The End

Asia » Thailand
March 2nd 2009

Published: March 2nd 2009

I'm back in America but felt like I should post one last blog about the remainder of my time.

I spent the last day in Bangkok doing my best to support the global economy by going out of control and buying everything that I could get my hands on. Absolutely no self-control. None. I walked down from Khao San road over to the street market by the royal palace. Thinking to myself on the way "hmmm I could really go for some fried bananas" BAM, next person I walk past is like "fried bananas?", I LOVE Thailand. I spent hours just walking around the street stalls, buying fruit, presents, stuff for myself, taking pictures here and there and trying to immerse myself as much as possible in the city before I had to go home. I took a leisurely walk back to Khao San rd, got a much needed pedicure (man that woman earned her four dollars) and did just a little bit more shopping before I headed back to the hotel where I had left my bags. Now at the end of Khao San road is a street that SHOULD lead directly back to the hotel, in a straight line no less. Of course this is Bangkok, so I end up wandering through some sort of school, an area that looks like a monk dormitory and some mini-street market before I find my way through a crack in the wall back out to Soi Rambutri which is where I was heading the whole time (this has taken me at least half an hour of course) and I finally made it back to the hotel, fairly disgruntled about the whole thing. I met up with Jeremy and we found a tuk-tuk driver that would take us to Ratchnadamnan (sp?) "Raja" Thai Boxing stadium, at a final Thai dinner by the stadium at one of the little locals only food stall areas. The food was good but everything was colored by the fact that is was the last. I went to the boxing store and bought myself muy-thai gloves, and a few souvenirs and we were able to watch the first five or six rounds of the night. It was pretty intense and I loved how into it the crowd got. Every. Single. person. Had something to say to each of the fighters while they were in their corner. Everyone was shouting advice and cheering for their fighters. It was really really fun. After the time came when I had to leave we caught another tuk-tuk back to Khao San and I bought my last fruit shake and last banana pancake and then said good-bye and caught my bus to the airport. I checked my bags through to Washington, D.C. and managed to keep myself awake long enough to make it onto the airplane, then slept all the way to South Korea.

I was glad I got to spend a buffer day in between Thailand and the US in South Korea but I was SO SAD all day, I caught the same bus (6011) to Anguk Dong that I had taken the first time I was in Seoul. I bought myself some of the most INCREDIBLE strawberries I've ever eaten in my entire life (no WONDER everyone on the plane to Thailand was carrying these!), they just melt in your mouth and are the sweetest things I've ever tasted. I made my way through the same streets I walked just a month ago and this time was actually able to visit the Folk Museum that was closed the last time I was there (Tuesdays are Closed as the sign will tell you). I looked through the Korean history exhibit and learned that Korea is essentially the Poland of Asia and then walked through the life and death of Koreans exhibit. It was really cool and I felt sufficiently cultured so I made my way back to the subway stop I had been dropped off at (Anguk Dong) and was able to ride the subway over to Itaewon the expat ghetto of Seoul. I walked around for about an hour, I think my favorite was the t-Shirt that said 'South Korea- Asia's best kept secret!". I don't think S.K. has caught on to how defensive that sounds from a tourism standpoint and maybe if they had cooler t-shirts people would visit there more often.

Instead of waiting for the bus to take me back to the airport I decided to try to ride the subway because it was cheaper and I actually made it work for me, but there was a bit of terror involved because I had had so little sleep in the past few days that I kept passing out of the subway and waking up and not knowing where I was. But I did make it to the airport and managed to sleep for almost the entire flight back to JFK, not even High School Musical 3 was enough to keep me awake. (someone tell me, DOES Troy choose Julliard? What happens between him and Vanessa Hudgen's character when she goes to Stanford?)

Everything ran pretty much on time and I made it to DC at around 11:45 pm and met my parents there, unfortunately my bag (Bessie) did not actually make it with me. Devastating. But it followed me home Saturday morning so everything is once again right with the world.

I'm finding the re-adjustment back to the US to be really really difficult and depressing (it DOES NOT HELP THAT I CAME HOME JUST IN TIME FOR THE WINTER'S WORST SNOW STORM!). I'm doing my best to just cherish the memories that I made and remind myself what exactly it is that I like about America (toilet paper and hot showers so far), and just trying to focus on my next year's travel plans. Follow me to Nepal next year!

Thanks to everyone that did read this blog, I used it as a way to keep in touch but also so I would have a record of the time I spent abroad and knowing people were reading it was definitely big help in keeping me updating it.

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