{"id":20028,"date":"2015-11-20T04:12:07","date_gmt":"2015-11-20T11:12:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rivercruiseadvisor.com\/?p=20028"},"modified":"2022-05-24T05:39:19","modified_gmt":"2022-05-24T09:39:19","slug":"vikings-myanmar-explorer-day-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rivercruiseadvisor.com\/2015\/11\/vikings-myanmar-explorer-day-1\/","title":{"rendered":"Viking’s Myanmar Explorer – Day 1"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Traveling to Bangkok for Viking’s Myanmar Explorer River Cruise <\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"ftdc_vikingmyanmar_cathay-0010\"<\/a>
We’re off to Bangkok, Thailand to join Viking River Cruises’ Myanmar Explorer river cruise tour! Photo \u00a9 2015 Aaron Saunders<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Thursday, November 19, 2015<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s be honest: It\u2019s a long-haul to get from North America to Southeast Asia. I arrived at the Shangri-La Bangkok<\/strong> at about 2:30 a.m., delayed by long lines at Thailand immigration and a flight that took off nearly two hours late from Hong Kong. And yet, I\u2019m excited \u2013 excited to be here, excited to have yet another new experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I am in Bangkok, Thailand<\/strong> to join Viking River Cruises<\/a>\u2019<\/strong> brand-new Myanmar Explorer<\/em> <\/strong>cruise-tour itinerary. Running 15 days in length, it conveniently starts and ends in Bangkok, which is far easier for most of us to reach than actually flying into Yangon, Myanmar<\/strong>. Instead, we\u2019ll be treated to a full day of exploration in Bangkok before flying to Yangon together, as a group, on Saturday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Still, it\u2019s a heck of a journey just to get to Bangkok. With that in mind, let\u2019s talk about what it takes to fly here \u2013 and why you shouldn\u2019t fear long flights if you\u2019ve never been on one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Brr!<\/a>
Brr! My journey began in Calgary, Canada, where fresh snowfall would provide an interesting contrast to my final destination. Photo \u00a9 2015 Aaron Saunders<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

My journey began on Wednesday the 18th<\/sup>, and it was early on Friday the 20th<\/sup> when I arrived. To start, I boarded a WestJet <\/strong>flight to Vancouver, then hopped onboard Cathay Pacific<\/strong> flight 837 to Hong Kong\u2019s Chek Lap Kok airport. From there, I traded my Boeing 777-300ER for a Cathay Pacific Airbus A330-300, which would take me to Bangkok just three hours later aboard CX 617.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s a 14-hour journey across the Pacific from Vancouver to Hong Kong, and while that may seem like a long time, consider this: Many North Americans will fly between eight and ten hours from North America to Europe, so a 14-odd hour flight to Asia is really only one more lousy in-flight movie and another meal service over a flight to London.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"In<\/a>
In Vancouver, my Cathay Pacific 777-300ER arrives to whisk me across the Pacific to Hong Kong. Photo \u00a9 2015 Aaron Saunders<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

I also tend to be very choosy about who I fly with for 14 hours. Cathay Pacific won this one, no contest. Even in economy, the airline offers plenty of seat pitch (the amount of room between your kneecaps and the seat in front of you), and wide seats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My other alternatives were Air Canada and ANA. I was tempted to fly with Air Canada because I have Star Alliance status with them, but the thought of being crushed into the coach section of their new Boeing 787\u2019s was too much for me. As for ANA, it would require a connection in Seattle that I wasn\u2019t nuts about; no point clearing customs more times than absolutely necessary!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Ouch!<\/a>
Ouch! Check out that total flying time. Good for the ol’ Frequent Flyer account! Photo \u00a9 2015 Aaron Saunders<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

My Cathay Pacific flight to Hong Kong took off nearly an hour late, and coupled with strong headwinds that added another hour to our flight time (over 14 hours in the air, total), we arrived in Hong Kong very late<\/em>. So late, in fact, that I would have missed my connecting flight to Bangkok \u2013 had it, too, not been massively delayed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, I found time to eat McDonalds at the airport and grab a Starbucks coffee. Bemoan me if you must for my choices, but I stand by them. Sometimes, you just want a Big Mac and a Chai Latte.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The caffeine was necessary, but even then I found myself nodding off during the safety video on the flight to Bangkok. I pulled-to and managed to watch four episodes of Entourage <\/em>and two Brooklyn Nine-Nine <\/em>shows before we began our descent. We were even fed on this short, three-hour jaunt to Bangkok; I had a rather tasty pasta dish that helped ensure I didn\u2019t arrive hungry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Delayed<\/a>
Delayed in Hong Kong…and I’m okay with that! Photo \u00a9 2015 Aaron Saunders<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Shortly after 1 a.m., CX 617 touched down in Bangkok. Our Airbus A330 taxied over to the gate and the rush to get off \u2013 muted somewhat by the fact half the plane was exhausted \u2013 began.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019ve never been to Bangkok before, here\u2019s the lowdown on Suvarnabhumi Airport<\/strong>. One, it\u2019s big. Two, it\u2019s gorgeous, with plenty of oversized glass windows that wrap attractively around the inner structure. And three \u2013 it\u2019s busy. Even approaching two in the morning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You\u2019ll walk a couple miles to reach immigration, and take my advice: Use the restroom first. I didn\u2019t. I regretted that decision when I saw how enormous the customs and immigration line was at 1:45 in the morning. Seriously \u2013 it took 30 minutes to clear immigration. I\u2019d hate to think of what a mid-day flight is like.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Hello,<\/a>
Hello, Bangkok! My room at the Shangri-La Bangkok, where I arrived just after two in the morning. Photo \u00a9 2015 Aaron Saunders<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

American and Canadian citizens do not need a tourist visa, so entry is a rather uncomplicated affair. Still, Thailand has you fill our an entry and exit form, and you must keep the exit form with you until you leave the country. Which, for me, will be tomorrow afternoon, as we make our way to Myanmar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Given my late arrival, I didn\u2019t have much hope that anyone from Viking would be at the airport to greet me. After all, a 2 a.m. pickup is hardly palatable for anyone. But as I navigated the zoo of people waiting for arrivals at two in the morning (seriously \u2013 it\u2019s insane!), I saw Nat \u2013 one of Viking\u2019s local agents. He greeted me at the airport, led me outside to a waiting Toyota van, and provided me with our entire itinerary for the day ahead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I was truly impressed. I was already working out in my head currency conversion rates and taxi journeys, and once again, Viking took care of all of it \u2013 as they would with any guest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The bottom line is this: Once you\u2019re here, you\u2019re here \u2013 and this journey already looks like it will be well worth it!<\/p>\n\n\n

Viking Mandalay - Myanmar Explorer<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t
DAY<\/b><\/th>PORT<\/B><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Day 1<\/a><\/td>Bangkok, Thailand<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Day 2<\/a><\/td>Bangkok, Thailand<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Day 3<\/a><\/td>Yangon, Myanmar<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Day 4<\/a><\/td>Yangon, Myanmar and Shwedagon Pagoda<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Day 5<\/a><\/td>Inle Lake, Myanmar<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Day 6<\/a><\/td>Inle Lake, Myanmar<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Day 7<\/a><\/td>Mandalay, Myanmar; Embark Viking Mandalay<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Day 8<\/a><\/td>Mandalay, Myanmar & the U Bein Bridge<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Day 9<\/a><\/td>Ohn Ne Choung, Myanmar<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Day 10<\/a><\/td>Bagan, Myanmar<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Day 11<\/a><\/td>Salay, Myanmar<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Day 12<\/a><\/td>Yandabo, Myanmar<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Day 13<\/a><\/td>Myint Mu, Myanmar<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n\n

Our Live Voyage Report <\/em><\/strong>from <\/em>Viking River<\/em><\/strong> Cruises<\/em><\/strong>\u2019 Myanmar<\/em><\/strong><\/a> Explorer<\/a> <\/em><\/strong> continues tomorrow as we spend the day touring Bangkok, Thailand! <\/strong>Be sure to follow along with our adventures on Twitter <\/em>@deckchairblog<\/em><\/a>. <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Traveling to Bangkok for Viking’s Myanmar Explorer River Cruise Thursday, November 19, 2015 Let\u2019s be honest: It\u2019s a long-haul to get from North America to Southeast Asia. I arrived at the Shangri-La Bangkok at about 2:30 a.m., delayed by long lines at Thailand immigration and a flight that took off nearly two hours late from […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":20031,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"full-width-content","footnotes":""},"categories":[96,22,417,418,87],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rivercruiseadvisor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20028"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rivercruiseadvisor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rivercruiseadvisor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rivercruiseadvisor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rivercruiseadvisor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20028"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/rivercruiseadvisor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20028\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rivercruiseadvisor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20031"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rivercruiseadvisor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20028"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rivercruiseadvisor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20028"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rivercruiseadvisor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20028"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}