We arrived in Thailand on Wednesday, October 5th, and only intended on staying in Bangkok (BKK) for 2-3 days. After that we were to continue our journey to the orphanage. We were up early the next day taking care of business. Needless to say, we were VERY tired. We opened up bank accounts, go our phones situated, made necessary phone calls and went to the bus station to see about our trip. When we arrived, we noticed a small stir but did not know what it was about. When we went to the information desk to find out about our trip, we found out what it was all about. This rainy season has been the rainiest in 50 years, so there has been serious flooding north of BKK. The flooding was expected to come into the capitol city within the week. All buses heading north and north west were canceled. That was exactly where we were headed, the roads were closed indefinitely. Back home we went, not sure when or how we would get to the orphanage. We were blessed with the opportunity to stay with a friends sister who lives in BKK. She lives with her husband and two small children in a very hip, chic area of BKK. They were the most wonderful hosts! She took us everywhere we needed to go and made us feel so welcomed in her home. They live on Thong Lor Street. It's a place that really comes alive at night, with lots of restaurants with out door seating and boutiques. We stayed there a little over a week. It's a good thing that we did, because we really needed to time of rest. Her apartment complex was great! They had a pool, exercise room and a sauna! Sadly, I did not really take advantage of it but Doris did! We had Thai massages, which were great! We went in for a foot massage ($7 USD for 1 hour) and they end up doing pretty much your whole body! We ate lots of good food and I got the chance to meet up with some people that I know living in BKK. We didn't do any sight seeing, we were too tired. As the title states, it was an unexpected vacation, but a much needed one.
Monday, October 17, 2011
Monday, October 10, 2011
Getting there
We left for Thailand at 12:50 A.M., Tuesday, October 4th. We had a 14 hour flight, that would only take us to Seoul Korea! The flight itself was pretty uneventful, I slept and watched movies. We arrived in Seoul at 4 A.M. Wednesday October 5th. The airport in Seoul is pretty cool. They have lots of amenities for guests with long layovers, like myself and Doris. Our next flight was not to depart until 5:30 that afternoon. They have free internet access, showers, a sleeping lounge, a movie room and a hotel is you so desire, where you can rent rooms for 6 hour increments! Oh there is more, but I won't bore you with those details. Before leaving the states, I checked the airport out on the internet. Things looked really good,for example the sleeping area looked like this on the internet:
But in reality things really looked like this:
Not a free seat in the place! It was pretty funny! We were going to go on a day tour that runs from the airport, but I remembered that I have a friend that has been living in Korea, so I contacted him and he took us out for the day. It was great! We had a good time catching up and seeing some of the city. We dressed up in traditional Korean garb at the Seoul Tower and made new friends just because we were American! They even shared their lunch with us! We rode the train, the bus and had a nice Korean cab ride! Marc took us to an authentic Korean dive..... there was some mystery meat there. I tasted it and did not like it! I asked him what it was, his reply, "I don't know, I never ask, I just eat." He had TONS of it piled on his plate! But I really enjoyed the noodles. There were lots of Starbucks and McDonald's around. I think big cities in Asia are very influenced by western culture. All said we were able to spend a good part of the day going around town. Needless to say we were absolutely exhausted when we got back to the airport. I couldn't keep my eyes open on the train ride back! After a couple of hours, we were off to Thailand! That flight was to be another 5 hours..... I slept the whole time, I barely opened my eyes to eat the meal they gave us. More later
Not a free seat in the place! It was pretty funny! We were going to go on a day tour that runs from the airport, but I remembered that I have a friend that has been living in Korea, so I contacted him and he took us out for the day. It was great! We had a good time catching up and seeing some of the city. We dressed up in traditional Korean garb at the Seoul Tower and made new friends just because we were American! They even shared their lunch with us! We rode the train, the bus and had a nice Korean cab ride! Marc took us to an authentic Korean dive..... there was some mystery meat there. I tasted it and did not like it! I asked him what it was, his reply, "I don't know, I never ask, I just eat." He had TONS of it piled on his plate! But I really enjoyed the noodles. There were lots of Starbucks and McDonald's around. I think big cities in Asia are very influenced by western culture. All said we were able to spend a good part of the day going around town. Needless to say we were absolutely exhausted when we got back to the airport. I couldn't keep my eyes open on the train ride back! After a couple of hours, we were off to Thailand! That flight was to be another 5 hours..... I slept the whole time, I barely opened my eyes to eat the meal they gave us. More later  |
| Me, Marc and Doris |
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