Today was another beautiful day. I woke at around 8:00 to catch the airport bus, but the 10:00 service I needed for my 1:15 flight was full. Taxi drivers immediately offered alternatives. Although taxis were inexpensive, I preferred a cheaper route. I took a boat taxi down the Chao Phraya River to the central terminal for 13 baht, followed by the Skytrain and a transfer at Siam station, and soon arrived at Hua Lamphong railway station.

The station’s information staff were excellent. One lesson from the trip was knowing when to lower my guard and trust reliable advice. A staff member explained that regular trains did not run around midday and that the only alternative was an express service costing about 200 baht per person. I ate some food instead, walked out to the buses, and boarded the No. 29 bus just around the corner.

This was not a modern city bus. It was an eight-baht fan bus with wooden floors and windows that rolled down, and I appeared to be the only foreign traveller aboard. It was quite a ride, but I made it to the airport bus station and stepped off.

There was one final amusing moment. A taxi waited near the off-ramp, and its driver offered to take me to the airport. Having just taken a local bus all that way, I was hardly going to pay for a taxi merely to cross the expressway.

Check-in and boarding went smoothly, as they generally had throughout the region. A detection dog inspected my bags without incident. My wisdom teeth were due to be removed shortly, but I had not brought the prescribed pain medication into Thailand.

On the flight, I helped a Spanish traveller named Jose, if I remember correctly. He had met his Taiwanese partner while studying in England, and this was only his second visit to Taiwan. After customs, I met her parents and learned that they happened to live in my neighbourhood. We discussed meeting for dinner later in August.

Finally, I helped a Japanese traveller on the bus find his hotel, despite speaking no Japanese.