We arrived last Monday, January 15th from Manila~ touching down at San Francisco International Airport a little later than the 6:05 P.M. landing time we were promised in our e-ticket. Honestly, we were not very pleased with our flight from Manila to San Francisco aboard China Airlines as the temperature inside the aircraft was almost hot, not just warm...goodness gracious! Is it the global warming affecting us all even inside the airplane? Mamamia, I hope not!
At the airport here in SFO, I declared the food we brought in. Ah, well~ just my favorite Edam Cheese from Holland was all we had. But to ease our way out of customs, I declared it; went through the process of having our 2 XXL Samsonite luggage and 2 carry-on luggage~to go through another set of X-ray. Well, after a moment of interrogation regarding the food we brought in from Manila, we were easily given the go-signal. Alas, we were free. Whoah!
WHERE'S THE CAB?
Waiting for a cab at the airport took us quite a bit of a time. City living has enabled us to minimize and to downsize. Our life style has changed dramatically and this includes getting rid of our van in favor of minimizing the use of space and the outrageous cost of monthly parking rates. But at times like this~ like coming home from a long haul journey from overseas could be dead tiring waiting for a cab! Yeah! I just wish we still had our van(sigh). Wahhhhhhh! (Boy Blue still keeps his work van, BTW, at the parking lot he rents monthly located two blocks from our alley).
Getting rid of our private vehicle was a choice we had made seven months ago akin to our transition here from suburban living. In SFO, we rely wholly on public transport for mobility and this is not really a hassle (or a big deal here in San Francisco) since buses come in frequency every ten minutes. And most people go on foot, if not by bus~ to be at places around town. As for us, when necessary, we do take the public bus and occasionally, we hop at the cable car passing by as well. But I tell you, using this transport facility is much more expensive than the bus. Why? It's the novelty behind it that makes it all costly to take it for a regular ride.
~Our SFO taxi driver vs. our Bangkok cab driver- a world of a difference~
As for our taxi driver from the airport to our flat in Little Italy, he was really good and quite polite, in fact. A far cry from the taxi drivers in Bangkok who were mostly hustlers, hustling tourists like us. Geez, those who are posted in the Pratunam area are barracudas. If you don't notice that the meter is on, they'd drive fronto style and would say the astronomical price in Thai. Ngeek! And once the price of the cab ride had been said it's supposed to be a done deal. Not with me! Oy!
In Thailand, I was able to brush up with my knowledge of the Thai language once more~ it was like going down memory lane: the language came to me fast and easy in crescendo, like the sun rising in the skies at dawn. I was able to make a deal with the taxi drivers when needed. I was able to haggle, too! Ha! Husband was in silent mode as I raised hell laughs)with the Thai drivers in Bangkok. Can't believe I was still my old self there: self-reliant, independent, courageous and vigilant. When I am in this mode, sometimes I forget am already married with a husband near by to protect me! As for that idiot of a cab driver in Bangkok, I won the argument! He was not able to loot me with extra dough from my pocket with the amount he wanted me to pay in Thai baht! I gave him what I thought was the right amount.
When we got off the cab at the new international airport in Bangkok, husband had a good laugh and quipped, "Wow, you're one feisty lady!"
Back here in SFO last Monday, our cab driver here was absolutely nice. He was an angel as opposed to the devious drivers we encountered in Thailand.
~MEMORIES~
Having been in Thailand once more brought perspective into my adult life. I am more confident about where I stand in my life now than I ever knew before. I think I am calmer and more grounded today and this has all got to do with me being married to Little Boy Blue. Today, I live a simple life sanz materialism. My life revolves around my spouse and our life together as a family, with times devoted for our daily prayers and mass at noontime for me (we live 5 minutes to Saints Peter and Paul church- we hear the church bells ring from our flat) and Sunday masses with him.
~FRIENDS WHO MAY BE FAR OR NEAR ARE FRIENDS FOR LIFE FOR ME~
In Thailand I was able to hook up with my friends for all seasons: Olivier, Carmen and her daughters, Emily, Aloha, Daisy and her sons, Fr. Travis and the nuns from the school (RIS).While in Bangkok, I was able to compare and contrast how it was when I was living there; those times I was visiting every two years or so and how it was the last time I was there last week.
Indeed, a lot of changes make up the quilt I call Bangkok.
The infrastracture is amazing; traffic is unbearable but not as bad as before. The food street is still very much alive and kicking and so is the aroma of food being cooked in the streets~ it makes me want to eat and salivate again and again as I pass by the streets where those vendors cook those gastronomical delights in their portable wares! Patpong remains to be the one-of-a-kind place to see in terms of world entertainment as far as sex shows and flea markets are concerned. Cost of commodities and services vary from one end of the alley to another. Pimps run up from glissando to staccatto if only to earn their bucks for the night. The scenic places like the Grand Palace, Reclining Buddha, Pratunam, Central and many more remain to be the tourists' favorite. But what lies still is the fact the Bangkok is the melting pot of this hemisphere where east meets the west and vice versa. No wonder Blue Boy calls it "a very international city" in the heart of Asia.
In here I end this soliloquy. *Sigh* OOps! I still got more photos to upload and slide shows to make later!
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