So, I know that I said that I would write from Bangkok. I lied. Well, not so much a lie as a misjudgment of time. Our flight from Chiang Mai to Bangkok was delayed so we were able to spend some quality time in the airport. Luckily, it gave us time to figure some important things out. Brittanie had been having stomach problems almost from the get-go in Thailand. We spent the majority of the time brainstorming and blaming it on some weird Thai bacteria strain. Well the truth is that she is lactose intolerant so during a moment of enlightenment (thanks monks) it occurred to Brittanie that maybe having yogurt and cheese on a daily basis wasn't the best idea. If only we had a Nutritionist and/or a Nutrition and Eating Behavior grad student with us to figure this out earlier. We'll make sure to bring them along next time.
It turns out that my flight back was only 14 hours which is dramatically different from 17! I sat next to a nice woman that teaches 5th grade in Bangkok. She said her favorite Bangkok restaurant is Sizzler. I told her that we neglected trying that one out but will be sure to swing by next time. Our conversation was pleasant but I'm pretty sure by the end of the trip she thought I was bipolar. I chose Juno as my first movie and ended up sobbing uncontrollably about half way through. I'm not 100% sure where that came from but I have a sinking suspicion that it had nothing to do with all babies wanting to get born. I kept catching tentative looks from Heather (the teach) wondering what was wrong with the convulsing American. Next I switched it up and watched Step Up 2: The Streets. This is a phenomenal movie about a street smart dancer torn between her electric boogaloo roots and her new Juliard type school. I don't want to ruin it, but her crew wins the dance off and everyone learns a lesson that the love of dancing breaks all socioeconomic boundaries. I got so into it I was literally dancing in my seat (my version of the street). At that point Heather took a sleeping pill and didn't talk to me anymore.
After landing in LA I collected my bag (yay it was there this time!) and headed to pick up my rental car. I saw the Budget shuttle pull up just as I was coming out of the airport so I sprinted after it to catch it. Derrik (the driver) pulled back over so I could jump in. After I caught my breath and had a good look around I realized that I had rented from Hertz. Ugh, stupid confusing American airport transit systems got me again - although this time I could have avoided an awkward situation by reading the side of the bus, the signs inside, Derrik's hat, or his embroidered polo. Luckily he was nice enough to drop me off down the street at Hertz. During our extra time together he said that he was sure he had seen me somewhere before. I went on and on about how this was logistically impossible before I realized this was his version of a pick up line. This is funny because last time I was at LAX on my way to pick up my rental I received a note with a number saying "If you're down with the brown, I'm a fella that likes Vanilla." The two must have been brotha's.
Monday, June 30, 2008
Friday, June 27, 2008
Conjugation Is Overrated
So I wanted to give you a quick update as to what I've been up to since we last spoke. I'll fill in the details later but here goes:
* Went for a run. I don't know who was more horrified, the Thai people or my atrophied muscles.
* Met some monks.
* Rode an elephant.
* Rode a hand made river raft.
* Finally met some Americans (realized where the 'loud American' comment comes from and yes, we are quite subdued in comparison)
* Had a massage.
* Ate more Italian (seriously, each place is better and better)
* Ate fantastic Indian (twice).
* Don't worry, also ate Thai.
* Got in a fight with a Tuk Tuk driver.
* Went on a night safari.
* Visited some hill tribes and learned about their lives.
* Shot a bow and arrow - I should say rocked that bow and arrow. Who knew I was such a hunter? This is going to conflict with my new vegetarian lifestyle and I will not tell the monks should we chat again.
* Drank about 8 gallons of water.
* Made some friends (names unknown but we were quite close).
* Figured out how I'm going to get from LA to SD (sort of).
* Started to speak using only pronouns and verbs and have become much freer with my conjugation (it is incredibly hard for me to type in these full sentences, I hope it's coming across ok).
That's all I can think of right now. This is my last day here in Chiang Mai so I'm off to do some more exploring and get out of this Internet cafe. I'll write more from Bangkok!
* Went for a run. I don't know who was more horrified, the Thai people or my atrophied muscles.
* Met some monks.
* Rode an elephant.
* Rode a hand made river raft.
* Finally met some Americans (realized where the 'loud American' comment comes from and yes, we are quite subdued in comparison)
* Had a massage.
* Ate more Italian (seriously, each place is better and better)
* Ate fantastic Indian (twice).
* Don't worry, also ate Thai.
* Got in a fight with a Tuk Tuk driver.
* Went on a night safari.
* Visited some hill tribes and learned about their lives.
* Shot a bow and arrow - I should say rocked that bow and arrow. Who knew I was such a hunter? This is going to conflict with my new vegetarian lifestyle and I will not tell the monks should we chat again.
* Drank about 8 gallons of water.
* Made some friends (names unknown but we were quite close).
* Figured out how I'm going to get from LA to SD (sort of).
* Started to speak using only pronouns and verbs and have become much freer with my conjugation (it is incredibly hard for me to type in these full sentences, I hope it's coming across ok).
That's all I can think of right now. This is my last day here in Chiang Mai so I'm off to do some more exploring and get out of this Internet cafe. I'll write more from Bangkok!
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Quiet Americans
We spent one last day in Boh Put at an adorable guest house called the Red Room. I highly recommend staying here if you ever have the chance. We spent the day laying on the deck, drinking Singha, and talking about how great our lives were. Unfortunately we were brought back to reality by an evening hangover from the Singha and Brittanie had a bout with hives from the sheets. The first step in the Boh Put addiction program is admitting you have a problem. The second step is getting out of there. So we did just that.
Next we flew up to Chiang Mai, which is now my new favorite place. There is a chance that I am transferring my Boh Put addiction but I'm going to go with it. Thailand's motto is "Land of the Smiles" and until this point I thought it was a bit off. In the same vein as "The Garden State." Yes, there are some stunning parts of Jersey and I'm sure there are some very established horticulturists but it always struck me as a bit weird (no disrespect to my friends on the turnpike). It has been the same with Thailand. I have seen smiles, and teeth, and for the most part everyone is pleasant - but it wasn't until Chiang Mai that I truly got behind the whole Smileland thing. Everyone is genuine and kind. And everything is about half as expensive as Koh Samui, which makes me smile.
Last night we went to a Thai cooking class, which was amazing. I am happy to announce that I am now an established Thai chef and I would like to invite you all over for dinner when I return ($12 each). Honestly, the food we cooked was some of the best Thai food that I have ever had and the whole experience was perfect.
We shared our time with a group of Tasmanians, who were hilarious. As with everyone that we have met they were surprised to find out that we are Americans. We get a lot of Canadian and Australian (even from other Aussie's which is weird) guesses and I got an Irish guess at one point. No idea where that came from. When we tell them that we are American they all respond with "You are the quietest Americans that we have ever met!" I take this as a compliment but am also alarmed because I think 'quiet' would be near the end of the adjectives used to describe this duo so I am horrified to imagine who they have come across in the past. Yikes.
Oh, and while I'm talking about American reactions - everyone is so incredibly excited about Obama. They actually don't really bash Bush (at least not as much as Americans) but say that they are excited to stop the "crazy war." Me too. They also love the Eagles and Sean Kingston.
Next we flew up to Chiang Mai, which is now my new favorite place. There is a chance that I am transferring my Boh Put addiction but I'm going to go with it. Thailand's motto is "Land of the Smiles" and until this point I thought it was a bit off. In the same vein as "The Garden State." Yes, there are some stunning parts of Jersey and I'm sure there are some very established horticulturists but it always struck me as a bit weird (no disrespect to my friends on the turnpike). It has been the same with Thailand. I have seen smiles, and teeth, and for the most part everyone is pleasant - but it wasn't until Chiang Mai that I truly got behind the whole Smileland thing. Everyone is genuine and kind. And everything is about half as expensive as Koh Samui, which makes me smile.
Last night we went to a Thai cooking class, which was amazing. I am happy to announce that I am now an established Thai chef and I would like to invite you all over for dinner when I return ($12 each). Honestly, the food we cooked was some of the best Thai food that I have ever had and the whole experience was perfect.
We shared our time with a group of Tasmanians, who were hilarious. As with everyone that we have met they were surprised to find out that we are Americans. We get a lot of Canadian and Australian (even from other Aussie's which is weird) guesses and I got an Irish guess at one point. No idea where that came from. When we tell them that we are American they all respond with "You are the quietest Americans that we have ever met!" I take this as a compliment but am also alarmed because I think 'quiet' would be near the end of the adjectives used to describe this duo so I am horrified to imagine who they have come across in the past. Yikes.
Oh, and while I'm talking about American reactions - everyone is so incredibly excited about Obama. They actually don't really bash Bush (at least not as much as Americans) but say that they are excited to stop the "crazy war." Me too. They also love the Eagles and Sean Kingston.
Monday, June 23, 2008
Boh Put Addict
After what seemed like a month and a half in Boh Put, Brittanie and I decided that it might be nice to see another part of Thailand. So we packed up our things and jumped on a catamaran bound for Koh Tao. Koh Tao is a smaller island about 2 hours north (?) of Koh Samui. It is known for it's diving so I was excited about potentially getting out in the water. However, once we landed, or docked i guess, I was overwhelmed with the amount of people running around trying to get certified. It was reminiscent of a high school parking lot full of kids armed with driver's permits and poor decision making skills. Not to mention about 65% of the people on the island were bandaged up in one way or another. I'm assuming that it was from the coral but I spent the rest of my time there on guard for the ankle, knee, and shoulder eating monster of Koh Tao.
We found a cute little bungalow by the water to stay for the night. It was essentially a tree house but it was clean and had it's own bathroom. Of course I need to emphasize the ROOM portion of bathroom as they lack any sort of partition. It is perfect for multi-tasking and I anticipate with the rise of IBS, this concept catching on soon back home. If you find that your McBreakfast is not agreeing with you during your shower you really just need to sit down. It's Win-Win.
We then ventured down to the beach where we realized that we had landed smack in the middle of a British High School field trip. Hilarious! The drama was very real - full of tears, trips to the doctor (Koh Tao monster), and finding out that "Travis has a brand new Thai boyfriend - that explains so much!"
After an exhausting day of sitting on the beach, warding off monsters, and worrying about Travis' coming out, we did what has become a bit of a habit when looking for comfort - ate Italian. Again, this Italian food was amazing. Although my spinach ravioli will always rank at the top of my list, this was a close second. What made the experience even better was the owner of the restaurant. If she was to go head to head with our Gucci owner my money would be on her. She was single handedly getting people into the restaurant, chilling our wine, optimizing the seating, and keeping her two person weight staff from blowing a gasket because of the amount of people in the restaurant. I attribute it to her magical jean jumper that gave her super hosting powers. Amazing.
The next day we jumped on the first boat back to Boh Put as we could only stand being away for a single day. I am currently looking for a Boh Put twelve step program.
We found a cute little bungalow by the water to stay for the night. It was essentially a tree house but it was clean and had it's own bathroom. Of course I need to emphasize the ROOM portion of bathroom as they lack any sort of partition. It is perfect for multi-tasking and I anticipate with the rise of IBS, this concept catching on soon back home. If you find that your McBreakfast is not agreeing with you during your shower you really just need to sit down. It's Win-Win.
We then ventured down to the beach where we realized that we had landed smack in the middle of a British High School field trip. Hilarious! The drama was very real - full of tears, trips to the doctor (Koh Tao monster), and finding out that "Travis has a brand new Thai boyfriend - that explains so much!"
After an exhausting day of sitting on the beach, warding off monsters, and worrying about Travis' coming out, we did what has become a bit of a habit when looking for comfort - ate Italian. Again, this Italian food was amazing. Although my spinach ravioli will always rank at the top of my list, this was a close second. What made the experience even better was the owner of the restaurant. If she was to go head to head with our Gucci owner my money would be on her. She was single handedly getting people into the restaurant, chilling our wine, optimizing the seating, and keeping her two person weight staff from blowing a gasket because of the amount of people in the restaurant. I attribute it to her magical jean jumper that gave her super hosting powers. Amazing.
The next day we jumped on the first boat back to Boh Put as we could only stand being away for a single day. I am currently looking for a Boh Put twelve step program.
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Human Wrangler
There are two basic reasons that the Thai are geniuses. The first is that they live in Thailand paradise and we live in the suburbs. The second is that they have mastered the art of herding hundreds of people from all around the world so that they arrive at their destination in tact and without hassle.
The system that they have developed involves brightly colored stickers. You talk to one person and tell them where you would like to go. They then do something with the stamping of tickets and the exchange of money (at times yelling is involved) and it results in a sticker that you put on your shirt. Although the sticker is nothing fancy (I had much more impressive ones in my elementary school collection) it holds an extraordinary amount of power. From that point on you will be put on boats and herded into taxi's all based on the colorful sticker.
It's truly genius and if I am ever in a situation where I need to organize and transport hundreds of people I am going to call on this experience. I am also going to have to figure out where my life went wrong because 'human wrangler' sounds like one of the most miserable jobs ever.
The system that they have developed involves brightly colored stickers. You talk to one person and tell them where you would like to go. They then do something with the stamping of tickets and the exchange of money (at times yelling is involved) and it results in a sticker that you put on your shirt. Although the sticker is nothing fancy (I had much more impressive ones in my elementary school collection) it holds an extraordinary amount of power. From that point on you will be put on boats and herded into taxi's all based on the colorful sticker.
It's truly genius and if I am ever in a situation where I need to organize and transport hundreds of people I am going to call on this experience. I am also going to have to figure out where my life went wrong because 'human wrangler' sounds like one of the most miserable jobs ever.
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Bizzaro Thailand
I have to apologize for not keeping up on my blog. My only excuse is that I feel that my first few days here were spent in a parallel universe. We were running on an average of 3 hours sleep due mainly to early morning flights and late night phone calls with Bank of America begging them to release our hard earned cash money. I was at an Internet cafe after an especially long time without sleep called the Mario cafe. There is a big picture of Mario (as in Super) on the front of the cafe, only he has crazy strung out Charlie Brown eyes (think a period and two parenthesis for each eye). It seemed odd at the time but now I think that it was a good representation of my mental state. Not so much Mario, as I'm pretty sure I have not transformed into an Italian plumber, but the sleepless look. The good news is I am now well rested and have had the most amazing couple of days. I'll summarize below:
After two days in Bangkok, Brittanie and I were set to get the hell out of dodge. We were looking for a little R&R so we booked a flight down to Koh Samui. The only flight available was at 6am but we were anxious to leave. That evening was spent in our hotel room on hold with B of A so by the time everything was wrapped up we were looking at 2 hrs of sleep. Still, we pulled through and made it to the flight. It also happened to be the morning before the Full Moon party, which is a rave in an island (Koh Phangan) neighboring Koh Samui hosting more than 30,000 people. So, needless to say, everyone on our flight was about 21 and wasted. It was reminiscent of the flight from San Diego to Vegas or perhaps the drunk bus in Ocean City depending on your perspective. We landed in Koh Samui and I felt for the first time I was able to exhale. I didn't realize what a toll Bangkok had taken on me and for the first time I felt like I was on vacation.
We made our way to our hotel, which is in a small town called Bo Phut. Bo Phut is absolutely adorable and a bit quieter than other areas of Koh Samui. I w
as relieved to be in the garden setting and our hotel room was breathtaking. That evening we made our way to a much more happening part of town called Chawang Beach - think the French Quarter meets Key West meets Tijuana. So, yes...a mecca for a younger Tara but a bit overwhelming for an older Mario Tara. We had dinner at a little restaurant called La Taverna and it was perhaps the best Italian I've ever had. I'm still on the look out for a "I went to Thailand and all I got was spinach ravioli" t-shirt. Although everyone told us that the party didn't actually get started until around midnight - and the former Gucci president/restaurant owner (whole other story) did his best to keep us out by pumping us full of lemon cello - we were beat and barely made it to 9pm. Old ladies.
That next day (yesterday I believe) we woke from a good night sleep and it was like we returned from our parallel universe and were whole again. We treated ourselves to a spa day and were determined to act our age that evening. I'm not sure where the time went (it definitely wasn't spent dancing around our hotel to our iPods with one bud each...that would be so weird) but by the time we went out everything was closed. Please refer to my earlier post about Brittanie and Tara time. Oh well, tomorrow we'll master this whole time thing.
Ok, so the last paragraph wasn't actually yesterday it was the day before. Yesterday we finally made it to the beach, which is as breathtaking as any pictures you have seen. I can't wait to share the one's I've taken.
Today, was our best day by far. We scheduled a day tour of Angthong Na
tional Park. It is the area of Thailand that inspired the movie The Beach. It was amazing! We kayaked, sailed, and scrambled up a mountain. The scramble was a bit touch-and-go at times (defiantly class 5 at parts, meaning you should have a harness and climbing ropes...which I neglected to tell Brittanie as she was heroically overcoming her fear of heights) but the view from the top was amazing and well worth it.
Tomorrow we head to Koh Tao for a few nights and then up to Chiang Mai. I know...it almost sounds like a plan! From what I understand Koh Tao doesn't have consistent electricity in the part where we are staying so I'm not sure if I will have Internet access. But I will do my best to update you more often and keep it a bit shorter than this last novel.
I love and miss you all!
t.
After two days in Bangkok, Brittanie and I were set to get the hell out of dodge. We were looking for a little R&R so we booked a flight down to Koh Samui. The only flight available was at 6am but we were anxious to leave. That evening was spent in our hotel room on hold with B of A so by the time everything was wrapped up we were looking at 2 hrs of sleep. Still, we pulled through and made it to the flight. It also happened to be the morning before the Full Moon party, which is a rave in an island (Koh Phangan) neighboring Koh Samui hosting more than 30,000 people. So, needless to say, everyone on our flight was about 21 and wasted. It was reminiscent of the flight from San Diego to Vegas or perhaps the drunk bus in Ocean City depending on your perspective. We landed in Koh Samui and I felt for the first time I was able to exhale. I didn't realize what a toll Bangkok had taken on me and for the first time I felt like I was on vacation.
We made our way to our hotel, which is in a small town called Bo Phut. Bo Phut is absolutely adorable and a bit quieter than other areas of Koh Samui. I w
as relieved to be in the garden setting and our hotel room was breathtaking. That evening we made our way to a much more happening part of town called Chawang Beach - think the French Quarter meets Key West meets Tijuana. So, yes...a mecca for a younger Tara but a bit overwhelming for an older Mario Tara. We had dinner at a little restaurant called La Taverna and it was perhaps the best Italian I've ever had. I'm still on the look out for a "I went to Thailand and all I got was spinach ravioli" t-shirt. Although everyone told us that the party didn't actually get started until around midnight - and the former Gucci president/restaurant owner (whole other story) did his best to keep us out by pumping us full of lemon cello - we were beat and barely made it to 9pm. Old ladies.That next day (yesterday I believe) we woke from a good night sleep and it was like we returned from our parallel universe and were whole again. We treated ourselves to a spa day and were determined to act our age that evening. I'm not sure where the time went (it definitely wasn't spent dancing around our hotel to our iPods with one bud each...that would be so weird) but by the time we went out everything was closed. Please refer to my earlier post about Brittanie and Tara time. Oh well, tomorrow we'll master this whole time thing.
Ok, so the last paragraph wasn't actually yesterday it was the day before. Yesterday we finally made it to the beach, which is as breathtaking as any pictures you have seen. I can't wait to share the one's I've taken.
tional Park. It is the area of Thailand that inspired the movie The Beach. It was amazing! We kayaked, sailed, and scrambled up a mountain. The scramble was a bit touch-and-go at times (defiantly class 5 at parts, meaning you should have a harness and climbing ropes...which I neglected to tell Brittanie as she was heroically overcoming her fear of heights) but the view from the top was amazing and well worth it.Tomorrow we head to Koh Tao for a few nights and then up to Chiang Mai. I know...it almost sounds like a plan! From what I understand Koh Tao doesn't have consistent electricity in the part where we are staying so I'm not sure if I will have Internet access. But I will do my best to update you more often and keep it a bit shorter than this last novel.
I love and miss you all!
t.
Thursday, June 19, 2008
New Profession: Bangkok Map Maker
My feelings about Bangkok is it is essentially like any other big city. It has evidence of man's greatest accomplishments as well as his greatest failures - all within one city, on one block, and sometimes within one person. The most obvious difference is that the taxi drivers appear to have never been to Bangkok and therefore have no idea where to go.
After paying our respects to the Emerald Buddha we set out on an adventure to find the top rated vegetarian restaurant in Bangkok. On a side note, Thailand is very anti-veg in general. This is unfortunate because Brittanie is a vegetarian and I am a bit afraid of Thai meat. Thai lady-boys - not a problem, 80 mph tuk tuk rides - a-ok, but for some reason I can't bring myself to order the pad thai with chicken. So yes, I am currently a coffee drinking vegetarian. Who knew?
Ok, back to the taxi issue at hand. We left the temple and were promptly rejected from two taxi's. Soon we found one that would take us but after a short ride he apologetically booted us from his cab. Next we spoke to a tuk tuk driver who said no but passed us along to his friend. This man was glorious. Although he also had no idea where to take us at least he tried and got us in the general vicinity of the restaurant (and when I say restaurant I mean sketchy place on the street with unidentifiable food that tasted delicious after a little coaching on both our parts).
I'm being a little hard on the public transport guys as the main problem is not the drivers, but rather that each map we have is completely different and in no way correlates to the actual signage on the road. So, my plan is to leave the nutrition biz and create my map-making millions in Bangkok. Unfortunately these millions are probably in bhat which means a couple hundred US dollars....back to the drawing board.
After paying our respects to the Emerald Buddha we set out on an adventure to find the top rated vegetarian restaurant in Bangkok. On a side note, Thailand is very anti-veg in general. This is unfortunate because Brittanie is a vegetarian and I am a bit afraid of Thai meat. Thai lady-boys - not a problem, 80 mph tuk tuk rides - a-ok, but for some reason I can't bring myself to order the pad thai with chicken. So yes, I am currently a coffee drinking vegetarian. Who knew?
Ok, back to the taxi issue at hand. We left the temple and were promptly rejected from two taxi's. Soon we found one that would take us but after a short ride he apologetically booted us from his cab. Next we spoke to a tuk tuk driver who said no but passed us along to his friend. This man was glorious. Although he also had no idea where to take us at least he tried and got us in the general vicinity of the restaurant (and when I say restaurant I mean sketchy place on the street with unidentifiable food that tasted delicious after a little coaching on both our parts).
I'm being a little hard on the public transport guys as the main problem is not the drivers, but rather that each map we have is completely different and in no way correlates to the actual signage on the road. So, my plan is to leave the nutrition biz and create my map-making millions in Bangkok. Unfortunately these millions are probably in bhat which means a couple hundred US dollars....back to the drawing board.
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Eyelids 1 - Body 0
I am happy to report that as I write this I am no longer in my pj's! My bag was returned to me safe and sound and today I have been basking in such luxuries as clean underwear and deodorant. However, in my opinion that was not the most impressive part of the day.
For those of you that have ever experienced Brittanie and I together you will know that time is not our strength. When apart we seem to be fully functioning members of society and able to be on time and in some cases early. However, when together we lose this basic ability and get very little accomplished. This has been demonstrated by not being able to make it to the San Diego zoo before 5:30pm (closed) or trying to eat lunch at restaurants everyday at 3pm (also closed). Today, however, we miraculously made it to the Emerald Buddha before it was shut down for the day!
I wish I could share the pictures that I have taken so far but I can't figure out how to get them off of my camera. Don't worry, I'll send a link when I'm back because who doesn't love looking at 1000 pictures of someone else's vacation? In the meantime please take my word that the entire grounds were stunning - both grandiose and intricate.
I also have many more details to share about Bangkok, taxi's, and a soggy quest for vegetarian food. Unfortunately my eyelids have waged a war against the rest of my body. Although they were originally supportive of running on caffeine and adrenaline this is no longer the case (on a related note I now drink coffee). So I'm off to curl up by the pool of our hotel... and to the eyelids go the spoils.
Oh, and in case you were wondering we made it out of the Grand Palace around 3:30 pm...just in time for lunch!
For those of you that have ever experienced Brittanie and I together you will know that time is not our strength. When apart we seem to be fully functioning members of society and able to be on time and in some cases early. However, when together we lose this basic ability and get very little accomplished. This has been demonstrated by not being able to make it to the San Diego zoo before 5:30pm (closed) or trying to eat lunch at restaurants everyday at 3pm (also closed). Today, however, we miraculously made it to the Emerald Buddha before it was shut down for the day!
I wish I could share the pictures that I have taken so far but I can't figure out how to get them off of my camera. Don't worry, I'll send a link when I'm back because who doesn't love looking at 1000 pictures of someone else's vacation? In the meantime please take my word that the entire grounds were stunning - both grandiose and intricate.
I also have many more details to share about Bangkok, taxi's, and a soggy quest for vegetarian food. Unfortunately my eyelids have waged a war against the rest of my body. Although they were originally supportive of running on caffeine and adrenaline this is no longer the case (on a related note I now drink coffee). So I'm off to curl up by the pool of our hotel... and to the eyelids go the spoils.
Oh, and in case you were wondering we made it out of the Grand Palace around 3:30 pm...just in time for lunch!
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Don't Have A Cow Man
I arrived in Bangkok safe and sound...but not without many a hiccup....
It started out with me going to the wrong terminal in San Diego. They told me to just jump on the red bus and it will take me to the correct terminal. So I went outside and there was a red bus ready and waiting. Unfortunately there is a difference between THE red bus and A red bus. A red bus takes you to downtown San Diego and THE red bus takes you to the next terminal. Luckily I didn't get too far before I realized the mistake or else I would have inadvertently traded my Thailand vacation for the Gaslamp. I had no idea that San Diego was such a single color town.
Next my flight was delayed so I almost missed my connecting flight in LA. But a very nice young man escorted me to the front of the line so I was right on time for my flight. Thanks guy! This, however, will prove to be a bit of an issue later on...
After an uneventful 18 hours of sitting I arrived in Bangkok. Even though I didn't sleep much (I also didn't pretend to be an 80's rocker or read my Thailand book...I have no idea what I actually did accomplish during that day) I was excited and energized to finally be in Bangkok! However, I soon found out that they didn't show my luggage the same special treatment in LA and my bag was nowhere to be found.
The luggage lady (I'm sure she has a much more official title) kept me there for a while because there was a "contender" that may be my bag. I took that to mean that there was a fighting chance that my luggage was here with me all along! Unfortunately she actually was saying "container" and it turns out what that really means is they have no idea what is going on and they would like me to leave while they figure it out. So I told the luggage lady where I was staying and she said that they would send the bag to me when it gets here. Suprisingly I was not stressed at all that everything I packed was missing. I know that it will get here at some point and until then I will be sporting my pj's around the city.
So off to my hotel. I spent the majority of the bus ride in a daze but luckily looked up just as we were passing my hotel! There is no way that I would have found it otherwise. Lindy gave me a great recommendation and the hotel is simple, clean, and safe. I've spent the majority of the morning exploring the local area, eating delicious food with unknown ingredients, and assuring the tuk tuk drivers that I in fact do not want to take a tour to the Great Buddha.
I've also done quite a bit of window shopping just in case I do have to replenish my wardrobe. I'm in the very touristy part of town so there are a ton of options out there that essentially look like my clothes but are a fraction of the price. I had no idea I was so internationally trendy - or perhaps stereotypical:) I also saw a Bart Simpson "Don't Have a Cow Man" shirt that I almost bought. Both because it's Bart Simpson and because I think that is an excellent theme for the past 30 hours of my life. If I hadn't taken that philosophy I would surely have a whole herd by now.
So to recap - got lost in my home town, lost 18 hours of my life, then lost everything I brought with me, am sweating through my pj's, oh...and I just walked through new fresh paint and tracked it all over Bangkok! But I am still having so much fun and can't imagine it any other way!
Happy Father's Day Dad!
It started out with me going to the wrong terminal in San Diego. They told me to just jump on the red bus and it will take me to the correct terminal. So I went outside and there was a red bus ready and waiting. Unfortunately there is a difference between THE red bus and A red bus. A red bus takes you to downtown San Diego and THE red bus takes you to the next terminal. Luckily I didn't get too far before I realized the mistake or else I would have inadvertently traded my Thailand vacation for the Gaslamp. I had no idea that San Diego was such a single color town.
Next my flight was delayed so I almost missed my connecting flight in LA. But a very nice young man escorted me to the front of the line so I was right on time for my flight. Thanks guy! This, however, will prove to be a bit of an issue later on...
After an uneventful 18 hours of sitting I arrived in Bangkok. Even though I didn't sleep much (I also didn't pretend to be an 80's rocker or read my Thailand book...I have no idea what I actually did accomplish during that day) I was excited and energized to finally be in Bangkok! However, I soon found out that they didn't show my luggage the same special treatment in LA and my bag was nowhere to be found.
The luggage lady (I'm sure she has a much more official title) kept me there for a while because there was a "contender" that may be my bag. I took that to mean that there was a fighting chance that my luggage was here with me all along! Unfortunately she actually was saying "container" and it turns out what that really means is they have no idea what is going on and they would like me to leave while they figure it out. So I told the luggage lady where I was staying and she said that they would send the bag to me when it gets here. Suprisingly I was not stressed at all that everything I packed was missing. I know that it will get here at some point and until then I will be sporting my pj's around the city.
So off to my hotel. I spent the majority of the bus ride in a daze but luckily looked up just as we were passing my hotel! There is no way that I would have found it otherwise. Lindy gave me a great recommendation and the hotel is simple, clean, and safe. I've spent the majority of the morning exploring the local area, eating delicious food with unknown ingredients, and assuring the tuk tuk drivers that I in fact do not want to take a tour to the Great Buddha.
I've also done quite a bit of window shopping just in case I do have to replenish my wardrobe. I'm in the very touristy part of town so there are a ton of options out there that essentially look like my clothes but are a fraction of the price. I had no idea I was so internationally trendy - or perhaps stereotypical:) I also saw a Bart Simpson "Don't Have a Cow Man" shirt that I almost bought. Both because it's Bart Simpson and because I think that is an excellent theme for the past 30 hours of my life. If I hadn't taken that philosophy I would surely have a whole herd by now.
So to recap - got lost in my home town, lost 18 hours of my life, then lost everything I brought with me, am sweating through my pj's, oh...and I just walked through new fresh paint and tracked it all over Bangkok! But I am still having so much fun and can't imagine it any other way!
Happy Father's Day Dad!
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Where I Am
Ok, so saying this is a blog about who I am, where I've been, and where I am going is a bit ambitious and entirely inaccurate.
Instead this has more to do with where I am. Currently I am heading to Thailand. I am piggybacking on a good friend's summer adventure. It is the first installment of my new life plan where I work like crazy for 3 months and travel carefree for 2 weeks. Perhaps someday I will figure out how to do the inverse. Baby steps. As for the next installment, that falls into the where I'm going category so I'll have to keep you updated.
Ok, back to Thailand. Currently my plan is to fly into Bangkok, meet up with Brittanie, play for two weeks, fly out of Bangkok. I have a book and printed out e-mails with tips from wonderful friends. I plan on actually reading these things on my flight - unless, of course, I spend the time listening to my iPod and imagining that I am part of some 80's glam rock band. Hopefully I can do both.
So that's it. All I got for now. But I plan on taking advantage of the world portion of the wide web and keeping you updated as to where I am.
Right now I am in my bed, I am ridiculously excited, and I am going to have a blast.
love to you all,
t.
- Who I am (still figuring that out)
- Where I've been (who cares)
- Where I am going (no idea - if you have an inkling please let me know)
Instead this has more to do with where I am. Currently I am heading to Thailand. I am piggybacking on a good friend's summer adventure. It is the first installment of my new life plan where I work like crazy for 3 months and travel carefree for 2 weeks. Perhaps someday I will figure out how to do the inverse. Baby steps. As for the next installment, that falls into the where I'm going category so I'll have to keep you updated.
Ok, back to Thailand. Currently my plan is to fly into Bangkok, meet up with Brittanie, play for two weeks, fly out of Bangkok. I have a book and printed out e-mails with tips from wonderful friends. I plan on actually reading these things on my flight - unless, of course, I spend the time listening to my iPod and imagining that I am part of some 80's glam rock band. Hopefully I can do both.
So that's it. All I got for now. But I plan on taking advantage of the world portion of the wide web and keeping you updated as to where I am.
Right now I am in my bed, I am ridiculously excited, and I am going to have a blast.
love to you all,
t.
Thank You Ms. Seat 24C
So, a number of years ago I found myself on a plane talking to a fascinating woman about who she was, where she had been, and where she was going. She shared some details of her life and then handed me a piece of paper with the address to her blog. I had no idea what that meant. This is not surprising because I was well into college before I realized that the internet was capable of much more than just e-mailing gossip to my friend sitting next to me. Needless to say I found the blog interaction creepy and threw away the piece of paper the first chance I got.
Apparently the whole internet thing took off and here I am today starting my own blog about who I am, where I've been, and where I'm going. So I'd like to take this chance to say thank you to Ms. Seat 24C. I'm sorry I thought you were creepy.
Apparently the whole internet thing took off and here I am today starting my own blog about who I am, where I've been, and where I'm going. So I'd like to take this chance to say thank you to Ms. Seat 24C. I'm sorry I thought you were creepy.
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