The first few days in Bangkok

I'm a complete beginner at international travel.  The security agent at the airport laughed about this when he looked at my brand spanking new passport and my destination of Bangkok.  I was pretty sure that this was a bad sign, but ignored it in my excitement.  We hurried to our gate and eagerly awaited our flight that would take us on to our new home for the next 9 months.

The two flights that it took to get to Bangkok were excruciating in their length, the lack of sleep, the horrible airline food, and the rude attendants.  I was so grateful to reach our final destination, and even more grateful that our driver had waited for us well past when we should of arrived.  He was a wonderful initiation into "Thai"ness.  He was smiling at 2:40 in the morning, and doing everything he could to help us quickly get to our new home.  I wish I could of expressed to him how much I appreciated his efforts.

We finally got to bed around 5am and slept like the dead until 1 in the afternoon.  A huge newbie mistake.  We should of gotten up around 10am because we barely slept the next night.  Jet lag must be one of the worst traveling partners I've ever known.  I've never been as tired as I've felt the last few days.  It has made coping extremely difficult, and melting into tears is the common side effect so far.

Bangkok makes an indelible first impression that defies my descriptive powers.  My lame attempt follows.    The smells are overwhelming and are still a challenge for me.  The pollution hangs so thick in the air that you can smell and taste it, but the street vendors hawking their food create the most harrowing olfactory experience for me.  Some of the smells are enticing and then others alert my gag reflex which I do my best to ignore.  Mix in the smell of the sewer system and the fumes from the ever present traffic and you have quite the aromatic soup that confronts the newcomer in Bangkok. 

While the smells can be too much at times, the sites are fascinating.  The streets are teeming with life and have a wonderful energy.  There are street vendors everywhere and they sell Thai crafts and cheap knock offs.  I have seen some very odd wood sculptures that will not be further described, but Erik and I got a huge chuckle as we quickly hurried the kids past them.

My favorite time of day is dusk when the light is shifting and everything has a beautiful glow.  The Purkinjie shift has never looked more beautiful.  It's also the time of day when the bath house next door is teaming with locals.  It's this area where the locals use two large pools of water for washing themselves.  They stand around the pools shoulder to shoulder and wash up.  Thankfully they have on some clothes.  We can see right into the bath area from one of our balconies.  I always feel a bit voyeuristic when I look down there, but it's fascinating.  It's very interesting to have a peak into the life of workers and laborers here.  It's not just utilitarian they also mix in some fun because they often play soccer in a scrap of yard attached to the bath house.  It's definitely a different way of life here.

I'm hoping that in the coming days my sleep will level out, and my nose will grow more accustomed to my new life. 

-PJ