10. Back to Bangkok

So we're speeding to the airport, quite literally. We had to get there in time to buy tickets and get on the plane by around 10, and it takes about an hour to drive to the airport. On the way there Dr. Ashburn is giving us instructions. I'm pretty sure Zsila hasn't fully engaged yet, so I grab a pen and start to jot things down.
"First you'll need to take a shuttle to the International side and find your bags. Then you'll need to shuttle back to the domestic side and buy tickets back to Nan. But don't get tickets if you don't find your bags. Once you find you get your return flight you'll probably need to get more money at an ATM. Then go outside and get in line for a taxi, if you don't get in line, you'll have to pay more money. Make sure the taxi says "metered taxi" and ask him if the meter works. Then hand them this (he gives me a paper with thai writin on it). These are the directions to the Baptist Guest house you will be staying at. It is on Sukumvit and soy 13, but soy 13 is a one way street, etc. etc. Here are all the numbers of the people in Bangkok, here is my cell phone, and here is my house phone...."

Everything was happening so quickly, I felt like I should have had a message that would self-destruct or something...

We got to the tiny airport, bought our one-way ticket to Bangkok for about 2,000 bot (~$50) and boarding soon after - now you can't do that in the states. I'm glad the price doesn't go up here for last minute tickets!

We walked out to the plane. Little kids and people on the motorcycles lining the chain link fence near us. It is just an hour flight, but they still serve a tiny meal with every flight, this awesome fresh squeezed nectarine juice (it makes my mouth water just thinking about it!), and hot tea - it's wonderful! They also play this strange earie thai music on take off and landing, and all the flight attendants in their funny uniforms greet you and each other with hands held out in front palms together, fingers outstrethed as they make a little bow and say, "sa-wa-dee-ka" That is their way of "shaking hands." I like it!

We landed, went to the information, called some people, and finally just walked upstairs to try and find the Dragan air office. We saw a "lost & found" sign so we just decided to go inside. "Hello?" There was a little man back around the corner who spoke a little English. We handed him the tracking numbers for our baggage and he told us to go down the hall, down the stairs and to the left where the security office was.
The security office was a walled in room with glass windows through which we saw a half-dozen uniformed men, dozing in their plastic chairs, their chins near their shoulders. A uniformed man gestured for us to go across to the other side of the building. We walked across the floor to the other side of the big open room, with people and their bags bussleling here and there and found a little doorway on the right with a sign that said something that didn't seem like we should be there. We walked in, there was a metal detector next to a desk and more uniformed men. They gestured for us to sign the book on the table and show our passports. None of this made sense, we thought for sure we were in the wrong place, but we just did what they said anyways, then we went through another doorway which opened up into another big giant open room that had people getting their luggage off the conveyer belts. The ushered us off to they left to another room. We again gave them our baggage tracking numbers and walked down a short hallway to the room. Their were more uniformed men, lounging around, and some random baggage lining the room, none of which was ours. We went through another doorway to a room stacked and stacked with luggage. "Oh, Lord, I prayed -*please* let my bag be here." Zsila found her bags but I did not find mine. Then we walked back out and there it was - "Yea!" I was so happy I hugged the little guard standing next to me and they all laughed.
That was such a great feeling. My bag is HUGE and I have *so* much stuff in it, for this trip and for New Zealand - I had to pack for 2 climates!