I just got back from a three-week vacation in the US. I had a really great time. I enjoyed a lot of wonderful food, got to visit family and old friends and reveled in beautifully cool weather.
I flew in less than two days ago, and frankly I'm still really jet-lagged. So if this Editor's Note makes less sense than usual, you'll just have to forgive me.
Technically, the flight from Seattle to Bangkok lasts about 16 hours. But that's just flight time. That 16 hour figure doesn't include airport time. When you add all of the time checking in, laying over, going through customs, immigration and security, it actually measures out to be just about 24 hours. I know because this time I checked.
We arrived at the Seattle airport at 9 am pacific time. By the time we got out of the airport here it was midnight Bangkok time — that means it was 9 am back home in Seattle. I'd been in airports or on planes for 24 hours — and I still hadn't yet got a taxi home, which ended up taking another 45 minutes.
I've said before that complaining about the wonders of modern travel is really a stupid and pointless thing to do. It is frankly amazing that a person can travel from one side of the world to the other in such a short time. Imagine what that would have been like before jets, or even before prop-driven planes. I can't even imagine what it would have been like taking a boat from Seattle all the way to Bangkok.
But one thing those people in the olden days didn't have to do was spend all of their time in tiny little seats with no leg room. Sure, maybe those guys back in the day had to deal with being on a ship for weeks, but at least they had deck chairs and shuffleboard and food that wasn’t served in weird, miniature portions.
So, OK. I had to suffer for a few hours. Big deal. But I can tell you that I'm not exactly sure how many more of these trips I can possibly have in me. It can't be good for your health. That's one of the reasons that I spend so much time in the US every time I go on holiday. It takes at least a week just to recover from the flight. Any less than three weeks over there, and it’s really kind of pointless even to go.
But I’m back now, and I guess that’s OK. The hot season seems already to be kicking in. The air is polluted. It’s crowded everywhere. All of these things are literally completely opposite of where I just came from. But I’m sure I’ll be right back into the swing of Bangkok life within a week or two.
Then it will be time to start planning my next trip back home.
Ben Edwards
Deputy Editor
[email protected]
