Visualize:
Loud, caustic voices. Festering pools of litter and murky water. Moisture hanging so thick upon the air that it feels as if you've hit a clammy wall. Smells so foreign that your senses are going haywire. Holding a handful of a strange hodgepodge of currency that makes little sense. Above all, beating, relentless sunlight that has you crawling for the nearest air-conditioned establishment.  This is Bangkok.

But it's not all doom and gloom. You've been thrown together with a jolly lot of British, Irish, and Scottish lads who are just as baffled as you are. The pad thai and chicken curry melt in your mouth and life seems just a bit more optimistic when you suck down that last drop of refreshing Chang beer. This was my first conception of Thailand as I stepped off the plane from alien Taiwan to sweltering Thailand...and into the next phase of my life.

My first meal in Thailand: Thai chicken curry and hard noodles...scruuumptious!

Boarding our boat to the temples.

My favorite mode of transportation: tuk tuk!

Navigating our way through the back alley streets of Bangkok.

Insects galore!

Bangkok was a whirlwind two days of getting utterly lost, visiting majestic temples, and partying on the city's most touristy road: Khao San Rd. The night was filled with drunken shenanigans and struggles to decode warbled Scottish and English accents. Indeed, I feel as if I'm learning two new languages in this foreign land.

I am now settled on the beautiful island of Koh Chang and have many more adventures to regale you all with. Until the next post...xoxo