Thailand, Day 1: Bangkok Airport

Sunday, April 24
Bangkok, Thailand

After a 9 hour flight, I am now in Bangkok.  It is almost 6am local time, meaning 9am in Melbourne and 4pm at home.
The flight was actually great!  I think it's a good omen for the trip.  I walked on board to some soothing background music and ladies who were dressed in nice skirts and sashes (being on Thai Airlines, I should have expected something of the sort).  They greeted me by placing their hands together and giving a little bow.  I continued on to my seat, realizing that I was lucky and got assigned to sit by a window.  There was a guy in the aisle seat already, but as loading continued, no one was coming to fill our middle seat.  I thought this was great, but then even better was the announcement that we were getting ready to back away from the gate, prompting the guy in the aisle seat to get up and find a row of his own.  I ended up on a 9 hour flight with an entire row all to myself!  That meant I could lie down and sleep through most of the flight, which I definitely did.
Also to my surprise was the fact that we were served two meals.  I was under the impression that we'd just be getting one.  First up was dinner, served around midnight Melbourne time.  It kind of threw off my eating schedule, but I've already thrown all rules out the window for this trip.  It was actually very good:  rice, chicken curry, vegetables, and bread.

After dinner I did some reading and then slept till breakfast, 6 hours later.  Breakfast was fruit, scrambled eggs, yogurt, and a croissant.  Also very decent.  And throughout the entire flight the service crew was awesome.
We landed in Bangkok at 5am local time, and after asking someone to translate all of the Thai directions given by the pilot, I found myself being shuttled onto a bus on the tarmac and driven to the terminal.  The weather was overcast and very humid, but also very warm.  Upon arriving inside, I once again found myself wandering, trying to navigate and find my way, but eventually I found immigration, passed through security, and am currently sitting at my gate.  The terminal is very vibrant and full of life and colors.  All of the announcements are made in a language I don't understand, which is interesting, considering every TV is blaring something in English.

say what???

One more flight, only an hour, and I'll be in Chiang Mai.  I'm hoping to get to my room, shower, nap, and explore.  It's going to be very warm by the time I get settled, and I just hope I can dress comfortably without offending anyone.  Right now I see a pretty wide range of apparel, from a girl across the way in a tank top and shorts to the pair of monks sitting a few seats to my left.
I see people moving towards our gate after the last announcement.  I guess that's my cue to go.