Thailand!!!!!!!! !

Finally!  I’m in THAILAND!!  I so happy in Thailand be in South East Asia.  This is the first time I’ve ever been to anywhere in Asia and let me tell you, things were clear immediately that I wasn’t in the USA anymore.

Welcome to Asia. Where even going to the bathroom is more complicated

Here’s the cliche Japanese Toilet Photo.  It was one of the most luxurious poops I’ve ever had.  Well deserved after 15 hours of flying from the Chicago -> Minneapolis -> Seattle -> Tokyo.  I then had a 4 hour layover in Tokyo for my final 6 hour leg to Thailand.  The flight was quite nice as my dad hooked up me with 1st class ticket he bought with his mileage from his years of traveling around the world.

Upon stepping off the jetway into the bus things were quite different.  Usually an airport is an airport, but it was clear I was in Asia.  Most of the signs were in Engrish (mostly correct english) and Thai.  Unfortunately I started off the trip with none of my ATM cards working.  This was the result of poor planning.  I had called one bank and told them that I was going to be traveling, however that card didn’t physically work because the magnetic strip was broken.  I then tried my backup ATM card and it didn’t work because I didn’t notify the bank to tell them that I am traveling.  As any prepared traveler, I have a small stash of US dollars that I exchanged at a currency converting window.

I took a taxi from the airport to my prearranged hostel that was only about 10 minutes away.  Me being completely green was then ripped off by the taxi by him first trying to charge me 300 Baht ($10) then I negotiated him down to 200 Baht ($7).  It should have cost me about half of that.  Oh well.  Lesson learned.  Always make sure that the taxi driver turns on the meter.

After leaving the airport everything ceases to be in english and is fully in Thai.  I can’t read or speak a single word of Thai, so I’m mastering hand gestures and relying on the little english that most people who deal with tourists know.  It isn’t too difficult, but it is very disconnecting and isolating.

On to Bangkok!

Older building in Bangkok

Taxis, tuk tuks, and scooters are everywhere.  Bangkok is a hectic megacity full of traffic and people with tiny sidewalks crowded with vendors.

Modern street in Bangkok

My traditional first shave of the trip

Whenever I start a big trip, the first thing I like to do is start the transformation into traveling mode by getting a professional shave.  My friend DaveJ told me of the great shaves in Bangkok and I wasn’t disappointed.

It has been a while, so it was pretty bloody

I stayed in the city for a day and then headed off to meet with one of my dad’s professional acquaintances who graciously offered to show me around and act as a base camp for my trip.  More on that in a later post though….

Buddhist temple

Outside of Bangkok, I visited the Buddhist temple Wat Pho.  I think that is like calling chai “chai tea”.  Wat means temple in Thai, so I visited the Buddhist Wat Pho.

Buddhist temple

Painted Statue

Shoes off everywhere

Across the way a bit was another temple.  One of the most interesting things about Thai culture is that everyone takes off their shoes all the time.  Not just in the houses but also when entering temples, stores, raised decks, and restaurants.  I’m not too comfortable taking my shoes off all the time but the Thai people seem to live by some of the highest standards of hygiene so I’m hoping for no foot fungus.

Rice Market

No first impressions of a developing country are without visiting a market.  I was fortunate enough to join Dale on one of his colossal shopping expeditions in Bangkok’s largest market.  The market sells mostly in wholesale quantities, but so does Costco and Sam’s, so why can’t an individual shop there?

I love rice and this is the most rice I've ever seen or imagined

People ride their scooters through the market because it is so big.

The chile section of the market was amazing as a chile lover. Or maybe I mean chili. The hot peppers were amazing. It was difficult to walk through parts of it because the capsaicin oder was so strong that my body started to react without eating or getting close to anything. My eyes started to burn and I started to have a bit of a diffcult breathing. It was amazing. I love Thailand!

Thai shimp. Local to Thailand. There was no aroma so they must have been fresh.

Eep!

No need to describe.

Buchering is done onsite

Beautiful displays

Fruit!

Bike Update:

Yeah, this is supposed to be a motorcycle blog.  The problem is that my motorcycle is still in transit.  It was delayed a couple of months so I spent much of the time visiting friends and family for more time than planned and the balance I’m spending here.  I had problems with the bike clearing customs (twice!) in the USA.  The estimated arrival date is December 3rd.  The plan from now until then is to take it easy and study at a Thai language school.

There are many places in the world worse to bum around in.

Thailand is amazing!