I shape the next few weeks buying airline tickets in Bangkok
internet cafe next to Sabai Massage
near Soi Rambutri and Khao San Road
Bangkok, Thailand
I shape the next few weeks buying airline tickets in Bangkok
On Monday I took the bus from Krabi to Bangkok. I came back primarily to buy an airline ticket. Before I left Bangkok for Krabi I had reserved an airline ticket with a travel agent for Bangkok to New York on March 6. For several reasons I did not buy the ticket before I left and I could only purchase the ticket from the agent in person.
So this ticket was hanging over my head while I was in Krabi. I needed to get back to the U.S. for a family wedding in Disneyworld. On Tuesday I bought the ticket from the agent, Jeroen at Nat Tour and Travels in the alley behind Khao San Road. The ticket is on Kuwait Airlines and was a real steal at US$535.
Jeroen was recommended to me by Andy Graham of hobotraveler.com. On the walls of entrance to the agency they have posterboards of deals to exotic places all over the world. These people know how to get around.
So once I had bought that ticket, the rest of my plans fell into place. I bought tickets on Continental to Orlando for the wedding, and then to Rochester, New York where my parents live. I will look into the operating status of my car there. They just received over a foot of snow in Upstate New York. It should be gone by the second week of March, but you never know about the weather there.
I also booked on Cebu Pacific a return ticket to Manila, the Philippines. I leave today, Friday the 15th, and return to Bangkok next Friday, the 23rd. These tickets cost me about US$185 return. The deals look very good on site; however, there are substantial taxes and fees for each leg of US$30-50, so it is a bit deceptive.
I felt like a change after spending some time in Thailand, and I had heard the Philippines were an interesting place to go. One week really is barely enough to see anything, but I'll see what I will see. The place is very spread out, with a thousand islands. But I'd like a taste of it before I go to the U.S.; maybe I'll go back there if I like it.
After that I will have about ten days left before my flight to the U.S. I am still deciding how to carve this time up, but I think a beach may be in order.
This is by far the most planning I have done in a year of travel. I have had a general outline in my head of where I'd like to go, but I really have been picking and choosing as I go and taking one decision at a time. I especially have not been thinking too much about the time spent at a particular place.
For example, I spent several weeks in Hampi, India. The place was so pleasant I just didn't leave for a while. This way of deciding things fits my personality. It allows for changes and adaptation. You never know if you're going to like a place until you actually get there.
So my modus operandi has changed temporarily. But I'll get a little sampling of a few places I might not have otherwise seen. And once I booked all those tickets, I actually had a good feeling about having a little bit of structure to my travel for the next few weeks.
Incidentally, February 12 was the anniversary for one year of travel. That's when I set off from Rochester, New York. February 14 I was greeted by my friendly hosts in Mumbai, India.
I shape the next few weeks buying airline tickets in Bangkok
