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Published: August 9th 2008
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8/1 The bus dropped us off in the streets of Bangkok at midnight of August 1st. We were conveniently within walking distance of Khaosan Road where we would be staying the rest of the trip. For those of you who have never been to Bangkok, Khaosan Road is "the place" for traveling "farang" (foreigners). It is a backpacker's haven that is filled with the best street shopping, food, and night life Bangkok has to offer its foreign visitors. The best part about Khaosan is that it's one street that spans three blocks in length. There you have it all.
We reached Khaosan Palace (the hotel we had planned to stay at) only to learn that they were completely book for the night. Our alternative was Chart Hotel, located just across the street. We were happy to leave bright and early the next morning to book the remainder of our stay at Khaosan Palace. Thankfully they had room for us.
The next three days were spent roaming Khaosan Road where we could not resist making plenty of last minute purchases. Among other things, I purchased two gorgeous dresses. I've decided I'll be doing all my shopping in Thailand from now on
tuk tuk
one of the many forms of transportation that we utilized where everything beautiful actually fits me! By night we enjoyed mingling with the foreigners that wandered the street. We made lots of new friends including ones from Ghana, Holland and Canada. Make shift street bars were open until midnight where buckets of Red Bull and Vodka and our favorite Thai beers (Chang and Singha) were served. It was at one of these venues that Kara bought me a black sequined elephant hat that became inarguably the best purchase of the trip. It went perfectly with the bright red blinder shades I insisted on buying minutes before. Second to the hat in best buys were the ridiculous t-shirts we bought...none of which seemed to quite make sense. As you can see, too much time on Khaosan can be a dangerous venture...I'm convinced it could turn even the most frugal individual into an impulsive spender.
Our taste buds were satisfied the majority of the time by the delicious food and fruit shakes of a lady who owned a street stand just off Khaosan--the same stand Katja had frequented in the days of her exchange. It became routine to enjoy at least one banana shake a day there. I also experimented with
other flavors like Guava-Dragon Fruit. I liked it, but the other girls said it tasted like squished tomatoes. I stuck with banana after that.
8/3 We met up with our friend Te (who lived in the same city as me in Brazil) and his girlfriend at JJ Mall. We spent the afternoon catching up on the last 2 years. Part of me couldn't believe I was sitting with the boy I had spent everyday with in Brazil. I felt strangely at home. Eventually we parted ways and were left to see the 7:30 showing of the new Batman movie. Luckily the intensity of the movie was able to take my mind off another bitter sweet goodbye.
On our last night out in Bangkok we went to a super chique hookah lounge that doubled as a spa during the day. We took pleasure in the company of Katja and Kara's Thai friends and enjoyed the tastes and smells of peach shisha and red wine. Later we went to Curve night club which completed our tour of the nicest clubs in Bangkok. The club closed at 2am, just in time to make it to the street stand to eat Cow
dress shopping
Kara and her eye for fashion weeds through the dresses on Khaosan. Mun Gai (boiled chicken and rice) for the last time.
8/5 A sad goodbye. We took Salla to the airport at 10am and said our goodbyes. It was sad to see her leave, but I new this trip was only the first of many. I would see her again soon.
We finished up our shopping and were picked up to spend our last evening with a couple affiliated with the Thai restaurant that Katja and Kara work at in Indiana. They took us out to dinner where we enjoyed our favorite Thai dishes for the last time in Thailand.
8/6 Little sleep was had. We awoke at 3:30 am in order to make it to the airport by 5. Although our bags were packed, by no means were we ready to leave. We flew Thai Airlines to Seoul, south Korea (with a brief intermission in Taipei, Taiwan) and enjoyed the best airline service I have ever had. We were served two full meals (breakfast and lunch), and after lunch we enjoyed Tarimisi and Cognac for dessert. Our flight with Delta from Seoul to Atlanta was much less impressive. Once we arrived in Atalanta, I parted ways with Kara
and Katja who were off to Indianapolis. I arrived in Baltimore by midnight. I longed for a bed to sleep in where I could revisit my adventure.
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