David Ellenberg, history teacher in the 8th grade, is traveling with family to Nepal, via Cambodia, to further research his trip with Upper School students in March of 2010.

David's musings from Bangkok:  June 19,

Lots of hours in the air later, we're waking up in Bangkok on a gray, muggy morning.  Ash from a volcano in eastern Russia pushed our flight south, making the
Seattle to Tokyo leg over 11 hours long. Still made our connection in Tokyo and came into Thailand about midnight.  We're off to Cambodia later today.

What’s five hours if you’re already crossing the Pacific Ocean? That question was just one of a myriad that gibbered around in my head these past weeks as the family readied itself for a month of adventure travel in Asia. Five hours was the layover in Seattle before getting on United 5758 to Narita, a flight where the great size of the earth really sinks in. Folks back east call the Atlantic ‘the pond’; no such moniker would ever be applied to the planet’s largest body of water.
So after all the wonderful endings of a school year, the disappointment of the flu-truncated 5th grade ceremony for Iris, and 8th grade graduation’s delay for me, before dawn on June 17th, we headed out to PDX for the quick hop to Seattle. And we waited.
The 5 hours wasn’t really much in the end. We had snacks and warm drinks in an airy lounge. We paid the Wifi fee and caught up on email. We heard from a friend leaving JFK that his Tokyo bound flight would be even longer due to ash from a volcanic eruption in far eastern Russia. What was our status, he wondered? We quickly checked Internet sites and saw the massive plumes of eerie cloud that were disrupting air travel across the northern Pacific. This from Suite101.com: “Sarychev Peak is located on Matua Island and is one of the most active volcanoes in the Kuril Island chain in Russia. This island is called Matsuwa Island by the Japanese.” An island with a disputed name, huh? Politics pushing into natural world events; nonetheless, would this spewing ash affect us?
I checked with the United gate agent; he assured me that the Tokyo flight was on time and all was well. We kept waiting. Lisa deleted more email; the girls and I went cruising around Sea-Tac aboard their very cool subways, looking at art in the terminals and shopping for a paperback version of New Moon, one of the books in the Twilight series, a favorite of Iris. Borders had the book ($2 off today only) and Lily ordered the halibut fish and chips at the Ivar’s next door. We went back to the United terminal and waited some more.
Soon they were calling our flight. We settled into the economy seats and readied ourselves for the 9-hour crossing. When we gained altitude, we learned that the long haul would be extended. The volcano, it turned out, was affecting our route too. More from the Suite101 website: “The Alaska Volcano Observatory mentions that one of the world’s most heavily traveled air corridors is located a few hundred miles from the Kuril Islands. With hundreds of flights crossing the North Pacific daily, the ash cloud is high enough to pose a safety threat to air travel. A volcanic ash cloud contains glass shards, tiny rock particles and acid droplets. If an airplane flies through an ash cloud, the following events can happen:
* Ash particles are ingested into the engine and can lead to loss of power or complete engine failure.
    * The particles can cause abrasion on the windshield, thus hindering the view from the cockpit.
    * Essential external sensors on the aircraft can get clogged.
    * The air ventilation within the aircraft can get contaminated.
    * Within the ash cloud, there is electrostatic activity and this can interfere with radio communication.”
The pilot was wise enough to spare the scary details, but informed us that the flight would be over 11 hours in length. So it goes. We knew we had a long layover in Tokyo and hoped it was lenghthy enough to make the connection to Bangkok. Thailand’s capital would be our airline hub for a month. Friday’s flight into Phnom Penh would kick off two weeks of Asian meanderings. A return to Bangkok for a few days would follow, and then we’d jet off to Kathmandu Valley for another two weeks. A final pass through Thailand on the way home will round out the journey.
It’s now late morning in Bangkok on Friday, June 19th. We’ve had our first walk in tropical climes, a short meander from the Thongta Resort and Spa. The outdoor night market of small stalls was mostly empty save for a single skew-eyed taxi driver eating a bowl of noodles. The construction site next door is draped with bamboo scaffolding. The ever-present Family Mart reminiscent of our summer in Japan. Back in air-conditioned comfort, Iris and I eat wasabi-coated peas and seaweed-flavored Lay’s potato chips. Our dear friends who started their yesterday on the delayed JFK flight are sleeping in 312; we surf cyberworld in 506. Lisa and Lily off for massages. This afternoon, it’s back to Suvarnabhumi Airport for the 50-minute flight to Cambodia.

All are well.
Love,
David