18 hours (12 of them completely dark) on a plane, 3 Hollywood blockbusters, 6 hours of sleep and 3 square meals of 10,000 year eggs (don't they were green and brown!) and other various rice and vegetable dishes...and voila! I'm in Thailand!
Needless to say, it's amazing here. I am just outside of Bangkok in a part of the city known as Kho San Road, which is basically a landing pad for travelers all over the world. The ratio is certainly heavier on the "farang" (foreigner) side, but the smiles and shopping are abundant... the shopping actually too abundant!
I decided to take the bus instead of a cab from the airport mostly because it was cheaper, but also because I didnt' want to get harassed by the cab-driver wanting to take me to his "business parnter's" shops. I also wanted to have a bus experience right off the baht (Thai humor!) I slept on the bus a bit and woke up to photos of the Thai President strewn across a major intersection which housed more motor bikes than cars! Pretty impressive.
I got off at the Kho San Road stop and began my journey to find a guest house which is basically a single hostel room. The first 2 I saw were on the 5th floor...arg, too hot. Then I found this one. 2nd floor, modest, yet smart room with a single bed, a fan and a shower that runs over the toilet like on a boat! For a cool 190 baht (about 6 dollars) it was for sure my best choice.
I checked it, set my stuff down, strapped on my fanny pack which contains all my valuables and headed out to the street markets to see what I could conjure up to eat. I also looked for a brief moment for flip flops and a tank top (pretty damn humid here!) I settled for a bowl of Pad Thai noodles from a very kind street vendor about my age whom I had the chance to speak with for a few minutes. She was very nice and had a wonderful smile. After that, back to the the room to rest my weary head. I was so tired from the traveling that I passed out at 8pm and slept almost uninterrupted until 6am. The walls are thin and people have an urgency to slam their doors late at night.
Woke up this morning, got some sticky rice and mangoes for breakfast and here I am! I'm off to explore Bangkok a bit more today. I'm sure I'll have plenty to talk about so stay close! THIS is the city that never sleeps!
