Another World

Sawasdee Kaa from Thailand...hello that is! After a long flight from Glasgow to London and then into Bangkok I went to get my bag and it never came! Here I am in Asia thinking OMG, I'll never get my bag but I overcame that thought and trusted it would but it's horrible being without your toiletries(luckily I thought to pack an extra set of clothes into my carry on)especially your mosquito repellent when they love me! My bag did arrive 24 hours later but by then I was so bit up, I don't know if I'll ever be the same. Why I didn't think to go buy some I'm not sure but that'll teach me :)

So, what does one do the first day in Bangkok? I always like to just orientate myself into a new place and I decided to just walk and see what there was nearby. I wandered along the streets taking in everything that was so foreign to me but even in spite of the craziness of Bangkok city, I felt good thrown into this new culture. The people are so gracious and friendly, they never hesitate to smile at you and at least try to understand what your trying to say. I stopped and got a leg and bikini wax for about the equivalent of $11. Mind you, I didn't know what I was getting myself into and their standards for cleanliness are no where near like the ones we have in the states(which is an understatement) so if I thought too much about it, it was a bit frightening but all was just fine. Later that day I received my first real Thai massage and it was great!(about $10) I figured I should get at least one traditonal Thai massage before starting my Thai massage course in Chiang Mai.

I ended up meeting the Canadian twins(two women traveling together who look like sisters) and had a great time with them. We struck up a conversation on the street and we can some great conversations about travel-they had some great stories-and life and I ended up spending most of the evening with them until I was absolutely cross eyed from jet lag.

The next day I had arranged for a overnight VIP bus to take me to Chiang Mai. This was also the day of the Kings birthday in Thailand and a HUGE party was going on. Getting to the bus station on a Tuk Tuk(A Three wheeled vehicle that are open and can maneuver in and out of traffic and is quite the knuckle gripping ride!) The bus ride was 10 hours and it was quite nice actually as they served you snacks and played a movie dubbed in Thai that was SO loud that I ended up watching a movie on my computer to try to drown out the sound. The Thai LOVE thing loud!

I arrived at 5:00am and made my way to my home for the next 2 weeks. I'm staying at a guest house walking distance to the massage school I'm going to and I started that today. It feels like a lot to take in but I think I'm going to enjoy the program and learning a new skill. I've met some nice people from all over the world and I truly love hearing their stories. One American girl from California(massage therapist)had planned a 6 month trip to Costa Rica and 5 years later she's still on the road! She lives part time in Greece and is the only Massage Therapist in town and also has family in Spain so is applying for dual citizenship.

I will be here for two weeks and then my friend, Lana from San Diego, comes for Christmas and New Years. I excited to have her join me and get out of the cities and see the country side and beaches down South. We will also stop back into Bangkok and see some of the famous temples and other attractions that Bangkok has to offer.

I finally have my London photos to share with you. As you'll see I had one amazing day in London and the photos from the London Eye and the river boat cruise came out really well. Thailand photos will follow soon. Hugs to you all!
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