Welcome to Thailand: Bangkok

This adventurer has begun her greatest adventure yet...

I have moved to Thailand to be an English teacher!

This post documents week 1 of my time in Thailand, which I spent in Bangkok.

I hope you enjoy!  Stay tuned for more posts to come...

*Note: this post will be short because I was quite sick in my first week and did not take many photos/explore very much.*

I departed from Los Angeles International Airport on October 21, at about noon.  The entire journey took 21 hours... oof!

The first flight, from LA to Hong Kong, was a whopping fifteen hours long.  I thoroughly enjoyed my window seat, from which I got to see beautiful above-the-clouds views over Alaska and the Pacific Ocean.

This was taken upon our landing in Hong Kong!  The mountains surprised me and I took great delight in them.  I hope to return to Hong Kong for an actual visit (in which I leave the airport)!

I so enjoyed stepping off the airplane in a new country while actually knowing some of the language!  It was fun to use the Chinese I picked up last year with the attendants around the airport.

Meet Blue Peep!  This is one of my dog's toys - not her favorite one, don't worry.  I took it as a comfort object, and to use as a fun way to document some of my adventures abroad.  (My parents and I have a group chat called "Adventures of Blue Peep," in which all photos feature this sweet little guy.)

The view out the window as we arrived in Bangkok!  This flight was only three hours long.  We landed at about midnight, Thailand time.

This is what Thai money looks like!  The currency here is called "baht."

I got to my hostel at 1 AM and slept for a good few hours.  When I woke up, I started to not feel so awesome.  By noon, my stomach was turning inside out... and the contents were all coming up.  Note that I hadn't consumed anything in Thailand other than bottled water, so we cannot blame the food there; I think it was jetlag (14 hour time difference) coupled with a bug I caught on one of my plane rides.

A trip to 7-11 yielded some crucial sick tummy things: bottled water to sip, gatorade, crackers and mini muffins.  The Gastro did not succeed in its purpose, as I was not able to keep it down.  I spent the afternoon in my hostel resting and sleeping as much as I could.

The next morning, I was feeling better, so I went for breakfast and had a delicious omelette.  These are typically served with chili sauce - I think I skipped it this day, but now I have had it and these are such a good pairing!

That day, the other teachers and I transitioned from our hostels to the hotel in which our three-day orientation would be held.  I work for MediaKids, a Thailand-based company that places English teachers all over the country.

I got sick again that afternoon (of course), so I stayed in for the night and watched some shows on our Thai TV.  I found a channel that consisted entirely of monks chanting to images such as those above.  This provided me great solace.  I am Buddhist, and this channel reminded me that I am in a Buddhist country, and that there is so much more of this solace in store.  Remembering impermanence... all things pass, including this sickness.

Blue Peep liked the channel, too!

The next day, orientation began!  This is my MediaKids uniform.  The Thailand flag is the one closest to my head!

During our induction, we had a ceremony where seven white strings were tied around our wrists, to ward of bad spirits/bad energy and to endow us with good luck.

By the second day of orientation, I was finally feeling better!!  Thank goodness.

This is the pet cockroach that lived in our bathroom at the hotel!  My roommate did not like this girly very much... I don't blame her.  She was pretty freaky (the cockroach, not my roommate).

The view from our hotel window.  Hello, Bangkok!

Notice the 7-Eleven in the left of the photos.  7-Elevens are the most common store in Thailand; they are much more useful (and essential) than those I have experienced in the US.  They are pretty much a comprehensive convenience market, including all sorts of food (even fresh meals!), toiletries, household products, small clothing items and more.  They also sell bus and train tickets, and they are the place to go to add credit to your mobile phone!



One snack from 7-Eleven that I particularly love: the beng-beng!  These cost 5 baht, the equivalent of about $0.15 USD.

At this point, orientation had ended and we migrated to another Bangkok hostel for the night.

Blue Peep takes a precarious peak out the hostel window!

That night, we went out on Kho Saen Road.  Quite the experience, this was...

Delicious specialty drinks.

And even more delicious food!!  I had tofu pad thai and mixed vegetables.

Kho Saen Road is known for its buckets of "fun" drinks.  The road is a popular destination for backpackers passing through Bangkok, and there are plenty of them on the route holding buckets such as this one.

 (This is a slightly different photo than the one above, I promise!)  This wraps up my week in Bangkok.  The next day, I traveled to my placement, where I am now a teacher.  Stay tuned for the next post, where I find my new home in my new country.