Operation Save the Paratrooper

Off I went into the taxi wearing a mask towards the airport. The taxi driver gave a big thumbs down and said, "Thailand no good, we have COVID-19". He probably thought I was abandoning ship like most tourists or expats at that point were.

I passed the temperature check and got on the plane. There were no delays and the plane landed in Khon Kaen with another temperature check on arrival. At that point I got a taxi and picked up the bike successfully at the 185 Residence.

There was still plenty of time to ride back to the airport. As I did the vibe felt suddenly so much more chill and peaceful, somewhat like I had remembered it on Friday before leaving for this failed trip to Bangkok. There was music playing, people were out and about, markets were active, and many people were still not wearing masks. There was still lots of signs of public life and happiness and similar vibes of this place not being hit by too many cases.

But as I rode and soaked every second of this ride in, I knew that most of what I saw here wasn't going to last this way much longer. This could be one of the last happy bike rides in Thailand for awhile. Like the shockwave of a bomb going off, every part of the planet was going to be affected by this virus. Some places would get hit worse than others, but there was no way to escape it anymore. I was going to figure out my next moves in Chiang Mai.

It was very easy to get to the airport in Khon Kaen and check in, and since I was the one of the few customers on the plane, the staff were more than eager to help check in the bike and box it up. Normally this is a headache but they were all smiles, about half of them that is, because the other half had masks.

The flight to Chiang Mai itself was nearly empty, the best I've ever had, for some reason I felt strangely at peace and knew this was the right move to be making. No temperature checks for departure. On arrival, also no temperature checks, the place was deserted and I got an entire van to myself to transport the bike to the hotel where I'm staying.

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