Today was one of my “interesting days”. I can confidently say that out of all the interesting days in my life, this one had to count as the beginning to a series of interesting days to come. I arrived in Bangkok this morning at 7:15 AM (Bangkok time), and actually met up with a group of CIEE students also arriving on the flight. How wonderful it was to arrive to hot sun and palm trees in the middle of January! We made our way to the Great Residence Hotel in Bangkok, where I then proceeded to have a very cold shower (because showers in Thailand do not seem to exceed mildly lukewarm, apparently). We will be spending one evening here before heading off (very early, mind you) to our Orientation site. In order to keep ourselves awake and avoid the suffering of jetlag, we decided to go into the city of Bangkok. Unfortunately, we ended up in the touristy area of the city, and I regret not digging deeper into Bangkok. However, as we had literally just arrived that morning, it served its purpose of keeping us awake and occupied throughout the afternoon. We toured the malls, and I was thrilled to see Hello Kitty at every turn. We got to know each other and enjoyed exploring what we could, while being exhausted and overstimulated by everything around us. It is important to note that Thailand air turns my hair into a site to behold...
Tonight we begin Orientation, and meet everyone on the program. Tomorrow we set off to Khon Kaen, where we will also experience our first temple hike. I am overjoyed to be here right now, and while it is still somewhat surreal, it looks like Thailand is about to become home.
*Added when posting* Today we leave Bangkok at 6AM for a 5 hour drive to Khon Kaen, where we will then hike a mountain and visit a temple. I am very much looking forward to it. Though, considering jetlag has kept me awake since 1AM (Thailand time!), it should be very interesting.
Tonight we begin Orientation, and meet everyone on the program. Tomorrow we set off to Khon Kaen, where we will also experience our first temple hike. I am overjoyed to be here right now, and while it is still somewhat surreal, it looks like Thailand is about to become home.
*Added when posting* Today we leave Bangkok at 6AM for a 5 hour drive to Khon Kaen, where we will then hike a mountain and visit a temple. I am very much looking forward to it. Though, considering jetlag has kept me awake since 1AM (Thailand time!), it should be very interesting.