After a few emails that did not mask panic well asking if I am okay, I thought I would finally update my very well intentioned travel journal.
In short, no. Just kidding; I am great. I cannot update my travel journal from my iPod and the island I was just on did not have great internet available. In other words: I have been having too much fun to update this.
I landed in Bangkok about 8:30 on May 22. By 9:30 I was checked into my hostel and had met a friend in the room. She was off to all the places I wanted to see in the city so I decided to skip the planned shower and go off to sight see. Clearly this was a great idea for someone who had just been to a wedding, NYC for the afternoon, and then 24 hours of flying.
First we went to the Grand Palace.
It was absolutely beautiful despite the 90 degree weather. We walked the grounds with sarongs wrapped around our waists to cover our knees. The pictures that I will eventually upload (probably) do not do this place justice. My favorite was the emerald buddah.
There was a seemingly typical plaster buddah. One day it got struck by lightening and the plaster cracked away to reveal that there was an emerald buddah inside. The temple built around him was amazing and the fans inside offered quite a bit of relief.
After the most glorious liter of water that I've ever had, we continued to Wat Pho. Wat Pho is the home of the laying down Buddah.
Someone told me that it is supposed to represent the final stage of nirvana, but I don't actually know the story. We walked the grounds and found incredible rooms of golden buddahs draped in saffron stained monks robes.
There was also a lot of stone work that provided great photos that continue my theme of holding something up for Dad in each country (no preview of that one - it will have to be a surprise).
We decided to cross the river and go see Wat Arun. The plan was to walk until we could cross a bridge, but when we found out the public transportation boat across would save us about 2 miles walking and cost a massive 3 baht (about .09) the decision was pretty clear. A walk through town uncovered a unexpected perfect lunch: noodle soup. Somehow the room temperature water and hot soup worked.
From there, we walked back to the wat.
After all day in the heat, it was quite tempting to skip the massive stair climb. The appeal of Bangkok views from above won out and I climbed the insanely steep stairs. Words of advice: bring water, wipe sweaty palms, and descend slowly.
The views were absolutely spectacular and totally worth it. But again, I will wait for my own pictures for that. Once we crossed the river and there was a fresh fruit stand. The star fruit juice and green mango were absolutely delicious and well worth my 30 baht (about one dollar).
As we walked through the streets, I realized that I had seen all of Bangkok I wanted to see. The heat, busy nature of the city, and general culture just wasn't for me. So I did what any other tired, unshowered traveler would do: I booked an overnight bus down to the island of Koh Tao.
After a quick shower at my hostel and a walk down the infamous Koh San Road for some street food, I boarded a bus at 9pm. My adventures on Koh Tao will have to wait as I am about to board a plane up to Chiang Mai after forcing myself to leave paradise this morning.
