Jess' Thailand Adventure: 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!!