A RECORD THAT I'LL NEVER BREAK

Nostalgic Tuesday finds me in a travel mood.  First, I'm soon to leave for Sydney to catch a Seabourn cruise to Honolulu.  For sure, I'll break that record, which was 24 drinks from Honolulu to Bangkok.  But the cruise will take 53 days, and my flight from Honolulu to Bangkok was completed in less than 24 hours.  I'm planning another around the world trip next year, but I don't see any legs as long as the one in 2011, which I am resurrecting today.  

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  That photo above was my last view of Kauai, as I was headed on to Tokyo.
• This was my first flight on a first class around the world trip via Star Alliance:  Today I begin my final ash scattering journey.  I'll be stopping through Bangkok, Tokyo, Zurich, Amsterdam, Stockholm, London, Sao Paulo, Rio, Buenos Aires, Lima, Cuzco, Machu Picchu, Las Vegas, Reno, and San Francisco. 

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  The Honolulu to Bangkok leg included a stop in Tokyo, which now puzzles me a bit, for this type of ticket does not allow you to pass through the same city twice.  Perhaps it's okay if one of them is just a stopover for connection purposes.
• My first drink was champagne.  You can read the details.
• The last was a Johnny Walker Blue Label.

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  United first class is junk, Lufthansa is very good and Thai is right up there.  Why?

The Thai Air service was remarkable.  First, while boarding, then, certainly on board, but what followed after we landed was extraordinary.  First they shuttled the first class customers on a kind of golf cart, and the immigration/customs area was at least a mile away.  We were assigned a person to fast track us through the process, and this was so quick that we had to wait five minutes for our bags to arrive. This attendant placed my bag and hand carry on a cart and whisked me through customs without the officials even bothering to look at us.  I exchanged some money while he arranged limousine service to the Sheraton Grande Sukhamvit.  Their international airport is only 15 miles away, but from landing to arrival in my hotel room took less than an hour.  The fact that the driver sped on at 80 MPH was a factor, but I felt relaxed and amazed at all this efficiency.  I have a suite overlooking Benjakip Park, with the Queen Sirikit National Convention Center in the background.

I got to the Sheraton Grand Sukhamvit at around midnight, had a sound sleep, and felt perfectly normal the next morning, which was, actually, surprising.

I posted that experience, and would like to show one comment

Carl Weinberg said...

We finished reading your description of the trip, and we were both drunk when we tried to stand up. You definitely have set bar that will hard to match.

See you in SF

Carl and Gerry

Got to say something about Carl, who, sad to say, passed away last year at the age of 92:

• Born in Germany and escaped the Holocaust as a stowaway on a boat to Norway.
• Came to America in 1940, the year I was born.  
• Was president of Oakland High School, where he met Geraldine Murphy.  
• Got his BS and MS from Cal Berkeley, and another from Vanderbilt.
• Spent a career in the Air Force, retiring as a Colonel, then returned to California to run the new R&D department of PG&E.
• He was indeed a trailblazer in renewable energy.
• He and Gerry kept returning to stay during summer at Bellows Air Force Base on Oahu.
• We were all good friends with the same goals.

I watched the first night of the 21st season of American Idol, and was impressed with Tyson Venegas, who got a Platinum ticket.  While his bio says from Canada, I think he is a 17-year old singer from the Philippines.

By the way, America's Got Talent: All Stars, will crown the winner next week Monday, February 27.  The eleven finalists, who performed last night were:   Aidan Bryant, Aidan McCann, Ana-Maria Mărgean, Avery Dixon, Bello Sisters, Detroit Youth Choir, Kodi Lee, Light Balance Kids, Mike E. Winfield, Power Duo, and Tom Ball.  There are no cash prizes, just bragging rights.  I predict the winner will be Kodi Lee.  He is blind and autistic, with Addison's disease.  But a true musical savant.  Among his closest competitors will be Light Balance Kids, because they come from Ukraine, and will have a lot of sympathy votes, and an aerialist, who the judges admired.  Half a dozen of them were quite good and deserve to prevail.

I finally finished my Valentine's prime rib last night, and bought an $80/pound otoro maguro to accompany it.  The Bud Light was supplied by 15 Craigside.

Then I noticed this morning that my Honohono orchid plants were budding.

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