluids, sleep, read, etc. This plane had cool, individual screens at each seat. You could watch movies, play games, look at all sorts of maps, track your flight progress, and listen to music. I brushed up on my Tetris skills. There was a moment about halfway through the flight when I thought, "Seven more hours of this?" But, you get through it.... and think about the next flight. ;-)
We left Seoul and arrived in Bangkok about midnight on Saturday, January 7. It was exciting to see people you knew at the airport. We got all our luggage and piled into the vans. The ladies were staying at Jeff and Theresa Lange's house. I was expecting to have to blow up my air mattress when I got to their house (by now almost 2:00AM), but they had enough beds, so I got to sleep in a bed! Can you remember how nice it feels to stretch out after flying? Heavenly. *sigh*
Sunday, January 8, 2006
The team in Bangkok* were so understanding and let us take it easy on Sunday. We were reminded to try to stay awake as much as possible during the day. We had a meeting and church service of sorts that morning, and had lunch together. Later that day, we all went to Future Park-- a huge mall very near where we stayed.
My first taste of getting stared at was at Future Park. It's not a huge tourist spot, so any group of "farangs" [Thai word for foreigners] gets lots of attention. We shopped, ate, and exchanged money at Future Park. {See picture... }
Everyone seemed to be doing pretty well with jet lag. I was able to sleep soundly all night Sunday night-- a great way to start out a full week...
As usual, more later.
- Julie -
* The Team in Bangkok:
- Jeff and Theresa L., and son Jonathan (age 2)- Missionaries sent from Fargo Baptist
- Tom and Krinny G.- Missionaries sent from Metropolitan Baptist
Their helpers: Myra, Suzie, Andrea, and Amy
- Jerry and Marilyn B., and sons Golen (age 6) and Shane (age 1, I think)
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