July 14 -cont-

On the plane to Bangkok I met a couple from Hawaii who offered to let me ride in their taxi into the city (it was a ½ hour drive from the airport). I was talking to the woman about my volunteering and it turns out that she was an orphan. They insisted upon paying for the taxi ride and made sure that I got to my hotel safely. I wish I would’ve gotten their email addresses or something. I hope they know how thankful I was!

Best hostel in Bangkok, quite possibly in the world - Lub*D!

After I settled into my hostel, Lub*D, I walked what I thought was a short distance to Lumphini Park to see the Asian aerobic class. It was pretty much a 20 minute walk, but I got to see the largest public aerobic class ever, so it was well worth it.

On the way back from my unintentional hour long round trip, I was starving, and stumbled upon a random stand selling Pad Thai (my favorite) for just $2!!!

July 15

I went to the Grand Palace today via the water ferry near Taksin Bridge. It was interesting to see a palace in the middle of a city that reminded me of New York.  Just as the online guides had predicted, a tuk-tuk driver attempted to get me to go with him on a “tour” by saying that the palace was closed.  I informed him that it  was not, and I had already checked online, and he left me alone.

After the palace, I continued walking around and saw an interesting vendor – he was selling ice cream sandwiches. Literally, scoops of ice cream on a roll and sprinkled with nuts.

It was an internal battle for me  as to whether or not to go to the Starbucks I passed on Silom Road on my way back to Lub*D. On the one hand, why would I go there? I can go anytime in the States. On the other hand, how cool is it to go to Starbucks in another country? I went in and it turned out to be a good move because I found a grande plastic reusable cup that I was not able to find in the U.S.

After taking my Starbucks find back to the hostel, I decided to find a yoga class to go to that night.  I checked online and found one across town called Yoga Elements.  Sweet!  A chance to use the SkyTrain!  The class was at 7, so I left plenty early to grab some dinner first.  Which leads me to my first tip - do not assume that the waitress will know that you are a sissy American when saying that a curry “isn’t that spicy”. It will indeed be spicy and it will burn your mouth.

Second tip – do not go to yoga immediately after consuming said curry. Luckily I had an hour in between which turned out to be a long enough break, but it could have turned out very badly.

July 16

Time to go home, but not before a 2 hour Thai  massage at Healthland!  For just 450 baht (about $13) no less!  Find me a deal like that anywhere in the United States and I’m there.

***

I didn’t fully understand it then, but I’m realizing more and more every dayChoose from the most used tags in Post Tags that I experienced things and went on an adventure that will always have an impact on my life. It’s been 3 months since my trip and I still think about when I can go again…

The rest of the pictures from my trip -

Cambodia – http://picasaweb.google.com/abbiemichelle/Cambodia#

Thailand – http://picasaweb.google.com/abbiemichelle/Bangkok#

Photo Credits:  Abbie Mood