Thailand Part I - Bangkok

In honor of Tim and Megs being back home, and since the time is already flying by... I wanted to make sure to capture some of my own mental highlights from our fab trip to Thailand last month. I know I can't remember all the details about our adventure, but between notes we took, photos, my ipod playlist and lingering impressions, I feel like I can hold on to some of the highlights from each stage of the journey. The following posts are just a few photos/experiences/songs that summed up the our trip for me, done in segments. This first post starts off with the first leg of our two-week trip:

Bangkok: Arrival
Arrived at 1 am, got off the plane on the tarmack while listening to "I Gotta Feeling" and grinning, then took crazy cab ride straight to Ko Sahn Road. "Angels" from West Wing soundtrack was playing as we 'descended' into the main streets of Bangkok and got off the highway - so appropriate. Reminded me of Burnout Revenge East Coast driving map...in some ways. :)  Learned to throw toilet paper in the garbage can and shower with everything else outside the bathroom door. Learned that one is capable of sweating even more than previously thought was possible. (Above photo is of our crew together our first night on the town in Bangkok: L-R is Tim, Jed, Peter, Liz, Josh, and Meghan - which includes two sets of siblings, two best friends, two serious camera geekheads, two married couples, five Minnesotans at heart, one Iowan for now, one Michigander, and two Chicagoans!)

Bangkok: Daytime
Saw the familiar stomping grounds for Tim and Meghan's weekends; ate at 'their' breakfast place. Whirlwind day seeing the Grand Palace/related museums/few big Wats downtown, then sitting & talking during an afternoon rainstorm about life and our futures and relationships and expectations and... life. Got street vendor Pad Thai, our first bucket, and shopped along the side streets with Megs. Bargained for fisherman pants before hitting "The Club" and soaking up the air-conditioned internet cafe that charged 1 baht per minute (roughly $2.00 an hour.)

Bangkok: Departure
Packed up for our train ride north to Sukhothai. Had real coffee in upstairs of train station while watching crazy Thai sitcom. Ran back and forth finding right train but had super helpful attendants help us out. Leaving Bangkok I realized I was feeling kind of sad - about the three year olds I had seen running around everywhere at 1:00am, the street people covering the corners just down the block from the clubs, and the fairly visible sex-trade industry that defines the party side of Bangkok. Beautiful country so far - but also complicated.