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44-hour journey out of Bangkok
Isle man uses detours to get out of Thailand
Daniel Truong travels 1,000 miles on buses to return via Singapore
STORY SUMMARY | READ THE FULL STORYWhen political upheaval closed Bangkok's two main airports, stranding hundreds of thousands of travelers, 21-year-old Daniel Truong of Wailupe had a decision to make: Stay and wait or find another way out.
Determined to leave Bangkok, Truong, a 2005 Kamehameha Schools graduate, headed to Singapore, more than 1,000 miles away, hoping to catch a flight back to the U.S.
He spent more than 40 hours on various buses. The Stanford University senior landed at San Francisco yesterday - exhausted but otherwise fine.
"He's just a resourceful boy," says his father, Dien Truong. "He's a survivor."
FULL STORY >>
POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Dec 02, 2008
Wailupe resident Daniel Truong's first trip to Bangkok was packed with shopping, bamboo rafting and elephant riding. But Truong faced an unplanned adventure to return to the United States from Thailand.
The capital's two main airports were shut down amid political turmoil, leaving hundreds of thousands of travelers stranded. The airport closures occurred following fatal bomb attacks targeting activists camped outside Bangkok Airport. So far, seven people have been killed and dozens injured in the bombings, clashes with police and street battles between government opponents and supporters.
To avoid the crowds at the Bangkok airports, Truong set out for Singapore Changi International Airport hoping to get a flight back to the United States from there. But getting there took more than 40 hours and several bus rides.
When Truong, 21, a 2005 Kamehameha Schools graduate, decided to join his friends, Mary Timbang and Eric Ritter, on the trip to Bangkok, he was unaware of the protests being held against the government.
"It seemed like a good opportunity to go," said Truong, a senior at Stanford University in Palo Alto, Calif.
Last week, Truong's vacation was spent visiting rural areas as well as tourist attractions before he planned to leave on Thanksgiving to spend the holiday with his family in Honolulu. But his plans were spoiled after he learned Wednesday of the airport closures. Determined to leave Bangkok, Truong decided to head to Singapore, more than 1,000 miles away.
He purchased a bus package that covered three bus legs through Thailand and Malaysia. Supplied with sweet-bread rolls and water bottles he bought from 7-Eleven, Truong boarded the first bus to Surat Thani, an 11-hour ride. From there he hopped on a second bus to Had Yai.
In Had Yai, Truong and other passengers ran into a snafu when the second bus driver failed to give them paper tickets for the third bus to Penang. Each bus was operated by separate companies.
He and other travelers found another bus that had seats available to Penang, but by then Truong was running low on cash. A flight attendant from Singapore Airlines he met on the first bus offered to pay for his $20 ticket.
After he reached Penang, he caught another bus to Kuala Lumpur before hopping yet another bus to Singapore. Once there, Truong spent the night at a friend's parents' home before he caught a flight to San Francisco.
Exhausted, Truong, who flew both ways on standby tickets, reached San Francisco yesterday morning. "It was an eye-opening experience," he said. "I guess that's what happens when things don't go as planned."
His two friends, who had round-trip tickets, remain stranded in Bangkok.
Truong's father, Dien Truong, a mechanical engineer at the University of Hawaii, was grateful for his son's safe return to the United States. "We were praying the whole time," said his father. "He's just a resourceful boy. He's a survivor."
Wailupe resident Daniel Truong's first trip to Bangkok was packed with shopping, bamboo rafting and elephant riding. But Truong faced an unplanned adventure to return to the United States from Thailand.
The capital's two main airports were shut down amid political turmoil, leaving hundreds of thousands of travelers stranded. The airport closures occurred following fatal bomb attacks targeting activists camped outside Bangkok Airport. So far, seven people have been killed and dozens injured in the bombings, clashes with police and street battles between government opponents and supporters.
To avoid the crowds at the Bangkok airports, Truong set out for Singapore Changi International Airport hoping to get a flight back to the United States from there. But getting there took more than 40 hours and several bus rides.
When Truong, 21, a 2005 Kamehameha Schools graduate, decided to join his friends, Mary Timbang and Eric Ritter, on the trip to Bangkok, he was unaware of the protests being held against the government.
"It seemed like a good opportunity to go," said Truong, a senior at Stanford University in Palo Alto, Calif.
Last week, Truong's vacation was spent visiting rural areas as well as tourist attractions before he planned to leave on Thanksgiving to spend the holiday with his family in Honolulu. But his plans were spoiled after he learned Wednesday of the airport closures. Determined to leave Bangkok, Truong decided to head to Singapore, more than 1,000 miles away.
He purchased a bus package that covered three bus legs through Thailand and Malaysia. Supplied with sweet-bread rolls and water bottles he bought from 7-Eleven, Truong boarded the first bus to Surat Thani, an 11-hour ride. From there he hopped on a second bus to Had Yai.
In Had Yai, Truong and other passengers ran into a snafu when the second bus driver failed to give them paper tickets for the third bus to Penang. Each bus was operated by separate companies.
He and other travelers found another bus that had seats available to Penang, but by then Truong was running low on cash. A flight attendant from Singapore Airlines he met on the first bus offered to pay for his $20 ticket.
After he reached Penang, he caught another bus to Kuala Lumpur before hopping yet another bus to Singapore. Once there, Truong spent the night at a friend's parents' home before he caught a flight to San Francisco.
Exhausted, Truong, who flew both ways on standby tickets, reached San Francisco yesterday morning. "It was an eye-opening experience," he said. "I guess that's what happens when things don't go as planned."
His two friends, who had round-trip tickets, remain stranded in Bangkok.
Truong's father, Dien Truong, a mechanical engineer at the University of Hawaii, was grateful for his son's safe return to the United States. "We were praying the whole time," said his father. "He's just a resourceful boy. He's a survivor."
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