One-Way To Bangkok

In the summer of 2008, having left the US on a one-way ticket to Japan, I began piecing together some preliminary plans for a long-term trip through China, Korea, Hong Kong, and most of SouthEast Asia. But just after Chinese New Year – almost exactly six months after my departure – these plans were abruptly cut off, as work commitments and life in general finally started to catch up with me and force the tough decision to head home. China, Korea, and Hong Kong had all been covered while the rest of Asia remained perched high atop my ever-present (and ever-growing) “Must See” list.

So nearly two years later, in the spring of 2010, I again looked at resuming the trip – an intention that was this time superseded by a flight over the Atlantic rather than the Pacific.

Once my big trek through Europe concluded, I remained in the US for five months of nearly nonstop computer-nerd-style work, as you’ve already learned from my recent post about Vegas. That’s five months during which the travel bug inside me slowly grew and multiplied, eventually taking over completely. By the time autumn rolled around I vowed to leave the country before the year came to a close.

This time, there were only two contenders: Antarctica and SouthEast Asia.

Antarctica is one of those places I’ve always dreamed of visiting but never found the time (or finances) to do so. It also happens to be one of the few places in the world my dad hasn’t been, so we’ve been discussing a trip there for the past couple years. However, as he’s recently undergone TWO total hip replacement surgeries, we weren’t sure if he’d be fully recovered and ready in time.

SouthEast Asia it is. And by a total lucky coincidence, Herb just happened to be planning a trip to China and Thailand as well.

So at 7am on December 9th, after pulling two consecutive all-nighters coding until my fingertips melted and my beard looked like something out of ZZ Top, I threw on my backpack and found myself once again standing outside Bradley International Terminal.

Next stop: Bangkok. One-way ticket.