It's 2010 and I am in Bangkok!

It was 4:15AM when I arrived at MSP airport on December 30th. Despite the odd time, the lines were extremely long as usual. They had added extra security at the airport, but the only difference that stood out to me was placing the shoes directly on the roller instead of putting them in a bin. I had to take a 7:00AM flight to Chicago, which was a bit delayed. After 3 hours layover in O’Hare, I caught a connecting 13-hour flight to Tokyo and finally 7-hour flight to Bangkok. I flew with All Nippon Airways (ANA). From this experience I must say ANA has the best service compared to the other few airlines I have traveled.

My plane arrived at 10:50PM on December 31st Bangkok time. It took quite a while to get through the immigration line, but the baggage claim was quick. I had booked Amarin Mansion where a lot of other exchange students plan to reside for the semester. Amarin has a pickup service and I was told to go to a specific gate after arrival. I had no idea what to expect as I was walking toward the gate with my luggage! Then I saw a guy and a girl at the airport gate holding a paper with my name on it-classic! We had to wait for an exchange student from Canada. As the clocked rolled to 12:00AM, it was clear I had to spend my New Year at the airport. Emily, the Canadian exchange student got there shortly after 12:30AM.


We left the airport around 1:15AM after packing our luggage in the Amarin van. There wasn't much traffic at this late. On the drive to the hotel, we saw large trees decorated with lights surrounding Bangkok’s roads still left on from the King of Thailand's recent birthday celebration(December 5th). It took us about 30 minutes to get to Amarin Mansion, an eight-story hotel/apartment complex in Bangkok across the river from the Thammasat University. I was placed in a room on the eighth floor for tonight all free of charge to test it out. So far, I think the place is pretty nice. My room has a bathroom and a small balcony. It doesn't have a kitchen, but even if I had one I would not put it to use! I'll decide about staying at this apartment after exploring Bangkok today. For now, I need to rest for few hours before I start my day in this city!

Happy New Year from BKK!