Phaya Thai BTS Station May 1stAfter three flights over 1 1/2 days, lolo and I arrived in BKK on Wednesday, April 29th. We had an 8 hour layover in Heathrow, which, if you haven't been, is the luxury megamall of airports... except still incredibly hard to nap in (the best napping room in the "extra seating" area was basically like an unheated hospice)! We got to the airport in Amman, Jordan around midnight on the 29th, and our last flight was to leave at 2:10am. The security guys were having a party or something, and would not let us check-through until after 1:30am. I proceeded through the "ladies" security line and was felt up by a quiet Jordanian lady in a frosted glass maze (sorry, no pictures!). Jokes on them because I hadn't showered in a day at that point! 555! (Ok, the number 5 in Thai is pronounced like "ha," so hahaha=555=LOL in Thai e-speak!)
Anyways! Less type, more pictures!
Our gate at O'Hare.... the last bits of America we'll be seeing for a while!
View from the plane before take off.
Bye, Chicago! You can go suck it!
My favorite part of internationally flying....
free booze!!! Did you think I meant the food? 555!And now for the unveiling of the much anticipated hovel bathroom....
What's that you say? A sit down toilet?! American Standard even!? (No really. That's the brand.) Most water has no temperature control because the sun heats it up during the day. Believe you me, I have held strong to the morning and evening shower rule. This afternoon I almost went for a midday shower, but opted for some feet washing instead.
Onward....
This morning = HAPPY MAY DAY! This is my first time in a country that actually gives you the day off. Too bad we are jobless!!! Our jet lag was still kicking, so we woke up super early and decided to take a walk around the new neighborhood. We found a nice public park with a jogging path. I pondered taking up jogging, then Logs said, "Who do you think we are? Miss Betty?!" Fatties it is!
We thought of Lori immediately when we saw this little lady lazying about by the park entrance.
Then we looked at the tourist-y map my cousin gave us, saw a nice big park near the Ratchadamri station and decided to attempt the BTS for the first time.... because you know we are jobless and can do crap like that now!
The BTS is not only super easy to use, but it gives directions in Thai and English, is clean, quick and clearly visible in the Bangkok skyline in case you ever think you're lost. Of course I am speaking as a lucky person who gets to live around the corner from the BTS station. They are working on branching the system out to the airport, which would be super convenient and alleviate traffic. P'Jim thinks it may even be done this year thanks to cheap yet efficient labor and concrete... Yeah, take that America/Daley!
So today was a good day. My mom and her sister are pressuring me to apply to Chulalongkorn Unversity to do the Thai Studies program. The program is 25,000฿ for 100 hours, and you have to test to the next level or it's a repeat. No thanks! We happened to walk by this hippy language school, AUA, on our way to the park, and it is about 20,000฿ for 200 hours. What happenstance! We're going for a free trial lesson next week. Hopefully we can spend a few months really focusing on language, and maybe I can hover around their campus long enough to get a job.
After the park we bumped into this mall...
Famed as one of the largest malls in SouthEast Asia!
There is some "motorbike" show going on in the mall all week.
Hmmm... ?
How sweet of them to open a restaurant for me!
lolo has been quite obsessed with American icons doing the traditional wai (the Thai version of a handshake)...
Worry not, we have not eaten at McDonald's! Instead, we opted for the Central World food court.
2 meals + drinks = 115฿ = $3.28
Last but not least on our tour of Central World....
That's right! TOPSHOP! Initially, I just went in to make Mrs. Hudson jealous. Logan was not impressed by their selection, but he is a man of oddly picky tastes. I did notice a ton of knock-offs of the Keep and 80%20% shoes lines. Sad.
Ok sorry for such a long post. It's not like we ELOPED or anything *cough cough*! 555! The pictures took forever to upload on this sketchy wireless service we've been using, but at least we have internet, woohoo!
I leave you with a daily snapshot of BKK traffic from the pedestrian walkway to the Chitlom BTS station.
Onward....
This morning = HAPPY MAY DAY! This is my first time in a country that actually gives you the day off. Too bad we are jobless!!! Our jet lag was still kicking, so we woke up super early and decided to take a walk around the new neighborhood. We found a nice public park with a jogging path. I pondered taking up jogging, then Logs said, "Who do you think we are? Miss Betty?!" Fatties it is!
We thought of Lori immediately when we saw this little lady lazying about by the park entrance.
Then we looked at the tourist-y map my cousin gave us, saw a nice big park near the Ratchadamri station and decided to attempt the BTS for the first time.... because you know we are jobless and can do crap like that now!
The BTS is not only super easy to use, but it gives directions in Thai and English, is clean, quick and clearly visible in the Bangkok skyline in case you ever think you're lost. Of course I am speaking as a lucky person who gets to live around the corner from the BTS station. They are working on branching the system out to the airport, which would be super convenient and alleviate traffic. P'Jim thinks it may even be done this year thanks to cheap yet efficient labor and concrete... Yeah, take that America/Daley!So today was a good day. My mom and her sister are pressuring me to apply to Chulalongkorn Unversity to do the Thai Studies program. The program is 25,000฿ for 100 hours, and you have to test to the next level or it's a repeat. No thanks! We happened to walk by this hippy language school, AUA, on our way to the park, and it is about 20,000฿ for 200 hours. What happenstance! We're going for a free trial lesson next week. Hopefully we can spend a few months really focusing on language, and maybe I can hover around their campus long enough to get a job.
After the park we bumped into this mall...
Famed as one of the largest malls in SouthEast Asia!
There is some "motorbike" show going on in the mall all week.
Hmmm... ?
How sweet of them to open a restaurant for me!
Worry not, we have not eaten at McDonald's! Instead, we opted for the Central World food court.
2 meals + drinks = 115฿ = $3.28While our hovel is not as hovel-y as I psyched myself up for, there are a few things I wouldn't mind... like 400 thread count sheets and a mattress that wasn't as hard as the floor, but I will treat myself to these luxuries once one of us has a real job. In the meantime, I will go to Muji to touch their very soft homegoods and revel in their medium priced-minimal designs!
Last but not least on our tour of Central World....
That's right! TOPSHOP! Initially, I just went in to make Mrs. Hudson jealous. Logan was not impressed by their selection, but he is a man of oddly picky tastes. I did notice a ton of knock-offs of the Keep and 80%20% shoes lines. Sad.Ok sorry for such a long post. It's not like we ELOPED or anything *cough cough*! 555! The pictures took forever to upload on this sketchy wireless service we've been using, but at least we have internet, woohoo!
I leave you with a daily snapshot of BKK traffic from the pedestrian walkway to the Chitlom BTS station.
2 comments:
YAY!!!! I especially enjoyed all the parts where I was mentioned. I find myself so charming!
Anyways--the bathroom looks great! And thanks for going into Top Shop for me. While you are unemployed, you can draft up some detailed shopping maps for me, ok?
I'm looking forward to more family stories!! HI to Logan!
man... this blog is the best! i laughed, and then laughed again and again. and then was like oooohh at the pictures. i was disappointed by topshop in ireland, it was when kate moss's collection was out, it sucked.
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