i'd like a thai massage every day for the rest of my life

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hello all

i made it to bangkok and somehow amazingly seem to have beaten jet lag. we got picked up and everything has been perfectly smooth since we arrived. i love thailand. it is crazy. jenna calls it organized chaos which i find very fitting.

we had a great packed day yesterday. jenna's friend Took, the girl we are staying with, is a personal trainer at a sweet gym. she got us free passes so we went in the morning and did the body pump class, half way through i realized that its been over a year since ive been to the gym haha. ya im very sore today. the gym had a rooftop swimming pool but we didnt have our bathing suits with us. it was a little surreal to be in a luxury gym on our first full day in thailand. after that we went to the well known khao san road. its full of tourists and shops targetting tourists. it was crowded and not really my thing. we did have a delicious pad thai though. later we went to the grand palace but couldnt go in because it closed early for the king's visit. so we decided to wait to catch a glimpse of the king. we were with jenna's friend Talo (another person she met when she did Canada world youth in thailand a couple years ago). she had told us in advance that if we wanted to visit the palace that we had to dress in dark colours because the King's older sister just passed away and everyone was to show respect. we waited on the side of a main road leading to the palace and at 5 oclock police cleared the streets and made everyone stand (i guess no one is allowed to sit when the king drives by). all of a sudden everything went quiet, kind of like magic. it was dead silent for a few moments and then a line of about 15 silver mercedes police cars drove by with their lights flashing. then there he was. the king of thailand. in a cream coloured Bentley or something. when he drove by everyone bowed. about 40 more shiny luxury cars drove by then a swarm of police on motorcycles. then it was over and everyone went back about their business. it was veery interesting. we wandered around a little, and bought some fruit on the street. mangos, strawberries, rose apples, and mangosteen (my favorite) then we took a ferry and then the sky train and then a taxi to get back to Took's house. what a great day.

today we are alone wandering the streets of thailand. we feel relatively confident though, especially with jenna knowing a little bit of thai. we got thai massages and ate green curry. later we are going to book a flight to cambodia. its under 100$ round trip! tonight when Took is done work we are taking the bus to Chantaburi (her home town) to spend one night at her family's house. then we are going to the beach at Ko Chang for a couple days, i cant wait! i need a tan really bad. Talo said she thought I was Japanese because I am so white. hahaha.

anyway, i hate to spend all this time inside. more stories to come. i hope everyone back home is well.

love and miss you all
Kendra

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Photos

Grand Palace
It was closed so we could only see the outside

Took's apartment
This is where we have been staying.

Soldiers
guards protecting the king

mangosteen
mmmm juicy

Comments

[Katie]

Kendra!!!! I love that you have a blog going!! Im so glad you guys are having an awsome time and i love how updated I feel. keep having a blast and ill talk yo you soon! Katie xoxo