Jack's First Bangkok Update

Hello everybody! It's your brother Jack with an update from Bangkok. My elation from arriving safely after our twenty hour plane ride has yet to wear off. I'm loving everything about Bangkok; as a fellow English speaker at my hostel put it, "When the only downside to a city is that the pineapple is too sweet, you know you've got a winner."

Day One of Bangkok Fun

How bizarre it felt to wake up this morning thinking, oh yeah we're in Thailand now! Once I heard one little noise this morning, I was wide awake and totally excited again.

Not exactly what I had in mind for my first Thai meal
but hey, we have places to go, people!

Jack and I got ready and headed out for some breakfast. We'd read that Thais don't really eat what westerners would consider breakfast foods like eggs, toast, pancakes, etc, so we decided to just get a few quick things at the 7/11 on our corner (they are everywhere here). We ended up getting yogurt, chocolate milk, iced coffee, coconut cookies, water, chopped mango, and spongey cake for about $3.50.

Most everything was better than we thought it would be (we didn't know what to expect so we kept our expectations low). I realized after we got back to the hostel that the mango bag said pickled mangos--uh oh! The ingredients list was also in English and I didn't see anything about vinegar so I suspected it might be a translation issue. Oh well, let's try it!

Leg 4: Seoul, Korea to Bangkok, Thailand

5 hours, 30 minutes, 2,286 miles

We made it, we made it, we made it! Same type of plane (same movies too, blah) and similar seats as the last except the one next to us was occupied. Despite this, we both ended up snoozing for about 15-20 minutes this round because of sheer exhaustion. We did get a second (third? fourth?) wind by the time we landed--funny how that adrenaline kicks in. We got swept up in a wave of people heading out, breezed through the passport-checking line, and quickly found our baggage claim. Easy peasy.

Leg 3: Chicago, IL to Seoul, South Korea

13 hours, 40 minutes, 6,538 miles

Leg 2: Green Bay, WI to Chicago, IL

               ~ 3 hours, 45 minutes, 210 miles

The goodbyes have been especially difficult this leg. We had to part with my family, friends, and our little girls. I only see my family and home friends a couple of times a year so I'm just trying to tell myself that we're only missing a couple of get-togethers. That helps.

The cats, however, have been particularly heartbreaking. Throughout the packing process, Doodle has been jumping into my luggage and laying down. I'm nearly convinced she knows what's happening and wants to come along. It. kills. me.