BKK and beyond…

I took Northwest Airlines to get here. In the lavatory, there is a large and prominent NO SMOKING sign. Yet, when I look down, at approximately eye level, sitting on the loo, there is an ashtray. Granted, these are re-modeled planes, the temptation for someone who recently stopped smoking, this must be tortuous.

After 17 hours of flight I am in Bangkok. Its 2:25am and I am sitting at a STARBUCKS having a mocha and catching up on homework. Yes that is correct, a Starbucks! (see pic). Not only that is it a Starbucks but it is a replica of any Starbucks you would normally find in the US complete with all the stale confectionary that Starbucks is notorious for. Of course, I succumbed to consumerism and patronized this establishment rather than spending my money at one of the other local cafés. Also we landed at the new airport. Its huge and has all the amenities of a modern airport. Its nice, but I read in the BANGKOK POST that the airport has drawn so much attention that families have been coming out to check out the place, as an outing! That’s pretty impressive considering that the airport is a solid forty minutes outside of the city. Apparently, its not uncommon to see people picnicking on the lawn as the planes fly over them for take off and landing. There are military personnel walking around the airport, obviously because of the recent coup. But if you asked a local Thai about the situation, they are not worried. In fact, the torrential downpour outside is causing more of a stir than the recent coup. On to Dhaka in 7 hours.

Here is a pic of Bangkok's new airport too.....off to Dhaka!