One Night in Bangkok

I’m not sure what day it is. I believe it’s very early morning on Tuesday in Bangkok. That makes it about 2 p.m. in Denver, which probably explains why I’m wide awake even after sleeping only about six hours in the last 45.

So now, having taken perhaps the most needed shower of my life, I'm sitting crossed-legged on the tiny, tiled patio in the room where I’m spending the night in Bangkok until my flight leaves tomorrow. Earlier, when I stepped outside the impressive new terminal of the Suvarnabmuni ("Su-van-a-pum," go figure) airport, the heavy tropical air met me at the doorway and hung in my hair and recurled my unwashed curls all the way to the hotel. The air condition in the van and the room was welcome.

Now, I don’t want to go back inside. The air condition feels so sterile and, in a very cool, refreshing way, strangely stuffy. Outside, I’ve never smelled air like this before. I suppose it could just be the smell of pollution, but the tropical air is heavy and muggy; the crickets are chirping, just audible above the hum of the air conditioner; the occasional insect buzzes between the palm trees while they rock back and forth in the breeze; and the city lights make the clouds glow like giant rolling sheets of mist. Motorcycles are passing by in the street just beyond where the hotel is tucked away from the highway, and Thai music is pulsing from one of the neighboring apartment rooms. It's almost a drugging effect, all of this. I would like to sit here for a very long time.

But about the trip. The Pacific Ocean, as it turns out, is rather expansive. That translates into a very long flight. But I did sit next to two very friendly girls from Singapore on the way from LA to Tokyo--they’d just spent a few weeks studying in Oklahoma City. A thrilling study abroad experience, I guess.

We landed in Tokyo, and the Narita airport is either nothing too exciting or I was half asleep. Our flight left in the evening for Bangkok, and I watched from my window seat as twilight fell over Japan, the cities lighting up all along the islands that are surrounded by this great wall of ocean on both sides. The water literally looked like it was having to be held back.

On the way to Bangkok, I sat next to a woman from Thailand who has lived in Oklahoma for years. Apparently Oklahoma is a popular place nowadays...who knew. She was telling me all about Thailand and teaching me a few Thai phrases. But since landing in Bangkok, people’s faces seem to get this amused smile each time I say hello or thank you, so I wonder what I’m actually saying.

Strange feeling #1: landing in the airport, tired, taller than just about everyone, and clearly a tourist with a confused, half-awake stare that, I assume, had a lot to do with why everyone was being so overly helpful.
Strange feeling #2: actually considering asking the three-year-old Thai children for help when I overheard them speaking Thai fluently.
Strange feeling #3: chasing down the terminal after a well-intentioned shuttle driver from another hotel very quickly whisked my suitcase away. He was smiling and apologetic every time he walked by while I waited for the right shuttle. I assured him it was quite all right.

Oh, and it's started thundering now--long, rolling swells through the sky like a soundtrack to the lightning show in the distance. Yes, I think I love this.

And Away We Go

Before I say anything about Thailand, today is my sister's 15th birthday, and I would like to wish her a wonderful day. I would also offer a word of warning to all registered drivers planning to commute anywhere in the Denver area this summer.

That being said, Facebook has just informed me that three of the interns who I'll be traveling with this summer have already made it to Chiang Mai, and another is set to leave tomorrow. Facebook will also inform you that I'm leaving on Sunday--in about 31 hours, actually. Next time you hear from me, I'll be about 14 hours ahead of you and probably a bit jet lagged, but hopefully doing fine otherwise and ready to spend the summer in Thailand.

I've had no idea what to expect or how to prepare for ten weeks in Chiang Mai. Apparently we're in the tropics, so after much prompting from individuals concerned with my well-being this summer, I'm stocked with enough bug spray to ward off a jungle, enough medicine to ward off the most irksome of intestinal concerns and general health issues, and the most lightweight clothes I've been able to find. So the challenge really is packing these "necessary" supplies into a suitcase and backpack. Which is, of course, a more fitting activity for more like 8 hours before I leave.

But prepared or not, I would mostly like to thank everyone again for all the support you've already given us. I can't begin to thank all of you who encouraged us in this process, donated money to fund our trip, and prayed so sincerely. I was asked the other day how it made me feel that so many people have given so generously and been so supportive, and quite honestly I'm not entirely sure. The word that comes to mind is humbling. I suppose there is a sense of responsibility as well. Really, though, all I know to say is thank you. Khop kun mak ka.

And thank you to my family who is 1) letting me spend the summer away from home and 2) trying not to worry too much, or at least not showing it. I love you, and I promise to be very careful.

I'll be posting more as soon as I recover from jet lag--and excitement--and gain a basic orientation with the places and people in Chiang Mai. These posts will, I hope, become substantially more interesting in just a few days.

Until then, blessings.

Juliana