I packed up on Sunday, and headed to an airport hotel for an early departure on Monday. Parn, from Granny's, and Marta, another guest, helped me flag down a taxi on the street for my trip out of the city. It took about 10 minutes to get a taxi, and then traffic was gridlocked. We were on a 2-way road, but the oncoming traffic was using all lanes. The cars squeezed over to let us by, and eventually we made it into a road where traffic was moving better, and then on to the expressway.

I checked in at the Golden Jade Hotel, and arranged a shuttle for the next morning. My room is a step up from those I've taken while on my bike. It has a lot of space and a sofa, tv with foreign channels, a bathroom with wet/dry separation, and a kettle and hair dryer. But the door to the balcony doesn't close properly, and there is a strong smell of mold. I got out my tools and removed the latch on the balcony door. It was misaligned, and was causing part of the problem with the door. The traffic noise decreased substantially after I was able to close the door better.

I had dinner at the hotel, a final meal of fried rice with shrimp, and even a desert, hot taro in coconut milk. Then I went back to my room, repacked my bag and got out my warm clothes for the trip home, set 2 alarms for 4 am, and faded out.

Monday morning I was up at 4, fixed some instant coffee in my room and got ready. I called the front desk and asked for the luggage cart, for help with my bike case which does not have wheels. They came and collected my luggage. I checked out and was given a small breakfast box, since I was missing the breakfast included with the room, and was off to the airport. There was another couple on the shuttle, also going to Colorado. Interestingly, they were on the flights through Hong Kong that I had initially booked and which United rerouted. I'm going through Narita now.