Welcome to Thailand

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I’m officially in Thailand! And let me tell you, it feels AMAZING!  I’ve been planning this move for months and time flew by up to this point.  Now the adventure begins… and it begins in Bangkok.

All I knew prior to coming to Bangkok was that it’s huge, hot, and humid.  All of those points are true – especially humid!  Walking out of the nicely air conditioned airport to the transporter van was like jumping into a pool of your own sweat (paints a nice picture, huh?!).  Around 3AM I arrived to my hotel, The H Residence.  After a quick shower, I climbed into bed and tried to sleep for a few hours.

Day One: Bangkok
My first day of exploration was overwhelming.  The heat and humidity, the constant traffic, the smog, crazy drivers, and the millions of people everywhere was a lot to take in.  First, we took a tuktuk to Wat Pho.  Wat Pho is known for the famous Buddha statues and the very famous Reclining Buddha. The Reclining Buddha is too big to fit in one picture!

I ate my first Thai meal – Spicy Pork Salad.  So spicy! and SO GOOD!  The street food in Thailand is fresh and made with all locally grown fruits and vegetables from the wholesale markets all over the city.  Street food, as shown in the picture below, is everywhere! Every block has a few stands.  You’ll never be hungry in Thailand, that’s for sure!

Som Tam (Spicy Papaya Salad)

Day Two: Bangkok

Saturday was spent at the Chatuchak Market.  The Chatuchak Weekend Market has over 15,000 vendor stalls ranging from home goods, clothes, food, jewelry, to animals.  I was on a mission! I wanted to see the puppies, eat some great food, and buy some clothes.  Unfortunately, it was a heartbreaking seeing the puppies.  You aren’t allowed to touch them or take pictures of them.  They just sit there and cry and look so uncomfortable in the heat.  I took pictures anyway…oops!  After 5+ hours of walking around, we spent 250 baht (roughly $7.75) for a one hour foot and shoulder Thai massage.  It was a painfully perfect experience, that I will relive often.  For the entire hour, I had a hammer banging into my muscles (literally) and bamboo sticks rolled over my calves.  I didn’t walk away from the massage feeling relaxed – I felt alert.  Just what I needed 😉

Day Three: Bangkok

This was the last day in Bangkok.  Unfortunately, jet lag and the heat caught up to me.  I spent most of the day in my hotel room and out of the humidity.  There was a meet and greet meeting for the new teachers and we went over what the rest of our orientation period will be like and talked about how we find our placements.

Overall, Bangkok is wild.  I can’t think of any other words to describe the city.  I’ll be back soon to check out the roof top bars, see the Grand Palace, and do some more shopping.

Next stop…. Hua Hin!