Exploring Bangkok

March 18

Our first day in Bangkok we slept in and it was great. After waking up every morning by 7 at the latest, it was a treat to sleep until 10:30 and essentially wing the day. We grabbed a map and consulted it about our activities for the day. We decided to hit up the major attractions, Wat Prakeaw, The Grand Palace, the National Museum, and maybe a temple or two. Flagging down another tuk tuk we attempted to communicate our destination and eventually we were on our way, until we had to stop for gas, which was a little disconcerting as I know zero Thai and often had no idea what action was needed on my part in various situations. We made it to the general area where the important stuff was and ventured on to Wat Prakeaw. We were stopped, of course, by a very kind man hoping to sell us something/take us somewhere/generally make money in some way using us, who very convincingly tried to aid in our itinerary planning. After declining his invitations the man’s attitude abruptly changed and he hurled a string of insults in my direction. I have never before been verbally assaulted in a foreign country, so even while his behavior was out of line, I couldn’t help but be a little shaken about the experience.

The one low point was quickly overshadowed by the beauty and impressiveness of Wat Prakeaw. It is a huge compound filled with different temples and statues that are intricately adorned with the tile and beautiful architectural details. I could have spent the entire day taking it all in. Don't worry, I took an overwhelming number of photos. It was a beautiful day to be out in the city seeing the sites and stuffing myself, as usual. If you go to Thailand, which I would recommend you do, the number one activity you will partake in is sweating. There is no way to do it gracefully. You will look terrible and your clothes will be soaked within 10 minutes of being outside. You will look like you just fell into the canal and you will appear this way the rest of the day; in restaurants, in shops, in temples. And no, the Thai people don't sweat and they wear jeans, which will make you feel worse about how sweaty and gross you are. 

At the National Museum

 A random military parade that we encountered

 At Wat Prakeaw

 These were sold with incense and a candle as an offering. I wish I knew what kind of flower this is!

 These photos are of the Grand Palace

A video of the procession

Farewell

March 17^th

The night before left all of us unprepared for the 5 AM wake up call that arrived far sooner than it should have. I stumbled out of bed to pack my suitcase one last time before departing Hong Kong and China, for good. Though I didn’t purchase an awful lot of souvenirs, my stuff far exceeded available space, forcing me to book passage for some of it in a friend’s suitcase. The group convened at 5:30 AM in the lobby of the Salisbury Hotel with sleep lingering on all of our faces. We boarded the bus one final time for a ride to the airport with our gregarious tour guide Andy, who had a knack for being the most enthusiastic during our peak points of exhaustion. As Athul once put it, “does anyone have some ibuprofen or a baseball bat?”

Because Brad and I were going to Thailand, we all parted ways in the airport as the rest of the group was continuing back to the States. After spending 2 weeks with all of these people who I previously barely knew, it was sad to leave knowing that we would return to our normal lives and lose the comradery that comes from traveling with people. Alex was also traveling separately, so the three of us shared a breakfast of Popeye’s in the Hong Kong airport. After several hours of waiting around, it was finally time for us to board our flight to Bangkok. The time in China was wonderful but heavily scheduled and exhausting; I welcomed the chance to get to Thailand and move at my own pace.

Brad and I arrived in Bangkok safely, managed to purchase train tickets, switch over to the metro, and arrive at our hostel (which was tucked away in a winding alleyway off of the main street). Needless to say, I was extremely impressed with us for making it with hardly any complication. The hostel was beautiful, spacious, and our room had air conditioning. The heat in Bangkok was shocking and oppressive after the moderate 60 something degree weather in Southern China. As it is probably well known, I am not a hot weather person and typically suffer miserably when faced with 80+ temperatures. Despite some moderate wining, I fared pretty well in the 100 degree, sunny weather in Bangkok (you know despite constantly being drenched in my own sweat and the swollen hands and feet). 

We were both tired but forced ourselves out of the room to forage for dinner. At Brad’s request we took a tuk tuk to Khao San, the street of choice for backpackers, to find some dinner and be bombarded by salespeople hawking any number of hilarious and useless items. Not knowing what we were doing, we ambiguously picked a restaurant and went for it. Because I am obsessed with Thai curry, I knew immediately what I was going to order. I was nervous that it would be different from what I was used to however it did not disappoint. The first night was a wonderful celebration of incredible, cheap food and the fact the we finally made it to Thailand!

Brad and I enjoying our first meal in Thailand!

The Pad Thai was great BUT the curry was AMAZING!

This is a video of our first tuk tuk ride! The video doesn't really show the weaving in traffic and/or tire squealing! Fun though!!!

Hong Kong II

March 16

The second day in Hong Kong was very relaxed as it was our one and only complete free day!!! Alex and I started it off by sleeping until 10 am, waaaahooo!

All in all it was a lazy day full of wandering around the city, shopping for knock offs at the market, and contemplating having suits made!!! That evening, our last of the trip, we were provided a special treat! Everyone met up at the harbor and boarded a junk boat that we would take around the harbor and to a small island for dinner. At night in Hong Kong there is a laser show on the harbor but the real beauty is just seeing all of the buildings lit up and being completely surrounded by them on the water! Doing this was one of my favorite parts of the trip! We were all together eating, drinking, and being merry! I couldn't have asked for a better group of people to travel with or a better itinerary!

 Alex and Natalie (with bubble coffee, yum!)

 Alex, Athul, and I

 Natalie and I during our life jacket photo shoot

Alex and I

Proof That I Ate a Scorpion

I stole these photos from someone! Funny though, right?