Day 1 - While You Were Sleeping

View from hotel room

Tuk tuk - Thai taxi (not the one we took from airport)

Sawadee kaa, Thailand!  *sigh* It’s so good to be back.  We arrived in Bangkok late Friday night and got to the hotel after a rather white-knuckled taxi ride (which we were prepared for…but was a bit unnerving nonetheless.)  After showering the 24-hrs of travel off, we crashed for a few hours and woke up to skype with the kids and prepare for a day exploring a bit of the city.  The free breakfast buffet was a treat :)  This hotel is very nice – not quite as shnazzy as the pics online indicated (a bit in need of updates and refurbishing), but our room is massive, the shower is hot, the bed is great and the grounds are beautiful…oh, and there’s this huge pool we can’t wait to get into.  We set out to tackle the sky train and find a shopping mall.  And that we did!  The mall was a little too much over the top for us…like Gucci, Estee Lauder and the latest Lady Gaga perfume.  So, no shopping accomplished there.  BUT, the food court was the craziest thing ever.  Tons of options, both Asian and western (including KFC, BK, Swensen’s (?!), Au Bon Pain, of course Starbucks, and…wait for it…Krispy Kreme. We did not indulge, although Greg did do a little dance.)  We ate thai noodles, which were yum.  After escaping the crowds of the mall (and unless you’ve been to Asia, you may not know what I mean when I say “crowds”), we hopped back on the sky train and popped in for a little traditional Thai massage.  Now, it’s been ten years since I’ve been here, so I didn’t quite remember all that entails “Thai Massage”.  Greg will never forgive me.  For $20USD total we got one hour of torture.  For me, it was that good kind of pain and I loved it.  But for Greg, I think his Thai masseuse was trying to make him cry “uncle” – or whatever it is in Thai.  I am still laughing now when I think of the moans and groans when this little Thai guy had Greg all tied up in a pretzel.  He just kept stretching and pulling and walking on him and smiling saying “Thai Massage”.  Anyway, we made it out alive, came back to the hotel and grabbed dinner and then slept for 10 hours.  It was a good day :)