March 8th and 9th - Getting There

As the world becomes smaller, it also turns very uncomfortable. The flight from New York to Tokyo was a long and arduous journey. Saddled with a poor selection of movies, cramped seats and lousy neighbors, I struggled to maintain my cool. I distracted myself with video games as Karen shifted about in a lost effort to find comfort. Level 3 of "Connect 4" frustrated me so completely that when I finally bested the maddening machine, making the score 24 - 1, I nearly stood and screamed. The meals didn't help either as Japan Airlines' version of Japanese delicacies were some form of sweet, unidentifiable, honey-comb shaped vegetable.

I don't fly often, so maybe this is a common feature on international flights, but I thought it was a nice touch: the plane is equipped with bottom and front mounted cameras. This allows one to watch take-off, landing and the scenery at 35,000 ft. from either the pilot's view or the view of a soon to be dropped explosive. It's only slightly disconcerting that, should the plane go down, you could watch your own death as in-flight entertainment.

Cruising into Narita airport, 14 hours later at 4,000 feet, I noticed an abundance of blue-roofed houses and arid looking golf courses. Significance unknown.

We had a much better 7 hour leg from Tokyo to Bangkok. With the flight somewhat empty we were able to stretch out, sleep intermittently and recline our seats the full 20 degrees without an ounce of guilt. Arriving at the legendary Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Bangkok circa 1 AM, we slept soundly but briefly, basking in the luxury we would soon forego.