Monday, April 22, 2013

Two Nights in Bangkok

“You’ll probably pass through Bangkok multiple times en route to someplace else as most planes, trains and buses eventually lead to the Big Mango. You’ll be confused and challenged when you first arrive, relieved and pampered when you return, and slightly sentimental when you depart for the last time.”
-- Lonely Planet: Southeast Asia on a Shoestring Travel Guide

It took about 23 hours of traveling but we finally arrived at the Bangkok airport at about 7:00pm. After a few minor mishaps involving a lost debit card and a cancelled bus we made it to the infamous Khao San Road, an extremely popular street for backpackers and tourists. I don't think I have ever seen anything quite like this street-- it is full of loud drunk tourists, unique smells (both good and bad), rowdy bars with American pop music and tons of street vendors selling inexpensive clothing, food and of course alcohol. Our hotel was right in the middle of Khao San Road but was surprisingly felt safe and wasn't too noisy when going to sleep.

Khao San Road by day

Khao San Road by night

Our hotel's roof top pool

Our first full day in Bangkok we could not resist taking a tour of the city on a Tuk Tuk. Since it was the last official day of the Thai new year we were able to have a Tuk Tuk take us to popular destinations for only 40 baht (about $1.25). Afterwards we treated ourselves to our first of hopefully many Thai massages. We each spent a whopping 120 baht (about $4) to get half hour full body massages.

Inside the Tuk Tuk

For dinner, we wanted to try something different so we went Bangkok's Chinatown. The busy streets were lines with food vendors and outdoor restaurants and there were very few tourists. We decided to eat at a vendor that seemed very popular with the locals and ordered what we thought was going to be some sort of dumpling soup (they definitely weren't dumplings).

China Town



Our last day in Bangkok we spent touring the Grand Palace and Wat Pho, two destinations that we heard we could not miss. Our first stop was the Grand Palace which is the former residence of the Royal family. This complex of buildings is beyond magnificent with vibrant colors and details -- pictures do not do it justice. Our second stop Wag Pho, is the oldest and largest temple in Bangkok and had similar architecture to he buildings at the Grand Palace. The highlights at this site was the BIG Buddha and observing the monks pray in one of the temples. After this we had to head to the train station to make our overnight train to Ko Pha-Ngan which I will post about soon!

Overall, our stay in Bangkok was colorful and fun but we only needed two days and nights before we were ready for the beautiful and relaxing beaches of Thailand.







Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Preparation and Packing... and a quick trip to Las Vegas


As most of you know I am about to embark on an adventure to Southeast Asia with my boyfriend Andrew Eldredge.  I've bought a one-way ticket to Bangkok since I am planning on staying longer than Andrew who has to come home in August for law school.  We will be traveling through Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and hopefully Myanmar for 4 months with backpacks and an open mind.   Andrew will have have a Tumblr which you can access at andrewandjess.tumblr.com.

The trip hasn't even begun yet but this past week has already been a crazy adventure. When my dear friend Liza Dabrow told me that her and a few girlfriends were taking a trip to Las Vegas to visit her brother, it only took a few hours to convince me to book a ticket.  Although I had less than 48 hours to recuperate in between this trip and my flight to Bangkok, Vegas was DEFINITELY worth it.   

Andrew and I have done a pretty good job preparing for this trip.  We had plenty of time to research but also planned on packing extremely light and with a very flexible itinerary.  The past month we've gotten vaccines, fought with insurance companies over the price of malaria medicine, researched which Thai islands have the best beaches (and parties) and had a very hard time concentrating at work instead of daydreaming about this trip.  

I am very impressed and surprised with how little we need to pack and how much we were able to fit in our backpacks.  They aren't too heavy and there is even some extra room.  We've also been told that we can buy almost anything in some of the cities that we are traveling in.  The one thing that we needed to stock up on was sunscreen-- it is apparently pretty pricey and poor quality in most of Southeast Asia and Andrew's "tan" is a nice shade of red.



Everything that I am packing





Andrew's Sunscreen
Everything that Andrew and I are packing


Since it is 4 in the morning and we are leaving for the airport in less than two hours I am going to have to cut this blog post off here but will hopefully post again soon! The best way to contact me is through email (jlhalpern89@gmail.com) and I would love to hear from you all!  See you in about 6 months!