Part 2: Crossing the Pacific

Departing Los Angeles January 19, (thank you Sarah!) after 33 hours of walking, sitting and napping in/between Seoul and Bangkok, I arrived in humid Phuket Thailand local noon Saturday. During the first leg, I enjoyed a very delicious Bi-Bim-Bap, (Korean noodle & vegetable) dinner. Business class is "the only way to fly" (now if only Discover Card would let me whore myself out for miles like Visa does).

During my tiring transit, while shuffling bleary-eyed through a Bangkok customs line, a middle-aged Muslim gentleman who'd overheard my American accent turned to me and extended his hand with a "let's recognize that we are brothers" smile. Refreshing.

Under heavy insomnia, I tripped on a normally-visible stair to stumble obnoxiously into a Bangkok business-class lounge lobby and mumble at the amused receptionist, "May I have some cold water?" Knowing my next flight leg was imminent (since I maxed out my sleeperette minutes at 60 before the alarm malfunctioned) I simply bailed out of the lobby, down the guilty step, and back into the concourse toward my dawn flight to Phuket, and boarded like a zombie.

To avoid relying on luck:

• Buy all flight legs ahead of time.
• Insert passport copies into all pieces of luggage, and lock them.
• Put electronics into a carry-on bag (which prevents "Frozen Camera Syndrome")