October 14th, 2006 – Flight to Bangkok
Flight to Bangkok
Edmonton to Vancouver - Air Canada – Oct 14th
Flight # AC 0239 Depart 12:15 p.m. / Arrive 12:49 p.m.
Fly Time - 1:34
Vancouver to Hong Kong - Air Canada – Oct 14th
Flight # AC 0007 Depart 2:00 p.m. / Arrive 6:30 p.m. next day
Fly time – 13:30
Hong Kong to Bangkok – Air Canada – Oct 15th
Operated by Thai Airways
Flight # AC 9567 Depart 8:45 p.m. / Arrive 10:25 p.m.
Fly Time – 2:40
Check in at Edmonton with plenty of time to spare. I find out that my connecting flight in Vancouver is going to be 2 ½ hours late, not sure if it will give me enough time for my connection in Hong Kong. They assure me that I will be looked after once I land in Hong Kong if my flight was missed.
I exchange some Canadian money for Thailand Currency at a currency exchange counter inside the terminal. 3000 Baht for 103 Canadian dollars, which I find out later, was not a good exchange rate. A better rate was more of a 32 to 33 Baht for each Canadian Dollar.
Flight to Vancouver went as planned and my plane to Hong Kong was delayed just as they said. What a long flight! I was not made to sit for so long in one position, nobody is. Over all, things went well and it seemed as if the sun set went on for ever. As we were traveling into the West, the sun was setting for hours and, in fact, it started to appear to rise for a short while. It will be the opposite on the way back. Upon arriving in Hong Kong we found out that a few of us did indeed miss our connection to Bangkok. We had to check in once again and were all put on an Emirates flight instead that Departed at 00:15 a.m. It turns out to be an unbelievable beautiful plane, our own T.V. Screen for each seat with many movies to choose from starting and stopping at our demand. But, I was so tired that it was not used. After a great meal I tried to get some rest, the plane was near empty so there were extra seats to stretch out and relax. We land in Bangkok at 1:45 a.m. and it was an easy task to fill out the Entry form and go through Immigration. No charge for any of this.
Once I claim my luggage it was an easy task to find a taxi just outside. I end up getting a bit of a rookie and we get a little lost before finding the right hotel. Very tired by this point and I was getting a little anxious for awhile. In the end it turned out just fine, checked into my hotel around 3:00 a.m. The “Holiday Inn Bangkok” near the Intercontinental Hotel Room #708. Taxi Ride from Airport to Hotel is 800 Baht = $25.00 CAD