Thailand Trip Report February/March 2026

[jimmie50]

Greetings from the Land of Smiles!  I am now in Bangkok after spending five days in San Francisco visiting old friends and colleagues.  I do not plan to report as detailed as I did back in October/November, but will share some tidbits along the way.  Since I will be here for seven weeks, a detailed ‘blow by blow’ (pardon the pun) feels like it will be boring and tiresome to read.

Although it was cold and wet in SF, I did enjoy getting to spend time with my friends, eating at some of my favorite restaurants, and even managed to take in a play.  I was shocked by the overall condition of San Francisco these days.  So many businesses have closed.  Entire blocks filled with empty store fronts.  Even the entire Westfield mall in downtown was completely shuttered.  Market Street was more like a ghost town than a bustling hub of excitement and energy.  To be honest, it was quite depressing to see.

Flight on Singapore Airlines was great, although we did experience a fair amount of turbulence the first couple of hours due to that severe weather system hitting California.  The cabin was very comfortable and service exceptional.  I believe I said this on my previous trip as well, but the customer service of Asian carriers is superior to anything you find on US carriers…even in first class.  The long 17+ hour flight went far quicker than I thought, and we actually arrived in Singapore about 30 minutes early.  My connecting gate for Bangkok was in the same terminal and an easy 7 or 8 minute walk.  Could have easily made the short connection, but after being confined for 17 hours it was good to move around and explore the airport.  So much to see and experience.  Flight to Bangkok was a short 90 minutes, although what seems to be more the norm at Suvarnabhumi these days, air traffic control had us circling for a good 15 minutes before the actual landing.  Immigration was packed and seemed to be short on staff.  I opted for the seniors priority lane which only took around 20 minutes.  No problems, and got my stamp for 60 days.  Had to wait less than ten minutes for my luggage to appear, then off to the limo service, S & P, recommended by a forum member.  I used them in October and it was a great experience, so opted to use them again.  Aside from the usual Bangkok traffic, I arrived at the condo and was ready to get settled in.  For the short stay in SF I was living out of my luggage, which I hate.  In the condo I was actually able to unpack, put things away, and get myself organized.  Since my flight arrived at 11am, I was determined to stay awake all day so I would sleep well that first night and my body clock would adjust quicker.  I discovered that trick back in October and it worked well.

You all might remember that I made quite the connection with a therapist from Paradise in October.  We have stayed in touch since then on a somewhat regular basis.  He will usually text once a week.  Most of the time he has initiated the ongoing conversation.  Not once has he asked for anything.  So, it will come as no surprise to  any of you that my first visit on Friday was to Paradise.  He knew my itinerary and was expecting me.  I didn’t really go to the shop for a massage.  The plan was to meet him there, then we went to dinner, followed by a visit to the condo for some male bonding and reconnecting time.  lol.  Was a glorious evening for sure.  Just as good as I remembered…if not better.  He wanted to meet again on Saturday, but my friends who have the condo I am using made plans for us to do some fun stuff around Bangkok for the day.  I didn’t get back to the condo until late and was too tired to venture back out for any entertainment.  I will meet up with him sometime later today or this evening.  May see what other mischief I can cook up this afternoon before meeting him.  Thinking about checking out the new Prestige Sukhumvit location.