Bangkok

Bangkok! Day 2 in Bangkok and what a hectic few days its been. After arriving in Bangkok late yesterday afternoon, we checked into our hotel, showered our exhausted bodies, and promptly fell asleep for the next 15 or so hours. Our travels and a nasty stomach virus finally caught up with us in Hong Kong [our landing point before Thailand] and needless to say, it was a long night, marked by the ejection of projectile bodily fluids, and no sleep - welcome to the less glamorous side of traveling. Neither of us has ever been this sick while traveling, but luckily, the worst was over within the first 24h, and while we're not quite 100%, we were able to make it to Thailand in one piece.

Houses on stilts - the view from our hotel room, which made for a really cool contrast

After a good afternoon/evening of sleep, we relocated a little closer to downtown Bangkok and set about exploring. We learnt our first lesson very quickly on the way from the subway station to the hotel: traffic rules do no apply for motorbikes. Want to drive on the sidewalk instead of the road? No problem! Red traffic light? Please proceed. At full speed. Lesson learnt, Bangkok, lesson learnt.

We dropped our stuff at the hotel, mapped out our next few days in Thailand and headed for the Temple of the Reclining (!) Buddha. It was so interesting and so different to see a Thai temple compared to those we've seen in China. The architecture and detail was stunning, intricate tile patterns, and gold everywhere. The photos paint a much better picture than I could ever. And the (absolutely gigantic) reclining Buddha definitely did not disappoint!

"Reclining Buddha - now that's a God I can get behind" - J

One big Buddha

After the temple, we meandered down to the nearby river, walking past stalls of food and trinkets (and a million other tourists). We sat on some steps overlooking the river and people watching for a few minutes, before heading to Khao San road at the suggestion of one of my best friends (you're the best, A)!

Turns out the hotel map is a little harder to read, and the streets slightly less easy to navigate than we thought. But, we made it without getting too lost, stopping for pad Thai on the way. Sitting at a small, brightly coloured plastic table on the steamy Bangkok sidewalk, nearby garbage cans and questionable smells contrasting with the smell of coconut curry and lively, Cuban (?) sounding music, neon hostel signs and hoards of people; it was the first time we stopped to take it all in that day. We cheersed our pineapple juices, ate our food, paid our dues, and made our way over to Khua San where we meandered down the road (closed off to traffic), weaving in and out of touristy stalls (Thai pants, anyone?), soaking up the vibe (lots of tourists, lots of bars, lots of music, lots of fun to see). Still tired and with slight bellyaches (bit too soon for pad Thai), we didn't spend too much longer at Khua San and hailed a taxi after making our way to the end of the street. It was a fun day and welcome relief to feel well enough to be out and about. What a great little introduction to Thailand, although as J put it, "This isn't exactly how I expected to spend my first night in Bangkok...at home in bed by 8:30pm...with juice!"