Missing Home

I was feeling pretty homesick yesterday, so I stayed in most of the day and relaxed... watched some American TV and went to sleep early. I'm up and ready for a fun day today though... Look out Bangkok!


BTW-- The highlight of my day yesterday was while zooming through Bangkok I saw a man wearing nothing but shorts... smoking a cigarette, leaning over a skeletonized TukTuk... welding without a mask.

TukTuks and Temples

Well, I can say I've officially earned my merit badge in Thai tourism! I went everywhere in Bangkok and saw and experienced so much. 

But first..... As promised... Pictures of my hotel..... 

SO, at about noon I went out to explore Bangkok by foot.. However, I ran into YoYo the TukTuk driver. He offered to take me around for the whole day for about 6 usd... which is pretty amazing. I had heard some warnings about TukTuks, but he seemed nice enough so I took a chance.... And it payed off... I had an amazing day and YoYo was so much fun... I could talk all about it... but a pictures worth 1000 words, right?

Back of YoYo's Head- Inside the TukTuk

Street in Bankok 

First Stop

 

View from the top of Wat Traimit Wittayaram Voraviharn which houses the World's largest Golden Buddha. 

Me in the pouring rain at the top of the temple

The golden Buddha-- so beautiful.

Community center next to the Golden Buddha Temple

Second stop... 

The Golden Mount Temple... It's Huge. There's a staircase that winds around it up to the top. It's  a hike but it was warm and raining, so very enjoyable.

Shrine on the way up

Pretty awesome resident duck that to eat anyone that passed by stretching his neck out as far as possible without moving a foot. I was going to get a picture of that... but thought better of lingering in front of something so willing to bite me.

Plaque explaining the history of the Golden Mount

Prayer bells... there were a lot of these on way up

Me... standing in the middle of the Golden Mount

View from 1/2 way up the Golden Mount

The innermost room at the center of the Golden Mount. Not sure what the significance of that is... YoYo told me, but I forgot. 

View from the top of the Golden Mount. I think this picture best captures Bangkok as a multidimensional city-- the temples on the right, the lush tropical forest, the modern skyscrapers in the back, the blend of new and old architecture.

Flower growing on a vine 

 

The walk down the Golden Mount

Shrine 

Third Stop... 

I forgot the name of this temple, but it was definitely my favorite. The grounds were huge and included multiple buildings, sprawling grass, lots of dogs, a school and dorms for the monks.

Some temple dogs

Grave marker in the Monks mausoleum

The main building on the grounds

Monks attending a prayer service

Temple dog 

Fourth Stop... 

While YoYo and I were chatting through the day, he learned that I have an affinity towards boats, so he took me to the docks where you can rent a long boat and get a river tour of bangkok. I asked if he'd join, and we ended up having a very enjoyable time, despite our long boat driving powering through the torrential rain at 50mph. 

View from the front end of the long boat

When it rains... these iguana-looking lizards swim up and eat the giant catfish that live in the river. 

Last Stop... 

After the longboats, I was up for some shopping, so I asked YoYo to drop me off at the mall. Their malls are vastly different than ours, but... very Bangkok. There are some levels that look like a cramped and crowded street fair where you barter and barely squeeze through the sellers isles, and other levels with pricey electronic stores and arcades. It was a bit overwhelming for me, especially after such a long day. 

Food court at the mall. 

Back to the Hotel... 

After I finished shopping, I went to go grab a taxi but another TukTuk driver pulled up and offered me a good deal, so I hopped on and found out why there are warnings against TukTuks. I'm still not sure if it was terrifying or exciting, but bombing through the streets of Bangkok in the back of a motorized cart, going the wrong way on one way streets running a few stoplights was an experience I'll remember for a while. 

Hotel hallway... back to my room 

In the evening the hotel hosted a cocktail party for the guests where they served drinks and snacks. I met some interesting people, though I haven't seen any other Americans since I've been here and the party was no different. I gotta say though, I think I'd take the average Thai over the average American. I still can't get over how genuinely kind, happy and welcoming an entire population can be. After the party I went up the the jazz club "Cotton" in my hotel. Great atmosphere, great music... and I tasted my first genuinely Thai, Thai food! I'm not really sure what it was... it had tofu veggies in a thick sauce over rice -- It was the only vegetarian dish on the menu -- It was delicious!...and so cheap! 4 usd for 3 times as much as I can eat at a super ritzy jazz club.... I could get used to this place...

I made it!

Well, I've survived the hardest part of the trip.... getting here. After all the craziness of packing and  goodbyes to friends, family and daisy, I made it on the plane. It was 11.5 hours to Seoul, South Korea where I transferred to a 5 hour flight to Bangkok. I've gotta say... I thought a 16 hour flight would be much more excruciating than it was. Korean Air -- Fantastic -- The seats were narrower in exchange for extra room everywhere else, so it was very comfortable. On the back of every seat is a touch screen and connecting wii-mote like thing. There are literally hundreds of games and videos to watch and play... so really the flight felt more like a very lazy Saturday than anything. No complaints! ...especially because they served wine with every meal... :) 

The airport in Seoul was amazing. It was 2 stories... the bottom story looked like a ritzy mall with periodic and terminals. The second floor was full of restaurants, gardens, lounges, hotel space etc... I didn't have time to explore it completely (or get any pictures) but I have an 11 hour layover on the way back, so I'll have plenty of opportunity at that point. 

Getting through custom and security on this end was a breeze. I befriended a guy on the plane who was Thai and just coming back from spending high school in LA. He was nice enough to take me through all the security check points and baggage claim at the airport here in Bangkok. The taxis here are fantastic! So cheap! I was most surprised about the roads. They are in great shape, better than Seattle roads/freeways for sure. :) Everything is so modern here. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but what has  struck me the most since being here is how my perception of the world has changed. The world is a much smaller place than it was on Wednesday morning.  

The cab driver was nice but to say he didn't speak much English would be a gross exaggeration of his English speaking abilities. In the forty-five minutes that it took to get to my hotel (Shanghai Mansion) the only thing that we had firmly established was that I was indeed American and not from Europe. I wasn't even completely sure he knew where he was taking me until we got here. This of course... was no fault of his as I'm now the frustrating foreigner who doesn't speak the language. 

I'm in awe of how nice the people are. When I arrived, the bellhop from a neighboring hotel took my bags from the cab to my hotel, where a taxi driver (not my own) brought them in to the hotel lobby... where I was instructed to sit on the couch comfortably while they brought the front desk to me. What a new and amazing concept.... people being nice to each other just because... I know I'll get used to this!! 

My hotel, Shanghai Mansion, is incredible. I was thrilled to find out that the advertised pictures were accurate. I'll post more pictures of the hotel as a whole later today... or check it out here -- http://www.shanghaimansion.com/bangkok-hotel/bangkok-hotel.html . I love my room!!  

                                        

                                                                    DUFFEL BAG STOWAWAY!!!

Breakfast  of  with Champions!

Saying Goodbye at the Airport...

 Awesome view of the Olympics

Flying over Inchon, South Korea

My Amazing Room!