Goodbye For Now My New True Love, Thailand

Here I am stuck in the China Airlines biz lounge in Taipei. For another 4 hours.

With zero sleep I took a taxi to Bangkok straight from the bars and arrived at the Bangkok airport at 5:30am for my 8:30 flight and ended up dropping off luggage and getting through security in less than an hour. Sat at the gate for two hours before boarding the plane. Once on the plane it sat at the gate, and sat there, and sat there. Over an hour later a voice came over the intercom, "Please leave the plane now." So I grab my shit and follow the herd back to the gate. Oh, a problem with the plane? Should take 40 minutes? A complimentary 250thb coupon at the food court for my troubles? Wow, that sure is nice! I better go hurry and use it before we re-embark! Four hours later I'm sleeping on the floor in the gate area still waiting to board the fucking plane. Excellent way to extend an already lengthy 22-hour trip home.

Here's the problem plane. Apparently, one of the "technical difficulties" they had was just trying to find food for the lunches. Fuckers.


Finally board the plane around 1:30pm, the China Airlines staff assuring us that the connecting planes would wait for us when our plane landed in Taiwan. I find myself sitting next to some old lady that's chanting, fairly loudly, and a guy behind me who apparently put down the tray just so he could tap his fingers on it, which I could feel as it bounced my seat every time. The lady finally quit chanting and I eventually turned around and explained to the guy that his tapping was bugging the hell out of me. Watched Couples Retreat. Some funny scenes, but definitely turned me off to having a wife. Plane lands.

China Airlines staff in Taipei inform me that the plane left 5 minutes before we landed and I would have to wait four and a half hours for the next one. WTF!! I got a little pissed, but tried to control it, "I was told the flight would wait for us. We waited 5 hours, they couldn't wait another 20 minutes to transfer the luggage and board us?! How am I going to be compensated for this?!"
"Sorry sir, how about a complimentary food coupon?"
I laugh and just stand at the counter in silence staring at my new boarding pass. Then he said something that to me sounded like, "Ok sir, here, we will put you in business class on the next flight."
"Ok." I say as he gives me another boarding pass. But no, as I'm walking away I actually look at it, it's not a business class boarding pass, it's a pass to the business class lounge. Fuck, I got duped. I look back at the counter, but it's already filled with everyone else getting fucked too. So I just grimace and do my best 'I'm a pissed off man' walk to the transfer terminal.

It is a nice airport though. One of the Taipei gates:



And here's a pic of May to make everything better: