Thailand - 7 April, 2003:  Arrival in Bangkok

It is off to Bangkok, the capital of the Land of Smiles, for a week or so for the Thai New Year - the biggest and most important holiday in Thailand.  Jacqui has already gone ahead to spend some girls time with her best friends.  I will be flying through Singapore to get to Bangkok - the cheapest way to go.  But this is the beginning of the peak of the SARS crisis here in Asia.  So it may get tricky.

In mid-morning, I head over to the KTM, the old main train station in Kuala Lumpur, to catch the NICE bus to Singapore.  The bus departs at 12 noon and the ride is uneventful, except for the disturbing heavy cough of the man behind me.  Just had to hope that he was not infected with SARS.  At the border, there were no health checks on the Malaysian side of the border.  At the Singapore side, we had to fill out some health declaration forms.  Once at the bus terminal in Singapore, I caught a taxi to the airport.  Another sign of the crisis, the taxi driver left the windows of the car half open to get better airflow in the hopes that if any one in the cab has SARS, the bugs would be less concentrated.

At the airport, it is pretty empty.  The traffic and flow of passengers has certainly fallen off.  I meet up with Danny, Jacqui's brother, who hands me the air ticket that he has been kind enough to purchase for me.  Today I will be flying Finnair to Bangkok - they have the best airfare.  While I am still quite a bit early for the flight, I am still able to check in.  As I check in, the lady informs me that the Thai's will require me to wear a mask the whole time I am in Thailand - they are requiring that tourists coming from SARS effected areas to wear masks the whole time that they are in Thailand.  So, now where to gat a mask?

After checking in for the flight, I enter into the transit area of the airport and head to the Singapore Airlines lounge to hang out.  They have no masks there for me, so I need to go to one of the pharmacies.  As I wander through the terminal, I notice that there are a number of people wearing face masks, but the percentage is not as high as it might seem.  But I do notice the medical screening patrols that the Singapore authorities have put in place - if you can say nothing else about the Singapore government, you have to admit that they are efficient and thorough.  Other than Vietnam, they are the only government in Asia that quickly and effectively dealt with the SARS threat.

I notice that when a flight arrives from a SARS effected area, the passengers are met by a huge team, that includes medical personnel and security.  The staff are fully covered with gloves, masks, hats, coats and foot covers.  Some even seem to have double coverings on.  Every incoming passenger is interviewed and has their temperature taken.  It is all very impressive, but must be a bit scary if you are an incoming passenger.

Well, I find a pharmacy that sells masks and other protective devices.  They have boxes of the stuff sitting around - I pick up a bag of three for a couple of dollars.  They also have hand sanitizers and lots of vitamins for sale.  Well, it is time to head to the gate to board my plane for my flight to Bangkok.  Boarding is straight forward - the plane is pretty empty.  Not many people are flying.  The flight attendants look like they are about to enter a chemical warfare site.  They have on heavy masks and big rubber gloves.  They seem like they are trying to avoid the passengers.  Cannot really blame them.  Anyone that is coughing  or sneezing is avoided like the plague.  The flight attendants, along with the usual immigration and customs forms, hand out health declaration forms and face masks.

We land in Bangkok around 11 PM and I am lucky to be the first off the plane.  Usually I try to get off first anyway in order to avoid the lines at immigration, but now it was important to avoid the health inspection lines.  And have they set up a number of steps that you have to get through.  Each of the people here is wearing masks, but that is all the protective gear they have.  First there are some ladies handing out forms that you need to fill out.  Then, after completing those, you go to the next step where you hand the forms to someone who makes sure you filled it out.  Then you are sent to someone who takes your temperature with one of those plastic films that change colors depending on how hot you are.  She sends me to another person, who looks at my form again.  That person finally sends me to a person sitting behind a table who conducts a brief interview - am I sick, where have I been, what am I doing here, etc.  He checks out my form, and then sends me on my way.  No where was there a sign or any instructions given to wear a mask.  They did not seem to be enforcing their new policy.

As there were only two tables with people interviewing arriving passengers, I am glad to be through that and move on to immigration.  I am cleared through by the mask wearing officer and go and collect by luggage, which does not take long to arrive.  Then out to change some money and catch a taxi into the city.  I take one of the metered taxis and instruct him to take the tollway - not much quicker at this time of night, but a more pleasant ride.  The driver asks where I am from and whether or not I have SARS.  I reassure him that I am very healthy!!!  The drive into the city brings back many memories - during my time in Asia I have spent lots of time in this city and country.  Only God knows how many times I have taken the route to and from the airport.  I even watched the entire construction of the elevated tollway I am now traveling on while sitting in one of the offices of THAPPLINE as I advised them on the financing of their pipeline project.  One of the more depressing moments of my time in Bangkok was when the General Manager of the Grand Hyatt informed me that in the previous two years, I had spent 700 nights in their hotel.  When I used to arrive at the hotel, the bell boys would greet me by name with a warm "Welcome Home".

Anyway, at around midnight arrive at my destination - the home of Greg, a good friend from those Bangkok days.  We used to work and play (very hard) back in those days when he was a lawyer and I was banker.  He will be putting me (and Jacqui) up for the next week or so while we are in Bangkok.  It is good to see him once again, and after I have dropped my bags we decide to head out for a beer to catch up on what we have been up to.  We decide to head down to Patpong to one of our old haunts, where we know the owner of the bar.  It is a relatively quiet place where we can just sit back, not be bothered and enjoy our beer and conversation.

And this night is a bit of a celebration for him - he has been under a bit of a house quarantine himself as he has spent lots of time in Hong Kong on an assignment.  The Thai government required anyone coming back from a SARS effected area to quarantine themselves at home for 14 days.  Greg pretty much held to this (but you do have to go out and get some food at some point), and he was glad to get out of his apartment.