And I'm off on my latest travel adventure. 1:40 am departure on Saturday, April 15 to Bangkok connecting through Hong Kong on Cathay Pacific. Hong Kong is a 'short' 14.5 hours from Toronto. Arrived in Hong Kong to a deserted airport - it was 4:30 am after all. Enough layover time to have a shower, shave and change clothes for a much warmer climate.
Arrived Bangkok on Sunday, April 16 at 10:30 am local time. Total travel time including layover - about 21 hours. Decided to travel to my hotel by taking the rail link from the airport connecting with Sky Train that has a stop about 10 minute walk to my hotel. I had reservations at the Adelphi Grande, same hotel I stayed at in my first visit to Bangkok in 2020. Taking the train/Sky Train combination was a fateful decision. Unfortunately, I had my wallet stolen (pickpocketed) which had my debit and credit cards along with a small amount of cash. On the plus side, I had my passport and my main supply of cash in a separate pocket. The cash I had included Thai currency (baht) so I had funds I could readily make purchases with. I also had Canadian and US currency to exchange should the need arise. Quite a dubious start to my adventure after such an uneventful flights.
Reporting the cards stolen and having them replaced is a story in of itself. Little did I know at the time it would take over four weeks to replace my business debit card. There are many positive moments that arose from losing my wallet. For example I met my new best friend Zee, the front desk person who greeted me on arrival offering me a bottle of water as I worked through reporting the cards stolen/locking the personal accounts to prevent use while sitting in the hotel lobby. She was person blessed with common sense. She was agreeable to my providing a cash deposit so she could release my room where I could continue my efforts to secure my accounts.
Bangkok
I had two simple objectives while in Bangkok: 1) have a daily massage, and 2) organize the first few days in Sri Lanka as my flight to Colombo was Sunday, April 23. I was successful on both accounts. With a little research and enormous luck, I found the right masseuse location and the ideal masseuse, Jenny, who worked in a massage studio that was a ten minute walk from my hotel. Thank goodness for Google Maps and those great people who provide reviews.
My daily routine was having breakfast in the hotel around 7 am; go for a swim in the pool around 10 am and off for my one hour massage at 11 am. Lunch followed at restaurant on the way back to the hotel. Went for a second swim around 4:30 pm. Jenny was masterful in knowing where my body needed the most attention. Quickly realized through her skillful hands how badly knotted my entire body was. Every session seemed to liberate a key part of my body. She did draw attention to my fat tummy making reference to potentially drinking too much beer. No secrets are there? I feel I received extra attention on my last visit as Jenny took time to trim my finger and toe nails. I am blessed.
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Jenny - My miracle worker masseuse
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| Silk Scarf |
I had a chance to visit Jim Thompson Company outlet site which was four SkyTrain stops and a short walk from my hotel. Jim Thompson creates the most beautiful and sought after silk products in the world. I had discovered this fact through my good friend Mike who had previously traveled to Bangkok and was in the know. I was on a mission - buy silk cushion covers (specific colours/elephants) for my good friend Mike and two silk scarves for gifts during my trip. The gifts were warmly received by all. Mike and his bride Jackie have seen photos of their new cushion covers; to be delivered upon my return.
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| Silk Cushion Cover (x2) |
Quick note about the weather - hot and humid everyday. Would feel like the temperature was in the low 40's C. It was so hot the locals were also complaining about the temperature. Walking 10 meters would produce perspiration almost immediately. The hot weather was compounded by the polluted air engulfing Bangkok. Yes, a double whammy that encouraged me to minimize my outdoor activity.
The typical tourist activities were off my radar on this visit. I had seen the key sites I was interested in during my first visit. I did meet a sidewalk seamstress walking from my massage to lunch. I needed some repairs done on a pair of shorts. An hour later I had my repaired shorts completed. She also reinforced a number of additional seams she thought needed attention. All for about $1 Cdm.
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| My seamstress |
The Banking Sub-Adventure
I had contact TD and Scotiabank. Each bank had its own distinct path.
TD Bank
Let me start with the TD as it was the easiest to explain - relatively speaking. The TD agent processed my loss report on what would be Sunday morning in Canada. He took the hotel address as the destination to ship the replacement cards as it was anticipated it would take about three business days; albeit the agent was very hesitant to make any time commitment. I was to expect three separate packages as for the three separate cards I reported stolen - Canadian Visa card, US Visa Card and my debit card. Both credit cards arrived by Thursday of the same week. However, the debit cards was MIA on Thursday. In following up with the TD, I discovered the debit card was produced on Wednesday whereas the credit cards were produced on Monday. What this meant was the debit card was scheduled to be delivered to the hotel on Monday, April 24 - the day after I checked out as I headed for Colombo, Sri Lanka. This is where I introduce two new people who would save my trip - Pang and Lakshi. Pang is Zee's colleague at the front desk who volunteered to receive the package on Monday and then, as I discovered later, at her expense, have the package sent to Sri Lanka. What makes this act that much more significant is that hotels will typically decline receiving packages for former guests. God bless Pang - she had the package sent providing the tracking number to ensure I could follow the package's progress. Now enter Lakshi - my new Sri Lankan friend and lifeline and just happens to live in the Colombo area. Lakshi is the younger sister of my very good friend Sajee who I met through Resource Productivity and Recovery Authority. Sajee was so kind and generous to connect me with her sister as well as set up a WhatsApp chat group to provide support during my Sri Lankan adventures. How fortuitous! Lakshi volunteered her home address as the final destination for the debit card package. All I had to do was organize my travel schedule to be in Colombo to retrieve the card. Lakshi and her family generously took the time to deliver the package to me at my Colombo hotel on the morning of Saturday, April 29 prior to my departure to Galle on Saturday afternoon. But that is getting ahead of next week's story!
Scotiabank
And now for a completely different banking experience courtesy of Scotiabank - the bank I have used for my business since 2000. Unfortunately, as we all learn, longevity with a bank is meaningless in today's world. Part of my experience reflects this. With that preamble, let me share the convoluted path I was to go down. I was advised on my initial contact with the Scotiabank support centre on Sunday am (April 16) that their systems were down for the day so the agent would be unable to assist with processing my stolen cards (credit and debit) report until after 5 pm on Sunday when the systems were back up. The agent tried to ease my concern by stating that Scotiabank would take responsibility for any losses resulting from the theft. So, dutifully, I phoned bank after 5 pm EDT (5 am Monday morning in Bangkok) to report the theft. The agent took the information for the debit card including the shipping address with a commitment to have the card to me by Thursday of the week. Little did I know that the agent was actually unable to act on replacing the debit card so the replacement activity was unfulfilled until I followed up later in the week. I was also informed that I needed to contact the Small Business Support team to report the stolen credit card. By the way, the Support team works Monday to Friday from 9 am to 5 pm. The happy part of the credit card story is that I received the replacement card on Wednesday afternoon Bangkok time. It was the first replacement card I received from either bank. I discovered on Friday that the debit card replacement activity was still pending. I would now need to contact the Small Business Support team on the following Monday to follow-up. More to follow about the card in my Week 2 update.
Driver's License Replacement
My driver's license also needed replacing with my wallet being stolen. New discovery. There is an online facility to request a replacement license which involves completing an online request and then following up with a credit card authorization ($35.75 cost) form and the completed request form in hard copy. You can either fax the forms to the appropriate destination or you could mail them. The government will hold your online request open for 15 business days pending receipt of the completed forms. The other important fact is that the government will mail the replacement license to an address outside the country as part of the service. Thank you to my younger brother Jim for agreeing to be the destination for my new license. It will be a matter of logistics to get the new license to me if and when the request is fulfilled. You see, I am unable to rent any type of vehicle without a license. I'll see to what extent this impedes my adventures. Initial thought - will have a very limited impact.
Unfortunately, despite the front desk staff's best efforts, I was unable to fax the forms. Mailing the forms was my only option now. Pang to the rescue. When I asked about the closest post office, Pang volunteered to mail the forms to Canada on my behalf. Another opportunity to cast the die and see what happens as we were unsure about how long it would take for the envelope to get to the desired address. Just would need to wait and see.
My missing health card and the other missing cards will have to wait until I return.
Exciting week comes to an end
And so ends my first week in Southeast Asia. Saturday is my last night in Bangkok. I'd be off to the airport at about 5 am on Sunday morning for my flight to Colombo. As with all things in life, loads of different things happening. The outcomes for these activities are totally dependent on how each of us choose to respond to those things that happen to us. In my case, I was blessed to have so many wonderful and resourceful people willing to help me in what could have been a very different situation.
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