Thailand Bound!

My last couple of days in Canada were excellent.
I was able to get back from Whistler in time to catch the Chinese New Year's Parade in Chinatown, the second largest in North America! Watching the dragons, dancers, martial arts demonstrations and vintage cars go by was great. The only damper on the day was the awful weather. A slight drizzle and almost freezing temperature made for a very cold experience. So as soon as the parade was finished, Janice and I headed straight to a restaurant for hot won-ton soup and steamed spicy-pork buns (what great Jews we are!). Once again, the food in Chinatown was to die for!
My last day in Canada was spend lounging around Janice's house virtually all day. I was so lucky to have such wonderful hosts that I felt obliged to show some token of appreciation. I decided that I would make dinner for the house (and I got pretty lucky, there was only one roommate home that night!). I picked up salmon (it was ridiculous that I could only find Atlantic salmon in Vancouver), potatoes and a chocolate swirl cheesecake. Jess and Janice were very appreciative, as I did a fair job in preparing dinner. Overall, I had a wonderful time hanging out with Janice and her roommates during my stay in Vancouver!
I awoke around 9 am to pack and get ready to fly from Vancouver to Seoul, and then from Seoul to Bangkok. After saying good by to Janice and her roommates, I got in a cab and prepared for the longest leg of my trip.
The Vancouver terminal for International was incredible. Beautiful architecture and native artwork everywhere. Once in the air, I noticed a great blessing. The sky perfectly clear, allowing me to see just about the entire Rocky mountain range. This lasted over the glaciers of Alaska, and all the way until the far edge of the vast tundra of Siberia. I should have taken some photos, it was definitely a sight to see.
On my first flight, I could not sleep at all. Instead I watched three movies (Rocknrolla, Righteous Kill, and Body of Lies), one episode of Family Guy, ate all three meals, and stared out the window. I wasn't nearly as luck with my seat mate as I was on my flight to Vancouver from Ottawa. I had not an ounce of conversation with my seat mate, I'm sure she spoke no English. I must admit it was interesting to board a plane where I was one of maybe 5 Caucasians, and yes I was the tallest person on the plane!
Landing in Korea was nearly as fulfilling as leaving Vancouver. The view was completely obscured by haze and smog. After a grueling 11.5 hour flight, I got off the plane to realized that I was essentially entering a space age. The technology at Incheon Airport was incredible. The ceilings must have been 100 feet high. Everything was meticulously clean and in pristine condition. While waiting for my flight I noticed some children looking at me from maybe 20 feet away. They nervously approached me and said "hel-lo", and then ran away. It was so cute! Their father ushered them back over to say "how are you" and to introduce themselves. It was really interesting to truly be a visible minority, and to not be able to communicate with anyone.
After boarding the plane in Korea, I slept the entire 6 hours to Bangkok - awaking only to devour a meal and throw back a glass of red wine.
Once on the ground in Bangkok, I looked for a taxi and was advised to find one with a meter. I was approached by a man who told me it would be 2200 bat to get to the hotel. And as soon as I said it was too much, he cut his price in half! I figured I'd look for the meter taxis, and sure enough it only cost me 300 bat (about $9) to go the 30 minutes to the Siam City hotel to meet my dad who was participating/running a conference on drug regulations in Canada (medicinal, not narcotics).
The hotel, it pretty nice. Not the way an average student would be seeing Thailand, but I am definitely not complaining. Breakfast was complete with fresh fruit, personal omlettes and assorted fine cheeses. While this lavish lifestyle is not meant for me, I will definitely enjoy it while I can.