Wow, this trip has been jam-packed so far. A bit too much I am realizing. Before I get into how I am feeling today, let me back track and fill you in on what I have been up to. Day 1 (Sept. 17) I landed in Bangkok after a semi-uneventful 28 hour flight from Chicago. I managed to get out of the airport within an hour and a half, and caught a bus to my hostel. The ride was an eye opening introduction to this amazing city. Crazy traffic, beautiful old buildings next to 21 century skyscrapers with a tin roof slum around the corner. Dingy and colorful at the same time. Everything is always moving around here. The nights are when everything really heats up, but it is pretty fast paced during the day as well. Everyone I have met here in Thailand has been so helpful...admittedly most are trying to sell me something, but helpful none the less. Once I got to my hostel, this incredible little place in the heart of the city, I dropped my bags off and grabbed breakfast. I had intended to eat and then sleep for a few hours, but I struck up a conversation with the fellow sitting next to me at the breakfast table and next thing I knew we were both headed toward the Sky Train to hit up the mall to buy me a cell phone. David, who is from California and has been in Thailand the past 2 months, helped me get my travel legs under me and showed me the ins and outs of Bangkok. After buying my phone, we decided to head to Chinatown which involved taking the River Taxi (very cool).
Chinatown is a whole different type of amazing. One stall after another filled with so many neat things. Statues, amulets, silks, paintings, food, books, cloths...you name it, it is here. Skinny little walkways wind around block after block of sellers, with a few temples thrown into the mix.
After Chinatown we headed to Kaw San Road, the stereotypical backpacker local in Bangkok. It was interesting, and I ended up spending a night there after a few days, but for the most part I didn't like it. Most of the travelers spent all there time on this pretty tiny street, only interacting with other travelers and never really getting to see what Bangkok is really like. Cheap food, cloths and accommodations, plus lots of English books for sale are the only reasons to go. This pretty much finished up my fist day in Thailand. We headed back to the hostel and I was only going to take a nap and then met back up with David to smoke Hookah, but I crashed and burned around 6pm and didn't wake up until 9 hours later (around 3am). I managed to fall back asleep and got a good 13 hours of sleep! =]
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