I actually couldn't believe we were leaving already. My life had been really busy for the previous month, and the 2-week trip to Thailand and Vietnam had really snuck up on me. For the previous few days I'd been rushing around London picking up an extra memory card for my camera, a jacket and various "just-in-case" drugs. I packed the day we left.
But, as things do, it all came together and Joe and I were off on our adventure! I have to admit, I was a little nervous. I was conscious of being in an entirely new part of the world for me, I was hoping we'd have a good group, and I was REALLY hoping the foreign food wouldn't make my system freak out. but I tried to just sit back and relax and let it all happen. As it turned out, being in a new part of the world was AMAZING, we did have a great group of people on our tour... And my stomach DID freak out. Every single day. And that's enough detail about that.
It took us 14 hours of flying (including a couple of hours in the Delhi airport) to reach Thailand. Our Contiki tour didn't start until a couple of days later in Vietnam, so we had a night and a day to explore Bangkok on our own. Airports always equals good people-watching (I'll NEVER understand how women can travel wearing heels... my feet swell so much from all that sitting I refuse to travel in anything but flip flops!), and we started off the trip with a few adventures of our own.
For one, Joe had a habit of not being given things (that should have been given, and that I received). Like a fork at the airport restaurant. Or a meal on the plane. Or a tomato on his salad. All of which he got eventually (either by asking for them or stealing them from me), but it was still rather comical.
We were also quite amused by the various levels of security in the multiple airports we visited. At Heathrow, the security guard half-heartedly waved me through the metal detector, then got distracted and didn't even look at me (or the detector) as I walked through. I don't think my passport was ever checked in London either. But in Delhi, every single passenger's passport was checked no less than FOUR times; clearly, this airport is a model of efficiency... But the best part was being "disinfected" - as the plane began its descent, flight attendants walked up each aisle spraying something out of tiny aerosol cans that was supposed to purify the air and the passengers. Yikes. Not sure how I feel about having to breathe that in...
By the time we touched down in Bangkok, I was pretty excited. It still didn't really feel REAL (and I didn't really hit "vacation mode" for another few days), but it WAS exciting to BE THERE. A taxi took us into the city, which was an experience in itself. First off, we had pre-paid for the cab at the airport. But then we went through a toll booth and had to hand over more money to pay for it. And then another one. We were getting a little concerned we might be getting seriously scammed at this point, but the driver assured us that had been the last one. Whew!
Looking out the windows at the darkening city, I was surprised (and excited) to see a school bus full of kids with all of the windows open and heads and arms waving out into the night (that's how HOT it was at NIGHT - and no air con on the bus, apparently). I also saw a taxi with its trunk filled with suitcases - and tied down with bungee cords! Classy. I think, though, that my favourite thing about the drive was that the driver kindly found an English radio station for us to listen to... too bad the talk-radio program was all about eye cataracts and skin damage caused by UV rays! Not gonna lie... kind of a buzz kill.
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| Khao San Road - the busy market street (for tourists). Get your "Little Miss Jihad" t-shirt, your cheap Thai massage and fish pedicure, and eat some delicious street pad thai - all in one place! |
I have so many stories to tell from this trip. It was, as Joe likes to call it, "the trip of a lifetime." I have never done anything like this, been on a trip like this before, or seen a country like this before. It was amazing. Vietnam is so green and lush and beautiful - I don't really know what I had pictured, but it certainly wasn't this. And Bangkok was so ... alive! So much happening, so many things moving at the same time. It was a rush just to be a part of it. So much so that we went back into the city on our way home (to kill the 9-hour layover). We didn't even really do anything new; we just figured if we had a chance to be a part of that again... why not?
There will be several (probably 4) more posts about this trip... there's just so much to tell! Stay tuned for the first one (mostly about how we got big-time SCAMMED in Bangkok!)!!
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