When I was reserving airline tickets I checked the box that said "flexible dates". That choice got me a very cheap ticket...yes, round trip...but meant that I arrived in Thailand several days before I begin teaching. Four days in Bangkok gave me time to get over jet lag and adjust to tropical heat...which took me ten minutes.
Bangkok has a good Skytrain (elevated) that is very easy to navigate and adds length every year I return. Using the Skytrain I visited various parts of the city. Exiting the train I would explore the neighborhood on foot then use the train to return to my hotel which is a near a stop.
Usually I stay at the Bangkok Christian Guesthouse (BCGH) but they were full so I booked the hotel next door, LeSiam, formerly The Swiss Lodge. It cost about $15.00 more a day but their fabulous breakfast was almost worth it. At the BCGH it's fried eggs one day and poached the next, repeat...
This is the first time I've carried a laptop so I thought I'd use the in-room safe. However, it wouldn't open later when I tried. It took the hotel staff 45 minutes to open it...some comfort in that...and they said it was fixed. NOT...the next time it took and hour and a half to open.
The Bangkok skyline is filled with construction cranes erecting many new skyscrapers. It appears to be a building boom.
A Bangkok billboard advertising Toyota proclaims "YOU ARE WHAT YOU DRIVE". That makes me a 2005 Honda Element!
The hour mini-bus drive from Bangkok to Ayutthaya is a tour of Thailand's industrial center. Not at all the beautiful tropical scenes often associated with the country.
"My" Thai family gave me a warm welcome back for my eighth year. Nice is now twenty months old and full of energy. I'll include pictures soon. They've made plans for an outing tomorrow, Sunday, but, evoking my mantra "all will be revealed" I'll find out in due time.
Monday will be my first day at school...9th year there and 10th of teaching here.
It is my intention to blog regularly now.
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