The Noodle Curtain

Air Canada's pursuit of mediocrity

I felt like I needed something on which to hang this issue of my unhappiness with Air Canada’s service. Then I found it in the toilet of the Korean Airlines flight from Seoul to Bangkok. It came in the form of a bottle of moisturizing skin cream.

It broke the log jam. The muddle in my head started to clear and I wish to state here that I’m sick and tired of Air Canada’s mediocrity -- to be kind. Don’t get me started on its frequent reminder that it was voted “the Best North American airline," by Skytrax respondents. Well, it’s a pretty sorry field of candidates. I base that on my American friends’ lack of anything good to say about American carriers! Mexico? Forget it.

I know it just seems petty and unwarranted to want to run down your country’s national carrier. I held off, trying to follow the platitude that says, “if you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all.”

But I cannot hold back now. Thank you bottle of moisturizer. But there’s more, a lot more.

I’d just spent 10 days in chilly, low humidity Toronto and my skin was peeling and cracking. I guess my skin had become acclimatized to the steamy tropics that keep your skin in oily condition. When I’m back in Canada, I get really dry, itchy skin now, even in the fall.

 I was on the return flight to my home in Bangkok. My shins were killing me so I thought I would check out the toilet because I remember a bottle of creamy hand soap there the last trip. Different cubicle, different toiletries. Two bottles, one of them spelling relief. That body cream  really worked.

Then my thoughts just cascaded. The KAL toilets smell nice. The water tap is tall enough and big enough to get your full hands under the flow and it keeps on flowing after you press the regulator. The AC one is extremely tiny, you can only wet your fingers and as soon as you remove your hand from the regulator, it stops. The flow amounts to maybe ant spit. The KAL tap spreads a nice wide flow and it continues long enough so you almost never have to touch it twice. 

 The KAL Airbus 330 mid-cabin service module has FOUR toilets, with curtains shrouding the two-sided hallway entrances. There’s two in the back service module. So convenient. Toiletries include toothbrushes, mouthwash, moisturizing hand soap and skin cream. AC? Some industrial strength liquid soap that dries out your hands.

 But let’s go back to the beginning of my trip where the downfall began.

 
First thing I noticed when boarding at Bangkok airport was how helpful and safety conscious the KAL crews were. Cabin staff were stationed all along the aisles to help people push heavy carry-on bags into the overhead bins, rearrange the load, put people in their correct seats, and generally prepare for takeoff. Once bins were locked down and everyone seated, staff went back through the entire cabin again to double-check the bins were safely locked and seatbelts fastened. They were very quick about it too. All was done with a real desire to help and maintain safety.

At Incheon, leg 2, when Air Canada took over, it looked like AC was using another airline to do most of the check-in and boarding. I’ve seen AC do this at Hong Kong, too. My Korean-born seat mate, who lives outside Toronto, said they were using another Asian airline’s staff.  

Frankly, boarding organization was a disaster. People just lined up anywhere, with the line blocking the exit path of an express moving sidewalk. Meanwhile, six or seven check-in staff stood motionless behind the counter watching and doing nothing to organize things.

Finally, someone managed to wake up and try to split the lineup and get them standing parallel to the sidewalk. It was a failure. Organizing boarding by seat rows was put over the PA but nothing done about it. People just lined up as best they could without any staff helping or pre-checking passports. 

 Inside, none of the luggage bins were unhooked and ready for loading. People had to reach up and pull the bins down themselves, including old folks and short people. Then they had to stow the bins themselves. Finally, AC staff and these rental staff showed up but the worst was over. 

 Throughout the flight to Canada, I hardly ever saw cabin staff except when they were forced to serve food. Then they would disappear. On KAL, cabin staff toured the seating area constantly, offering drinks or checking safety items. When the seatbelt signs went on due to turbulence incidents, they scurried into the cabin pronto to make sure everyone was belted in. Every time.

 On the return flights to Incheon and Bangkok, I have to say the AC ground staff at YYZ were very well organized for boarding. Went off smoothly and quickly. But, still not enough cabin help. In flight, AC served up the same menu it’s been serving for 10 years on this route. What’s with AC that it can’t afford to put lettuce or tomatoes or something green in its sandwich. Look at the cheap-assed ham “sandwich” picture. At least there was mayonnaise.  And whoopee, Nissin noodle cup soup. Again. Talk about cheap. 

 Meanwhile, the KAL meals, three to choose from (chicken, beef or fish), were varied and tasty. How is it that KAL can use stainless steel cutlery  in its meal sets, as does Cathay Pacific, and AC cannot; not even a bloody toothpick.

 Last, the LCD entertainment service on KAL was much easier to use, faster to react to inputs and had much clearer audio. Both airlines use Airshow software. I have found the AC system extremely frustrating to use. And how come the continuous flight data were only in the Imperial system, no metric?

 The overall feeling on KAL is that they are here to help you enjoy your flight and hope that you come back. On AC it’s an attitude that my job requires me to do this and that. I will do this to the absolute minimum standard and when you’re off the plane, goodbye.   

 Really, though, that attitude is common in Canada. We just don’t do service. We reach for the floor. 

 Here’s the Skytrax user ratings page for Air Canada. And for Korean Air.

I can't believe Air Canada's four-star ratings. If you have experience of Asian airlines, you will not want to use North American services again.

My 7 Links at Behind the Noodle Curtain

It must be my journalism background but once a post is in the public domain, the only thing I focus on is the next one. I do not dwell on what’s past and find it hard to think of some posts that would meet the criteria of My 7 Links, a challenge to bloggers originated by travel blog Tripbase.

The goal is to “unite bloggers  (from all sectors) in a joint endeavor to share lessons learned and create a bank of long but not forgotten blog posts that deserve to see the light of day again.”

Well, maybe I can construct something that meets the challenge thrown down to me by my very good friend Talen at Thailand, Land of Smiles. What may help me to do this is to recall my underlying theme to this blog:  remove the veils of my ignorance about Asian culture,  Southeast Asian in particular, and more particularly, Thai culture.

For me, my time here on the blog is about educating myself. If someone else finds something useful when reading a post, that’s great too. You see, you can live in this culture and yet let a lot of things escape your notice. But if you write about something, you’d better look closer at your day to day life, which will lead you to a better understanding of your next topic.  That’s exactly what this blog has helped me do, pay attention to my surroundings, whether cultural or historical or social.

It’s a great exercise in learning to really live here.

Coincidentally, this month, July 2011, is the third anniversary of Behind the Noodle Curtain. I will have more to say about my three years of self-education in a later post.

My most controversial post on Behind the Noodle Curtain

I was in a rant mood after an extended stay in Southeast Asia in the spring of 2009. But it was some months later that I wrote Female temptations in west bring predictable endings. While I tempered my remarks -- in fact, re-edited and re-published it after removing some incendiary stuff -- I still hold to every word I wrote about male-female relations in my home city of Toronto. In short, I’ve never seen so many unattached, unhappy 30-something people, both sexes. And if there are liaisons, they appear more like business relationships: he is a graphic artist, she an interior designer and both go into business together. Oh, that sounds like fun.

Most popular post

That’s easy, all you have to do is write about bar girls, eh? However, I did not write this one but wish I had. My Bangkok friend and film director Paul Spurrier wrote all the important bits in Wise advice on relationships with Thai bar girls l, a sensitive and balanced post that may have some surprises in it. That is my current No. 1 post by far.

Most beautiful post

I decided to go to farthest Isaan, Nakhon Phanom on the Mekong River after Stickman and Talen wrote positively of the place over a couple of years. And I took to it immediately and wrote Beauty comes in many forms in Nakhon Phanom. I think it has as much to do with the view into Laos across the river (see photo at top) than any one thing about the town on the Thai said. But the town has its attractions, too, being a cross-culture of Thai, Laotian, Vietnamese and Chinese.  And maybe being as far away as possible in the northeast from Bangkok also played a role. 

Most helpful post

When you’re over 50, as I am, it’s a good idea to get the “usual” blood tests such as PSA, blood sugar, cholesterol and vitamin B12. After a six-month stay in Thailand, I returned to Canada and followed my own advice. I was deficient in vitamin B12, which comes mostly from red meat, little of which I ate in Thailand. It happened again after a recent extended stay. The first post, Keep eye on your vitamin B levels if on Thai food diet, got linked on a Russian language web site and has been popular ever since. The second one, Vitamin B12 deficiency recurs after long Thailand stay, has been picked up by many.

Successful post that surprised me

My post on a cheap haircut -- The 100 baht haircut that will last a lifetime  -- managed to draw out long-time friends and admired bloggers who have never commented on my blog. LOL. Must be something about the universality of getting old and hiding that fact as best as one can.

Post that didn’t get the attention it deserved

I got a lot of comments on my lengthy post, Canadian boys need to toughen up, but none from Canadian readers or (presumptuously on my part) authorities or other interested parties. Maybe no one outside of Thailand read it.   I am surprised that this post didn’t get linked to here and there. Did not even get any objections to my slandering of Canadian men.

Post I’m most proud of

I suppose I’m most proud of this post, Make changes and the world changes with you, because I was changing for the better. I wrote it from my home city Toronto (although Bangkok is my home now). On my fourth trip to Thailand, I resolved to look under the hood of Thai culture and see what I could see and hope to take the best of it into my soul. On that 2007 trip, I think a made a few small breakthroughs that I’ve continued to feed off of. I was chilling out.


Conclusion
When I looked at the requirement for 7 example posts, I thought it would be  real challenge and frankly, not very fruitful for readers. I looked through the headings of the 290 plus posts and realized, hey, this is an interesting list. Maybe I could find 7 if I stretched. Well, I had trouble narrowing the list down to 7.

 

I'm also supposed to nominate five bloggers for this Tripbase challenge. Some of my faves have already been nominated but I am very very happy to recommend the following:

Boonies Thailand Photos  When I want to relax, be amused and just take a break from the seriousness of world, I love visiting Boonsong Somboon and his village where he and his wife tell stories through photography with often very amusing results. This Thai writer has sure hand for a  English and Thai word play that will have you chuckling and laughing out loud. There's much to be learned about Thai culture here, too.

My Thai Village Life  The Village Farang's blog, set in Chiang Rai province, is written by an American who moved to Thailand more than 30 years ago and has made a life here and achieved wedded bliss. But don't expect a view of the world through rose coloured glasses. He doesn't write often but this posts are very thoughtful about farang and Thai cultures, and sometimes provocative.  Although recently he admits he has mellowed a bit. Always worth reading, especially if you're a motorcyclist!

LTO Cambodia There are not many blogs on Cambodia that I have found but LTO Cambodia author Casey Nelson collects news bits, photo stories, opinion pieces and amusing anecdotes on life in Phnom Penh and Cambodia.

Life in Rural Thailand - Ubon Ratchathani  Author MeMock has a home in Ubon and Australia and business in Laos, as well as a young family.  His blog mixes delightful and serious family stories with local issues, history and just life in general. You will also find much amusement as his two daughters and new son grow up.

The Thai Pirate Ben Shingleton writes a wry amusing and sometimes serious blog about Thai life in Suphanburi province, often using pictures and video

 

 

 

Thai Isaan beauty is the poetry of form

 

Once you have experience of Thailand, maybe this image is the one that forms in your mind as you wish for that perfect union of Thai girl characteristics.

Or you just like a good picture of another gorgeous brown-skinned Isaan girl.

Make your picture, so to speak.

I imagined myself back in my Toronto apartment and conjured an image that might metamorphose  into a hometown scene, with a kind of "same same but different" tone to it. 

I looked at the above Thai girl's hair and well, nothing in my experience matched that shining mane of soft, perfect black hair.

Look at the straight back and narrow waist, flaring out into two slim hips, connected by an almost concave tummy. Then there's the delicacy in the way she holds the broom.

The pretty, colourful Thai skirt adds great contrast to her brown skin, topped by the bra, in a black that seems to perfectly match her midnight hair.

The skirt falls just a couple of centimetres above the floor, with her colourful sandals just peaking out.

Really, trying to describe a Thai Isaan beauty is like trying to explain the emotion of a Ferrari when it's standing still.

I'm afraid my Canadian experience draws a blank and the conjury fades to the same white blank canvas I started with.  Which only says that I simply had a lot of mundane experiences or none at all to compare.

In any case, the photo was not posed. We have Bangkok-based mystery author Dean Barrett (Kingdom of Make-Believe, Skytrain to Murder, Permanent Damage)  to thank for this beautiful work of art, and as well, blessed thanks go out to all the good Thai genes.

Khun Dean posted this on his Facebook page the other day and I just had to have it for the entertainment of my  readers -- you three know who you are!!! (Permission to republish asked and granted.)

Before you ask, there are no other related photos, I don't know who she is or where she lives exactly and any republication must be accompanied by the copyright owner's photo credit, Dean Barrett who can be also be reached at his book pages.

 

 

 

Hot weekend forecast for Toronto Taste of Thailand

 

The annual Taste of Thailand festival this year marks 50 years of diplomatic relations between Thailand and Canada.

And you can experience it all starting today in Toronto. The festival opens Saturday, July 16 at 1100 hours (11 a.m.), and closes at 2000 (8 p.m.). It will resume tomorrow (Sunday, 17th) at 11 and closes one hour earlier at 7 p.m. It's at Nathan Phillips Square, as always.

There appears to be some new features in the 2011 edition of the festival: Wat Prah Kaew (Emerald Buddha), Walking Street Chiang Mai and Siam String Ensemble. A popular feature is back, namely a selection of Thai fruits brought in by the Ministry of Agriculture and Co-operatives, free for the tasting!

I'm not sure how Wat Phra Kaew and Walking Street Chiang Mai will be presented but it may be worth checking out.

As always too, temperatures will be appropriate for a festival from a tropical country. The forecast high today is 30 and 33 Sunday. And clear and sunny!

Canada and Thailand inaugurated formal relations on Nov. 8, 1961. For a good summary of Canada-Thailand relations, which have been growing healthily more recently, go to a message from the Canadian Ambassador to Thailand, Ron Hoffmann. As well, here is a message from the Thai Ambassador to Canada, Udomphol Ninnad.

 PHOTO NOTES: Two scenes from 2009 festival at Toronto City Hall.

 

 

Rogue immigrants will be costly for Canadian sponsors

A fresh Supreme Court of Canada ruling on sponsors of immigrants ought to throw a bit of a chill on anyone considering helping their new foreign-born girlfriend or wife establish a life in Canada.

Immigration regulations say that if your sponsored family relative, e.g., wife, ends up on social assistance, then you have to pay back all of it.  The High Court ruling says if you can’t, the government must try to collect every penny of it. In effect, it says that if the indebted sponsor throws himself on the mercies of the courts and governments, you have another think coming. There’s no forgive and forget on the debt.

“The risk of a rogue relative properly lies on the sponsor, not the taxpayer,” Justice Ian Binnie wrote on behalf of the unanimous court, reported the Canadian Press.

The issue was brought to the federal court by the provincial government of Ontario and Ottawa, which sought to overturn an Ontario Appeal Court ruling in the case of a group of eight visa sponsors.

The group, claiming hardship in one way or another, said that the governments should have the option of deferring the debts or absolving the sponsors from the debts. Their debts to the Ontario government ranged from $10,000 to $94,000, according to news reports.

A provincial appeal  court sided with the group in 2008, saying  the governments could even go so far as forgiving the debt if they wanted. The 9-0 Supreme Court of Canada landmark decision this week says, not a chance! There’s no free ride on the taxpayers.

Federal immigration  law has always been clear that the sponsor has to financially support the immigrant should things go wrong. What the new ruling makes clear is that federal and provincial authorities can recover social assistance payments from sponsors and that they be treated like an ordinary debt.

The Supreme Court does allow some minimal discretion in that the law provides for an explanation of the sponsor’s hardship circumstances before collection enforcement is begun.  

In a couple of cases, said the news reports, the fiancée or spouse of the sponsor  arrived in Canada and immediately took off, ending up on social assistance.  Of course, you enter into a contract with the Immigration Department to look after the immigrant relative and recognize that you are financially responsible over sponsorship periods ranging from  three to 10 years.

This ought to make you re-weigh the consequences of sponsoring your girlfriend or new wife  from Thailand, or Laos or Cambodia or Vietnam. Or anywhere else, for that matter.

Why make a fuss over this ruling?  As Canadians, we always think  authorities or regulators will use common sense in hardship matters such as joblessness and misrepresentation, and maybe ease off a bit on any orders or rulings, even to the point of erasing debts. The High Court says an immigrant sponsor is not absolved from repayment of welfare in any way, shape or form.

Justice Binnie, The Canadian Press reported, said Parliament has become “increasingly concerned” about the financial burden that is being shifted to the public treasury to financially support sponsored relatives in immigrant families.

The Toronto Star reported the lower courts had heard that some 7,500 sponsored immigrants were on social assistance in 2004.

“Family reunification is based on the essential condition that in exchange for admission to this country the needs of the immigrant will be looked after by the sponsor, not by the public purse,” Justice Binnie wrote.

“Sponsors undertake these obligations in writing. They understand or ought to understand from the outset that default may have serious financial consequences for them.”

Let the warning be heard.

I’ve known guys who have practically been engaged within weeks of meeting a girl in Thailand and hope to get her into Canada. I’ve known and read about guys who were taken to the cleaners by girls they’ve only known in Thailand for a few months or a year. Maybe this ruling will encourage you to take a lot more care in throwing open the doors to Canada to a girl you really, really hardly know. Your financial independence depends on it.

SOURCES FOR THIS REPORT:

Globe and Mail redistribution of Canadian Press report

Toronto Star staff written report

Montreal Gazette redistribution of PostMedia News report.

Breakfast in Bangkok: Why so bloody expensive?

I’ve spent quite a bit of time in cities other than Bangkok over the last five months and breakfast became a bit of an obsession. The day’s first meal became important to, uh, orient myself after “the night before.”

Call me delighted. I found breakfast -- English or American or Continental or Thai -- to be quite cheap. In my world, that’s a good way to start the day, cf., “the night before” and expenses incurred therein.

The following statement is not based on exhaustive research, otherwise I’d have reclaimed those 15 kilos I’ve lost over the last four years. It appears to be that the best value for expat money in Thailand or Cambodia is to be found in Pattaya.

Pattaya must have the best collection of farang breakfast offerings, in quality, portion and price.

First though let me say I’m not a big fan of English breakfast. Too much food! And too many beans, which is to say one bean is one too many when they taste like the can they came in. You just can’t warm up some beans and slop them on the plate.  And the sausages, at least those to be found in Thailand, are more herbal pate than meaty.

A sausage exception that leaps to mind can be found at the Pig & Whistle in Pattaya. Outstanding pork sausages! Outstanding breakfast! Two sizes, by the way.

Some foreigner-owned restaurants offer American breakfast (stay away from Thai American breakfast: see below). That would pretty much be the simple combo of eggs, bacon, home fried potatoes (sometimes optional) and toast. Just my style (I’m not American).

And of course, you can always grab a bowl of 20-30 baht Thai noodle soup, which is not a bad alternative to spark the day. Thing is, not all noodle soups are made equal so I found this a bit of a dice roller when sizing up my morning/afternoon choices.

I searched for “good,” “breakfast,” “bangkok” recently. Got some recommendations in the lower Sukhumvit area of BKK, where many expats and tourists gravitate either because of brand name hotels or bars and their special companionship services.

I popped up soi 4 to the huge Hanrahan’s restaurant. Gulp! 300 baht. The most expensive I had seen on a menu price list was 280 baht at the Robin Hood. I have not sampled the food at either place. If I wanted to spend $8 to $9 plus, plus, I’d have stayed in Canada. (Frankly, I can get a fantastic full-on breakfast in Toronto for the same or much less!)

I'd already spotted the Dynasty Inn on the way up soi 4, a place I had specifically gone to eat at in the past because it's inexpensive and good -- though not until recently. It was to be my fallback. Well, the fallback won since Hanrahan's was so pricy. Good breakfast, good price (Canadian bacon, eggs, toast, plus fruit for 110 plus 70 for the potatoes), good service. The 10% service charge on the check led me to ask if staff get the cash. Nope, the hotel company does! Tip money does go to staff.

Other places checked and rejected because of the price (for English breakfast equivalents) were Queen Victoria (310 bt) on soi 23, Londoner (320 baht) on Sukhumvit at soi 33, Robin Hood (280) on Sukhumvit at soi 33/1 and Dubliner at soi 22 (400 baht for full Irish brekkie). All these places are huge operations on prime locations with big staff. I imagine the costs must be much higher, especially if some foods are specially imported, so prices reflect some of that.

My two favourite breakfast spots are Silver Dollar on Washington Square (130 baht for nicely done American breakfast meal) and Soi 8 Pub (185 baht for a substantial plate of greasy glory).

For pricing contrast, take Pattaya. Best full breakfast price I saw was 85 baht. Buffets are common, where you’ll get English, American and Thai delights for 105 baht (Diana Dragon), as much as you can eat.

I wish I could remember the small breakfast price at the Pig & Whistle (soi 7) but I think it was 130 baht. Price a bit high for Pattaya but well worth it for the quality of all the items on the plate.

As for why Pattaya is inexpensive, eateries are definitely situated in cheaper shophouses but some of them are no less big than BKK leading names. I doubt the Thai staff salaries are much different between the two cities. The cost of doing business (deliveries, sourcing foods and repair works) may be cheaper in Pattaya. Certainly there’s more competition in the more compact area of Pattaya that keeps prices down. I also think the tourists who throng the beach city fit in a lower average income level, which would tend to restrict restaurateurs to non-gouging practices.

But it seems to me that little of this explains the 100-300 baht differential between pricier Bangkok and reasonable Pattaya -- double to four times Pattaya menu prices. Maybe the real reason is that BKK businesses are largely dealing with the kind of Bangkok expats and business visitors who work at a higher income point and therefore can handily pay the freight. So those of us not boasting a surplus of money will just have to deal with it -- by shopping carefully. Which is exactly what Thai folks do.

This devine Thai omlette on rice is only 20 baht on the street.

And this "nutritious" breakfast on a train trip is far more preferable to this below . . .

Here's the kind of  "American breakfast" (in Roi-Et, in this case) you will find in many a Thai rural city.  What is described as "sausage" looks and tastes like weiners, and sandwich ham is as tasteless as it looks, not to mention the mass production egg. And then there's the cloying, sweet salad dressing common on salads that  almost makes me, uh, you know . . .

Air Canada and Cathay Pacific: roses and brickbats

Cathay Pacific has saved Air Canada’s ass. And mine. I’m ever so thankful.

The miracle is that I still managed to make it to Bangkok at the appointed time -- after missing two flights!

I know that sounds weird, but you’re forgetting some people (rumoured to be this author) can really screw things up and still come out at the right place and time.

I left Toronto’s Pearson Airport Monday, May 16 and arrived in Hong Kong early afternoon of Tuesday, May 17. Then plunked down at Suvarnabhumi late the same afternoon. Exactly as planned.

Now, back to the scene of the criminally stupid act of my travel planning. I arrived at Pearson around 7 a.m. before my 10 o’clock flight to Hong Kong thanks to (wonderful Toronto) agent (at Tour East) and separately booked my connecting flight to Bangkok because I wanted to use up Cathay  travel points.

Only I booked the HK connection for the same day I left Toronto. Well, if you’re following this and knowing HK is 12 hours ahead of Toronto, you’ll understand the problem. Simplified: you cannot fly out of Hong Kong before you’ve even left Toronto.

Yep, while I was sleeping in Toronto, my HK to BKK flight CX751 had left at 2:25 p.m. on Monday, May 16. How many times have I gone through HK on this very same itinerary? More than enough to make this act of planning stupidity dumbfounding.

It was the patient and kindly Air Canada agent who pointed this anomaly out about 7:30 a.m. when I asked AC to forward my luggage through to BKK.

Well, time to get on the phone! I got through security after several cigarettes outside (Pearson does NOT have any smoking rooms, damn them! How uncivilized!)

Who do I call? Asia Miles, which booked the flight, or Cathay. Last time I called Asia Miles (which is like Cathay’s Aeroplan), I gave up after 20 minutes of waiting on my mobile phone. I had resorted to a landline for the original booking. Took 55 minutes for someone in Hong Kong to answer the line. Couldn’t book online, as tried, because the Asia Miles/Cathay booking completion always failed at the last step.

Okay, to prepare, I added more top-up minutes. Just in case. But inside I found a convenient land line, called Asia Miles and waited, and waited, and waited. Half an hour and it became 9 a.m. Soon, AC will call for boarding. Yikes!

I had called Cathay earlier but they only open up their lines at 9 a.m. Eastern time. Since Asia Miles wasn’t answering, I called Cathay. They explained they couldn’t touch the booking because it was through Asia Miles.

Side rant: what is so hard to do when an Asia Miles booking is solely for Cathay and its subsidiaries? Same same Aeroplan for Air Canada. Why make any customer call a third party for a flight issue when it’s the airline’s planes carrying you. Argh!!!

It was only when I explained to the Cathay agent my dilemma that she volunteered to send an  email to Asia Miles in HK to call me. OK, I know I’m not going to get a call, if ever, because Asia Miles is understaffed, in my estimation. So I headed for boarding, knowing I’m going to have to rush in HK to the airlines’ transfer desk and beg to get on a Cathay flight. And hope they let me use points. Ha! The alternative was paying an exhorbitant fare. Yes, I was prepared to get on my knees.

So, into the AC boarding lineup and my mobile phone rings, 20 minutes later and two steps from entering the jet cabin. My heart leaped and I looked at 852 country code. Yes!!!! HK. The Asia Miles agent had already booked me into the 2:25 Cathay flight. Whoa! I must have sounded to others in the lineup like I won a lottery.

So my compliments  to Asia Miles/Cathay for believing my story, calling me long-distance and having it all ready to go -- and this didn't cost me a cent in rebooking fees, unlike AC and Aeroplan (read below). It’s probably happened to many others, forgetting about the change of day across the International Dateline.

I can relax on the 15.5-hour torturous flight. That is until it was clear we were going to be late when the takeoff  time came and went. It was almost 20 minutes past before the tug pushed the Boeing 777-300ER out to the taxiway. And half an hour after takeoff, the captain announces we are going to arrive in HK at 1:40 p.m., half an hour late!

What  bothered me was that no reason was given before we were going to be late unhitching from the gate. They would have known. I did overhear an attendant saying two people were coming in late. Hmmm. Suspicious. No one gets on a plane that late unless they’re VIPs. Anyway, no one showed up and when the captain said we’re going to arrive at 1:40, nothing was said and no one apologized. Hello, Air Canada! Wake up! That lateness also screwed several other passengers, as I was later to find out at the Cathay HK transfer desk, including a husband, wife, toddler and their grandma.

 As soon as the seatbelt sign went off, I got up and told a flight attendant that now I’m going to miss my connection in HK. Her response was a soothing, “we’ll probably be close” to the original arrival time Stupidly, I believed her and should have pursued this nearer the end of the flight. We arrived about 1:25 but by the time one gets out of the cabin and walks the half km to W1 transfer point, it would be way too late.

The Cathay agent was shocked Air Canada didn’t take care of my needs by calling ahead to try and find me another seat. It was their duty to do that. While I have nothing but praise for in-cabin service on the AC flight, nothing was done on the more important matter of making sure your customers can get to where they’re going.

So another flight missed.

The Cathay agent at the transfer desk must have dialed her phone 12 to 15 times, speaking with unknown persons at Cathay, the gate and the Air Canada agent on the ground. Air Canada uses generic agents at HK, not their own personnel. She consulted her colleagues several times. I was impressed how helpful Cathay was. But the agent was none too happy with AC.

I was put on standby for the 3:50 flight and told to come back to the desk at 2:55 p.m. When I did, it was then I met the Canadian couple going to the Philippines and missed their flight, too.

So at 3:10, Cathay found an empty seat on a 99% per cent booked flight. I had to rush to gate 27 and be there by 3:25 p.m. or I’d miss the connection. Fortunately, it wasn’t too far from the transfer desk.

Cathay had taken my AC luggage tags and redirected my two pieces to the correct flight. I and luggage miraculously made it to Bangkok at the originally appointed time, well a day later!

Flight service quality:

One thing I noticed was how much nicer  the Cathay aircraft interior was on their Boeing 747 400 (to BKK) than Air Canada’s 777 300ER (to HKG). The CX seat is made of a fixed shell and the passenger seating portion slides up and down within the shell, therefore not bothering the passenger behind with the yo-yoing TV screen and food table. It’s been three years since I flew with CX.

The TV screens worked, too. On the AirCan flight, staff had to reboot the information system several times to get most of the screens working. Cathay’s was fully operational right from the beginning. It was quick and responsive, unlike AC’s. Also the route information system worked on Cathay’s plane, but it was “unavailable” for the entire AC flight. On Cathay, you got thorough information; I especially liked their at-the-gate update as to where you may need to go to connect with other flights.

    

Also, the Cathay food was of a higher standard, if one meal is anything to go by. The Air Canada meals were from the same menu since 2004. I swear it’s the same food because it looked identical.

And last, I had to rebook my original AC flight. I bought a one-year ticket for Bangkok, but got a notice from Asia Miles that I was going to lose 16,000 plus travel points this summer. So I called my (wonderful) agent at Tour East to shorten the flight to HKG, and I would use points to BKK. Air Canada wanted $200 to cancel and rebook! On top of that, it would take an astounding 6 to 8 weeks for AC to credit my credit card with the original airfare! Meaning, I would also pay the same taxes twice. Aeroplan imposes a $90 fee for flight date changes, no matter how long in advance. I know from experience, Cathay does not charge for return flight changes.

I think both airlines have some work to do: for Cathay it’s easing access to their Asia Miles service and Air Canada, upgrading their food services and cutting out this greedy fee scraping.

 

UPDATE: May Air Canada be blessed because it refunded my credit-card-paid airfare within 24 hours!

 

PHOTO NOTES: Top picture of Cathay B747 at HKG Airport; rest of the images show the back of the Cathay seat with its thorough and responsive information systems setup, plus the clothes hanger retractable button and cup holder.

Chilly Canadian spring a shock to my Bangkok blood

The sun has reappeared in central Canada! This is news to this home returnee because for the first 18 days of my visit, I saw the sun once!

We’ve had virtually nothing but straight days of cloud, overcast and rain. And it was cold, most  nights dipping to low single digits Celsius. Daytime highs were barely in the teens, running mostly 10 to 12 -- a good 4 to 5 degrees off the 2010 temperatures.

I wore four layers of clothing -- every day. I had to borrow an insulated vest and never gave it back during the first 3 weeks.  The three short-sleeve dress shirts and three hot weather pull-on shirts never left my suitcase. I wore my heavy rainproof shoes everyday. Fortunately, I had the foresight to bring  my Bangkok umbrella, mostly because I had been using it as the rains started early in Thailand, really early.

When I arrived in mid-April, I stepped out into the damp, cold of the airport and was struck by snowflakes. Snow!?!?!? Argh! I was freezing. It was only 2 or 3 degrees. I just came from Bangkok where it was 34C and three days previous, from eight days in Phnom Penh where  it was 35-37 degrees (photo: steamy Phnom Penh street where even the moto rider has sun awning). I've gotten used to the heat, or at least my blood has. I wore a jacket when BKK temps fell to 17 overnight.

People are saying it’s been the worst Toronto spring in memory. Most here believe we’ll just go straight from winter to summer! That may be true.

This weekend -- I’m writing this on Sunday -- it’s been sunny all day both days. You don’t realize how much that means to body and mind until you step out onto the deck of your friend’s family home, with coffee and cigs in hand and feel those truly warm beams that (finally) reach below the skin surface. From there the comforting signals go to the brain and make everything all right.

In April 2010, the mean daytime maximum temperature was 16.2 and mean overnight low was 10.5. This year those numbers were: 11.8 and 6.9 -- 4.4 degree and 3.6 degree differences respectively. The mean daily temperature for April 2010 was 10.5C, this year 6.9C -- an almost 4 degree difference over the 30-day month.

Back in Bangkok, temps are roughly in the low 30s, some days hitting mid-30s as this is the hot season.

The early part of the winter was actually quite cool, relatively speaking, with daytime temps hovering in the 28-30 range occasionally. Sometimes, the overnight lows dipped to 18 or so. We got some really hot days, 35-37, but there have been few of those.

However, the rainy season seems to be intruding early. I can remember some heavy rains in late February. March occasionally would bring rain showers. I see now for April and May forecasts of thunder showers.

But I miss the heat and yes, even the humidity.  I’ll be back in the warm womb of Bangkok in a week. 

New Thai restaurant a Toronto blessing

There’s an address on Baldwin St. in Toronto, near Spadina Road that’s had at least four Thai restaurants. The latest one, only a few months old, is one of the best so far -- in a big field with too many low-quality Thai food restaurants.

Previously, family owned Chiang Mai provided decent food for very reasonable prices. The one after that didn’t last long at all, but I can’t remember the name. Then came Pi Tom’s, which had an Isaan cook who could do justice to laab moo, as far as I and farang friends could tell. That came off a separate menu you had to request. The food was quite good then. Sadly,  Pi Tom’s was gone after a few months for lack of customers; their Lawrence Ave. and Yonge eatery also closed  for the same reason. However, there are two other Pi Tom’s elsewhere.

Thai Noodle/Guay Thiew opened in late 2010 -- I prefer this phonetical spelling Guay Thiow. It’s way busier than any previous tenant’s restaurant -- having been there three times so far. Don’t know what’s driving the popularity,  except the food, focusing on the noodle, is very good.

One of the things I think that appeals to diners is not just the food. It has a pleasant atmosphere and provides a comfortable experience. Previous operators were not quite so skilled.
Among some things, there are  the beautiful images of the food on the menu and placemats (from the Tourism Authority of Thailand). Nice place settings and cutlery help too. They’ve done a nice job of the service counter, with beautiful fresh flowers and Thai cultural objects.

And it’s Thai owned by the way, as is the likeable Real Thailand on Bloor W. at Spadina.

The menu lists 22 noodle soups and fried noodle dishes. There are also three non-noodle  soups and only one salad, Thai mango, plus a few rice dishes on the menu back with the usual choices of chicken, beef, seafood and shrimp. That’s what I chose from, on separate occasions, chicken cashew and spicy basil chicken. I’m not a big noodle fan except sen lek (medium noodle) in Thai noodle soups.
I’ve also been impressed with the fried wontons in a past visit.

Early Friday evening I arrived in the small restaurant and there was only one couple. But in short order came another two couples and single customers in the hour I was there. When seated there under previous ownership, I rarely witnessed any new patrons arriving. Strange that the difference is so noticeable. I think the owners of Guay Thiao have a good thing going.

The spicy basil chicken (pictured) consisted of onion and red peppers (normally green ones are also used but I don’t like them), plus some basil leaves, which I thought there were too few of. The meat was not dried out from cooking and was quite moist. The sauce was pleasantly spicy (I ordered the dish made for khon Thai, not Canadian tastes) -- never got the hiccups, which is what I get when something is crazily spicy. Have a feeling the chef may have pulled his chilli punches. But I was given some fresh cut chillis in fish sauce, which is how it would be served in Thailand.

The Thai jasmine rice, placed on a separate plate in a star pattern, was maybe a bit too moist, as it came off in biggish clumps sometimes when using a fork.  Issue nit noi.

It’s the second time I wanted to order soda water and they were out. Strange that. Had green tea instead.

By the way, no liquor licence. None of the previous operators had liquor licences either. Not a big issue but sometimes you want a Singha beer to keep you in the Thailand mood.

The owner is considering participating at the annual Tastes of Thailand festival in July at Toronto City Hall. But if you don’t want to wait, take a trip to Kensington Market and take a spin through the noodle menu at Guay Thiaow.

I have not been to the current Thai food hotspots, newly opened Khao San Road (Adelaide St.) and Sukhothai (Parliament St.).  Plans are being made.

Quick note: Thai Express (with umlaut over “i” in Thai) is ever expanding, it seems. The big Canadian Thai food franchise has opened a store on King St. E., just east of Yonge on the south side. The company has 127 outlets in Canada, as well as Dubai, Bahrain and Morocco. I think I have eaten at one of the outlets in the past but don’t remember my reaction. That’s all OK though because any new Thai restaurant near me is welcome. I only noticed it recently when I spotted a subway ad at TTC’s King Station.

A pleasant visit to Thai Immigration

 

What a pleasant experience, dealing with Thai immigration today when completing my 90-day address report as required for my non-immigrant O-A one-year, multi-entry visa.

What an unpleasant experience, spending three hours and 400 baht for the journey out to Chaeng Wattana Road, deep in Bangkok’s northern Lak Si district, near Don Mueang airport.

I left home at 1:20 pm. After 78 baht in one-way fares (20 moto taxi to MRT, 18 on MRT to Sukhumvit, 40 on BTS to Mo Chit) and 101 baht on a meter taxi, I was holding a cigarette at the entrance to the Thai Immigration Department’s beautiful and grand new headquarters -- shared with other governmental organizations -- at 2:25 pm. 65 minutes from Pra Ram 9 and Ratchadapisek Road in central Bangkok. (By the way, use exit 3 at Mo Chit station, walk northward to the taxi stand.)

The reverse trip was the same except the taxi fare was 127 due to short and medium wrong-way drives to two U-turns to get going in the right directions again from the headquarters, which are  in a pretty setting on Chaeng Wattana, a major east-west thoroughfare. All told, the trip cost me 396 baht, including taxi tips.

This was my first 90-day report on this visa (no fee -- imagine that happening in your western home country) and I wanted to see the place that many have praised for its size, beauty and quality of  service. Next time I am mailing it in, which I am at liberty to do.

Not because of anything negative about the service. Frankly, I was most impressed. You walk into Building B, check the building map, look to the right and there’s the “Immigration” sign at a perky little glass entrance into Immigration Bureau 1. Now there are enough films and stories about the fear of being pursued  and/or collared by Immigration Police anywhere in the  world. But look at the picture! And the New Year trimmings -- no doubt it was more Christmas-ier before Dec. 25.

That cheery  entrance belies the huge service area hidden behind the walls. The sight of it and the immediate interior area made me relax. As soon as you go in, to the left are glass-mounted samples of all the immigration forms you will ever need in Thailand. All are bilingual. Then remember the number, go the right and ask the attendant for the form. Here you are and a smile for your troubles. Sit down in the provided chairs, fill it out and head for the interior counters where everything -- and I mean everything -- is organized and ordered, with prominent signs in English and Thai, of course.

You get a queue number, with counter range printed on it (5-8 for 90-day reporters) and then go to the area where they are dealing with whatever you need. That would mean a lot of foreigners, because there are a lot of us on long-stay visas in Thailand. I was 14th. As I was sitting there, a fellow tapped me on the shoulder and gave me his queue number -- which moved me up three slots. Cool.

I sat. Then someone got up from behind the glassed counter  and walked out toward us beggars. She was one of the most beautiful immigration officers I’ve ever seen in my life. That may not be saying much, because a) this is Thailand and b) well, think back on your own country’s pitbul...er... officers.

I eventually met her and one more senior immigration police officer. They were the friendliest, most helpful, courteous immigration people I’ve ever dealt with. And I can actually say this about most of the Thai officers I’ve met at airports and land border crossings. At every question and answer, the senior officer was polite. She was there to help me in every way she could but also had to do her job yet was never stressed about anything.

It was so unlike my experiences re-entering Canada. I’ve entered a lot of Asian countries and at no time (other than Hanoi, which was a minor thing anyway) was I ever questioned, challenged,  suspected, tricked, pulled over or felt most unwelcome -- as I have been when I went back to my homeland. Sometimes the Canadian immigration officers were darned near ferocious, not just overzealous. Of course, I was honest and clean as a whistle. 

What is it about Canadian training and Canadians who become immigration officers that make returning home from  overseas such a fearful process. It seems to me, you don’t have to be a junkyard dog from the get-go. Even if you suspect someone is hiding something, you can be pleasant, keep smiling and send them to a secondary inspection.

There have been recent examples of the most horrendous  treatment of returning Canadians and arriving Americans.

I hear it’s even worse in the U.S. After my first trip today to Thailand Immigration Bureau 1, I think some immigration departments in other countries could learn a thing or two about politeness, helpfulness and measured response.

 PICTURES, from top:

The spectacular atrium in Government Building B (housing the Immigration Bureau) must be larger than a soccer/football field! I don't think I've ever experienced such interior immensity, although I've never been in the Air Canada Centre, Toronto.

Next is the view of the building map some 20 metres from the main doors. You will want S3, about 45 degrees to your right where the entrance to Immigration Bureau 1 is. If you looked straight ahead from this point, you would get a shock at the distance to the other side of the complex.

The third picture shows the left side of the atrium. Fourth is the diagram for the locations of government departments, Immigration being S3. And last is the cheery little entrance to Immigration Bureau. If you looked 90 degrees right from the map board, you would see the exit from Immigration.