... And so it begins

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We touched down late last night in Bangkok, and I think Zach kissed the ground when we landed. I don't have any pictures yet, but wanted to at least get an account of our journey here. After much impatience on my end, we left our home and headed to MSP airport at 3:30 a.m.. Come to find out at the aiport, I forgot Zach's pillow on the kitchen table. Much turmoil ensued, as apparently this pillow was made of gold and stuffed with $50 bills. Once we sat down on the plane and put our seatbelts on, Z had a panic attack. He kept taking off his seat belt and saying he couldn't do it anymore, he couldn't fly. I kept saying "are you really going to leave me to do a 5 week trip alone? You aren't going to die!" Finally, the plane moved so it was too late for him to go anywhere. I'm going to say, this was progress. Last time, he couldn't even get on the plane without much wheedling. This time, he didn't freak out until he was in the seat!

Made it to Chicago with no problem and the remainder of our trip flights were met without issue (minus a few bruises on my leg). Korean Air is still top notch. We got fed well, and I slept like a dream. I had bought us these TravelRest pillows that are shaped like a club (well, more like a penis, but club sounds more polite). They allow you to sleep with your head resting to the side. I slept about 8 hours or so total and felt great! Hope Springs by the way is a really good movie.

Touchdown in Thailand was around 9:05 p.m. We had been travelling for about 26 hours at that point. Immigration was fast and they didn't lose our bags. ATM didn't work (kept saying Withdraw Over 20 Bills??). I panicked, had no cash, but luckily Zach had $50 USD and exchanged it for baht. Went to the public taxi stand on level 1, ignored the touts, and got our taxi to Rambuttri. Took about 30 minutes to get there and cost us about 400 baht for tolls, departure fee, and the fare. Found our guesthouse (Lamphu House) immediately because everything is so familiar. Still smells like peepee in the alleys! After dumping our stuff off, we set off to get $$, a SIM card for my phone, some Leos, and a snack.

7/11s are the place to go for all your needs. There is one on pretty much every street AND they are air conditioned!! They also don't take credit cards 😞. Found an ATM and took out 10,000 baht. I'm rich!!!! Bought 2 21cent waters, a sim card for $3, and a pack of cigarettes for $1.80. We found a bus/bar (it is a bar set up in a bus), and ordered some drinks. People watching is great on Soi Rambuttri; you will see lots of farangs, lady boys, and drunk people staggering around.

I got my SIM card to work and did a test call to Zach's mom, as Zach forgot to tell her a few things to do while housesitting. We now have a Thai phone number so I can make calls while here. Haven't figured out how to load it though so I can get internet on my phone. I should note, Wisconsin apparently got dumped with 4 inches of snow. It's 90 degrees here so it is hard to imagine :D

My snack for the night was a heaping bowl of pad thai for $1.20. Zach kept saying he wasn't hungry but polished off most of my food. We then finished up the night getting a marvelous foot and neck massage for $3.60. Out like a light and up at 8:45 this morning. No jet lag and feeling like I can't believe we are here!

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Comments

[Gracia]

Sounds like an awesome beginning! Roads here weren't bad by the time I got to Roberts, but apparently Madison got 18".