Don Mueang was Bangkok's primary international airport until the opening of Suvarnabhumi Airport in 2006. It now serves as a domestic airport for charter flights and military aircraft. Nok Air is one of two airlines currently using the airport. Nok Air is rather enthusiastic with their promotion within the airport.
The first thing you see upon entering the airport
Nok Air is Thai Airways' budget domestic airline division, leasing their older Boeing 737-400 aircraft. They've seen better days but at least they look neat.
Easily the coolest paint jobs I've seen on a Boeing 737
Wat Arun is a large Buddhist temple in Bangkok notable for its large spire structure called a prang. Incredibly steep stairs lead up to two different observation decks on the prang. Surrounding this prang is four smaller satellite prangs.
Small canal near the temple
A satellite prang
Satellite prang and Thai temple architecture
The main prang
View from the upper deck of the prang
View of the Chao Phraya River which runs through Bangkok
Right off the bat, the morning light reveals the toll the immense humidity of southeast Asia has on the buildings and landscape of Bangkok.
Concrete quickly dilapidates and becomes overrun with flora in the suffocating humidity
The contrast between the new and old is very apparent
Trees and plants flourish, even in the middle of a dense city
Old buildings carry a particularly ancient feel to them, aging twice as fast as they would elsewhere
Rust is inescapable
There is no shortage of interesting textures to look at
As prevalent as the flora is the fauna. Dogs and cats, both domesticated and wild, are often found roaming the streets. While rougher-looking, they're much smarter here, observing traffic laws and not getting themselves run over like their stupid Canadian counterparts.
The cross-eyed thousand-yard stare from this cat is unsettling
Driving in Bangkok is like heart surgery. The stereotype that Asians are terrible drivers is a gross misstatement. Any North American driver would be immediately slaughtered if they attempted driving here. Motorcycles weave through everyone, oncoming traffic lanes and shoulders are passing lanes, and speed limits are merely suggestions. It appears to be chaos at first, but upon closer inspection, somehow manages to move traffic faster and more smoothly without accidents. There are no Ford Expedition-driving soccer moms here. Everyone pays absolute attention to what they're doing.
Tuk tuks are motorized rickshaws which are prevalent throughout Bangkok and a popular mode of transportation for foreigners. They are essentially motorcycles converted into taxi vehicles seating two or three people. The open design provides a great view of your surroundings while the motorcycle base preserves most of the maneuverability of a bike over a taxi.
Of the three airports, Suvarnabhumi was definitely the most impressive.
Modern meets traditional Thai design
Suvarnabhumi Airport is Bangkok's new international airport, replacing Don Mueang for international commercial flights. It possess the world's tallest control tower and serves Greater Bangkok.
Advertising is prevalent throughout the airport
The first thing you'll notice upon leaving the airport is how fabulous the taxis are.
I've yet to see a yellow taxi
Taxis in Bangkok are primarily ASEAN Toyota Corolla Altis'. They are essentially the Ford Crown Victoria, Chevrolet Impala or Dodge Charger of Thailand. I've also spotted a number of Mitsubishi Lancers and Lancer Evolution IX's working as taxi vehicles. Body kits and spoilers, both factory and aftermarket, are popular among taxi drivers for some reason. It is not unusual to see a Corolla or Lancer with an absurdly large aftermarket spoiler and body kit with blue neon lights under it.
Thailand's expressway systems put Canada to shame. They are better designed and maintained, although they are not subject to winter conditions. Lane markings have headlight reflectors on them for better visibility, while junctions and turns are indicated by LEDs in the road, both things that would not survive a plow if Thailand experienced winter.
More on the subject of driving will follow.
Bangkok is an incredibly urbanized city. Ancient temples and structures have been buried by malls and skyscrapers which seem to sprawl on forever. It's an impressive view.
Narita International Airport is located east of Tokyo and serves the Greater Tokyo Area in Japan. Built in the 60's, there's nothing particularly special about its architecture. The shops carry interesting novelties though.
For ¥1,000, I will definitely be picking one of these up on the return trip.
Narita was much more packed than Pearson
Supervisor on the tarmac standing completely still
United Airlines' Boeing 747
United took off about a half hour late due to poor weather conditions in Bangkok. Compared to Air Canada, it was an incredibly lackluster experience. The pilot was a rather snarky fellow who didn't seem to take the several hundred lives in his hands too seriously, while the aircraft itself lacked the backseat displays and other amenities of Air Canada's 777-300ER. The flight meal which the pilot promised would be "unforgettable" was certainly so, if unforgettable is hard, dry pasta and liquified butter spilled on absolutely everything; it wasn't the smartest thing to leave the butter containers on the trays while they sat in heated storage. Overall, the entire experience conveyed an undeserved arrogance only capable of an American corporation and only solidified my negative opinion of American airlines. While it was only half the length of the Air Canada flight at 6 hours, the Air Canada flight was much more enjoyable.
Unfortunately, I have little visual representation of the flight.
Pearson International Airport is Canada's largest airport, serving Toronto and the Greater Toronto Area as well as the Golden Horseshoe area which surrounds it. Air Canada, Canada's flag carrier and largest airline, operates out of their own terminal.
Entrance concourse
Floating cube display
Acoustical structure near the gates
Wi-Fi is complimentary inside the building
Flight AC1 arrived on schedule but faced a minor delay due to a late arrival from Frankfurt, Germany. The aircraft was taxied into gate 177 and took off about 15 minutes late.
The aircraft in question
Clouds
The backseat touchscreen units which crashed and needed to be rebooted
The airplane food was better than expected but not spectacular
How I spent much of the flight
Takeoff and landing were interesting, but the twelve hours of clouds was a lot of time to kill on board. Air Canada provided a pretty good in-flight service, but I do not look forward to this flight again a month from now.
