Bangkok baby, Bangkok

July 3rd, 1:55am - Grande Westin Hotel

I made it!

It was pretty anticlimactic, because most things were smooth and straightforward. I slept through my flight to San Fran, no trouble. The flights to Tokyo and then onward to Bangkok were pretty boring, just some random tv stuff and my backpack full of supplies. I did manage to have some good conversations already, which was really encouraging. At each airport waiting lounge there seemed to be people looking to talk about what they were doing, where they were going, what they were worried about. It definitely made life a lot less scary. On the flight from Tokyo to Bangkok I struck up a conversation with a girl headed to Cambodia to do field research, and we ended up sitting next to each other and talking for a few hours. Hopefully we can grab a drink. I've also been trying to learn fragments of the language now that I'm going to try to be talking to people. Sa wa di krap, everyone!

Once I landed, customs was a breeze. Unfortunately when I went to turn on my Verizon phone to make the celebratory call home, the phone 'failed at program settings' or something and wouldn't let me make any calls, even though I had service. So much for the time spent with Verizon working this international travel thing out. I guess tomorrow I'll need to buy a cheap phone and a sim card. Should be a fun adventure. Trying to get a cab to my hotel was probably my first introduction to A) The bargaining culture and B) The rip-off culture. I got a cab through the airport services, where they very officially gave my driver a card with my destination in Thai and took me to a 'Metered Taxi'. Obviously the first thing the driver does once we start is quote me a flat fee and tell me there is a 105 baht "Highway Charge" (33 Baht = 1 Dollar). I (politely) told him to turn on the meter and after about 30 seconds of reflection he did. He dropped the discussion of the highway charge after we talked a bit on our drive and were a tad friendlier. The drive over wasn't very fancy, but once we got into Bangkok there looked like a lot of people out, and lots and lots of food places. The McDonalds and Burger King caught my eye because of the neon lights, but there were lots of street food stalls, Indian food, and formal looking places.

However all the food I've eaten so far has been some sushi at the Tokyo airport and a few apples that were put into my room. The sushi was a cool experience with the numerous chefs, hot towels, and very formal presentation. Hopefully tomorrow I can journey out and find some cool munchies.

Once I got to the hotel the service was very friendly and efficient. There was some ackwardness when I went to tip my bellguy because I had absolutely no idea what custom was, and so just came out and asked him. He wasn't very helpful, but was very polite and friendly. The room is pretty nice, thank god I booked a chain for the first night. There is a shower and a soft bed and some TV, which will likely be luxuries later on in my travels. I'm writing this from the 'business center', and even in a hotel like this the computer is pretty ghetto. Its late here but I'm not tired, so hopefully I can fall asleep soon.

Tomorrow I head out, and will hopefully meet up with Snow from NU at some point during the day/night. Snow is a native Thai girl, and is awesome. Everyone thank her if I manage to survive tomorrow. I think I'm going to try to crash on Khao San road, which is where all the backpackers and others hang out/sleep/mix. See you all on the flip side!