Hello Bangkok!

I did not sleep well last night because I was so excited to see my mom and Lorna in Thailand! I felt like a little kid before Christmas! While Cambodia ended up being ok, I am ready to leave. I didn’t really enjoy the homestay (besides the wedding) as it was so remote. I didn’t like being the only volunteer and missed being able to meet people (through volunteering or through the hostel or guesthouse). I am glad I booked two weeks as I feel like two weeks was JUST enough time!

I STILL didn’t have any water this morning so I basically just packed, had some breakfast and then hit the road! Sun Same (my guide) picked me (and my VERY heavy bags) up and we were off to the airport. The airport is so nice because it is only about 10 to 15 minutes away from the center of town. But he was saying how they are going to expand and build a new one that will be an hour outside of town and the current one will be used for domestic flights. Looks like I came JUST in time for the not too long ride into town!

I didn’t have any trouble checking in (although got charged for my bags again..BOOO!!!) and THEN I got a small blizzard at Dairy Queen. Alexis and Andrew had told me how there was a DQ so I made sure to allot extra time for an ice cream stop! I actually didn’t end up having too much time before my flight.

The flight was short and sweet, especially since I spent half the time eating the meal I got (a MEAL on a one hour flight..I love it!) and filling out custom forms. I also didn’t have any trouble getting through customs in Thailand and while my bags weren’t out right away..I didn’t have to wait TOO long! I exited the terminal SO excited..and was greeted by..NOBODY! Boo! I knew I was exiting at B so I walked down to C and still didn’t have any luck! Luckily after turning around to walk the OTHER way..I FOUND THEM! Wahooo!

We had to get a taxi to the hotel, so we needed to go down a level to the pickup area. We had a cart that had Lorna’s and my Mom’s bag as well as our backpacks on top. I was carrying (well dragging..) my two bags! The only way to get down to the lower level was by a moving walkway. It was like a tiered moving walkway. It went down, then straightened out and then down again. As we were approaching the second level of the decent we all commented on how “strange” it was. That’s when it happened! The cart started rolling straight at me and I remember yelling, “MY COMPUTER!” Mom tried to reach around all the luggage to grab it and she did, but Lorna was manning the cart and I was carrying my two bags so she was on her own! This very nice woman behind them helped hold everything in place and when we got to the bottom the “attendant” helped us as well, but I am SURE we were quite a scene!

We got a taxi and we were off to the hotel! Well, it really wasn't that quick. We had to wait for a BIG taxi since we had so much luggage. I can't blame it on mom and Lorna since every time I come through an airport at least one of my bags gets labeled as 'heavy'!! And, after waiting patiently for our BIG taxi, some older gentlemen tried to jump in front of us and steal it. But we weren't having any of that. Remember my dad told me not to take any crap from anyone. We politely, but firmly, told them this was OUR taxi...they quickly backed off...we hopped in and off we went.

The hotel is VERY nice but apparently NOT as nice as the one (same brand) they stayed at by the airport in Bangkok. Who knew? However, I think staying in a hotel is AMAZING and I couldn’t be happier! We checked into our room and did a bit of unpacking before we headed out to explore. We are in a GREAT location with a TON of shopping around. One of the FIVE or so malls has over 2,500 stores! Please keep working hard Dad ok? Mom and I might spend a little money here!

We ended up having dinner at the Hard Rock Café (so American) but we were all craving a good solid meal and I had steak for the first time since I have BEEN here! It was so delicious! I also enjoyed the company at dinner and not eating along..oh so sad! Haha!

We walked around a bit more, but the majority of the malls are just like the typical malls you would find in the U.S.

We were all exhausted so did a quick ice cream stop (well Mom and I did..Lorna was good) before heading back to the hotel! We all took well needed showers and got ready to settle in for the night. Everything was going well, until Mom had to show us this fancy new doodad she bought so we could plug in our myriad of electronics and charge them at once. As she plugged it in, sparks flew and the room went dark - see ya lights, see ya AC. Oops, not good. Sheeesh I can’t take her anywhere! Upon calling the front desk they told us to put the room key in the gadget by the front door (we KNEW that), so I had to try and explain the problem was bigger than that. We were scrambling for flashlights as the the man arrived at our front door with a step ladder. He had to go up in the crawl space above our room to reset the power. He was very nice and he tried to see if he could get it to work, but the power blew again. So we know we won’t be using that!

Lorna was the first one to go to sleep (just like at Stonehill!) but we were all exhausted and decided to call it a night! I was SO excited to have a real blanket and a SOFT bed! Oh the joys of being spoiled by my mommy!

Hugs and kisses from Bangkok!