Continuing Air Ticket Problems

Thursday, Aug. 2, 2007--Bangkok

I walked for hours today. I had to go back to the Thai Airways office to have my ticket exchanged for a new one. Although they said I could transit through Bangkok to Phnom Penh, they were told by the Star Alliance office that once I was in Bangkok again my ticket had to be over. So I returned. They rebooked me through Seoul to Phnom Penh after checking and saying that it would still be within my mileage limit for the ticket. Then they printed a new ticket for me.

From there, I walked down the street several blocks to mail the Power of Attorney (POA) at a nearby FedEx office. Unfortunately, there was a sign on the door saying that they had changed their hours. They wouldn't be open for another 1 1/2 hours! So I headed out to Sukumwit to the Lufthansa office to get seat assignments. It's a LONG walk, and it was hot and humid. But there was no one waiting. I got immediate service which was nice. They then called FedEx for me and found that there is an office in that area. I walked to it and mailed the POA. It's nice to have that out of the way, but even FedEx can't get it there until Monday (even though it was Wednesday night U.S. time when I left it at their office). From there, I walked to the United Airlines office which is near the U.S. Embassy where I was two days ago to get the POA. Again, I was lucky that no one was there and I got immediate service. They booked seats for my flights with them. By then it was noon. I was hoping to see a film, so I rushed to Siam Square. I got there at 12:25, and the only film I hadn't seen that interested me was starting at 12:30. What luck! So after 5 hours of walking all over town, I relaxed in the theater.

I saw a French film that was made by directors from all over the world (including some American directors). The title is Paris Je T'aime. It is a series of short films that each tell a love story set in Paris. They had a wide range of themes. One even involved vampires. I enjoyed seeing the film, although some of the stories were better than others.

When I left the theater, I went across the street to a couple of malls that have contemporary furniture stores on the upper floors. I just wanted to look to see if they had anything that would appeal to me. I need to buy a new dining room table, a new sofa, new sofa tables, and office furniture. I really didn't see anything special, however. It was interesting to see the changes taking place in the two malls, though. Siam Discovery opened a few years ago as the most upscale mall in the area. But Siam Paragon which opened down the block about 2 years ago has changed things. The designer shops have left Discovery and gone to Paragon. Discovery is now more "ordinary" looking rather than exclusive looking. And Paragon has not only the designer shops but a wonderful food hall and gourmet grocery. I went through the grocery snacking on free samples (Ummmm!).

By the time I left, I was so tired of walking. And I was beginning to feel heat rash between my legs. I was glad that I didn't have far to go. But I didn't go all the way to the hotel. Across the street from it is an area of 2-3 blocks that has a seafood market and lots of shops and restaurants around it. It has been a bit run down in the past years, but there has been a tremendous change in the past two years. Chulalonghorn University (the most pretigious university in Thailand) is between there and where I was coming from (the Siam Square area). Siam Square has been the student quarter for shopping and entertaining for the past 35 years or so. But my local area around the fish market has started developing as a less crowded and less expensive student quarter. It has lots of cyber cafes at half the price of those at Siam Square. And it is getting more and more small restaurants and shops that cater to students and are interesting. I stopped at one of the cyber cafes to go online. Then I went to a restaurant that had been to crowded with students the night before and had an early dinner of green curry and rice. From there, I walked a few doors down to a cake shop and had a slice of coffee-flavored sponge cake with coffee-flavored butter cream frosting. I had a cup of strong coffee to go with it. By then, it was 6:00 p.m. I headed to my hotel to relax for the rest of the night.

But there was a message awaiting me from Thai Airways about another problem with my ticket!!

Friday, Aug. 3, 2007--Bangkok

Unfortunately, today had to be another early day so I could return to Thai Airways. When the Star Alliance checked my new ticket they informed the Thai office that they had been wrong and that the new itinerary routing me to Phnom Penh through Seoul would take me over the mileage limit. I gave up on Phnom Penh and decided to stay in China longer and then go to Chiang Mai in northern Thailand. Even that looked as if it might be a problem, though, because they seem to have a rule that you cannot stop in the country of your departure without it being the end of the ticket. But they got the Star Alliance office in Frankfurt to approve that stop before issuing me a THIRD ticket for ATW VIII! So this one should be okey.

There was one good aspect to having to re-do my ticket for the third time. Yesterday after I left their office with the second ticket, a sale was introduced on around-the-world tickets. I got the new ticket at the sale price--10% cheaper than the previous ticket. That may not sound like much, but on such an expensive ticket it meant a savings of about $370 U.S.!

I walked from the Thai office to nearby Lumpini Park. I have passed it so many times over the years and have never been there. It is a very attractive and well maintained park. It was quiet and peaceful this morning. I walked through it and around the lakes enjoying the view and watching the people there. Eventually, I sat in the shade for a while and watched a fountain in the lake that was computerized to change its flow regularly.

It's now only just early afternoon. I think I will go back to my hotel, get a new book out of my suitcase to start reading, and go down to the pool for part of the afternoon. I want to just relax. There are no more films showing that I want to see, and I am tired of wandering the city for now anyway. Will post about the rest of today at another time.