Our First Morning in Thailand…Welcome to International Travel

When Lindsay and I were first married she was always talking about Thailand and how bad she wanted to go there. I am not sure what made her first start obsessing about this country but I really wanted to take her there. I began watching our finances very closely and decided we had just barely enough money to take a 2 week trip to this amazing country. Plus to earn a little extra cash we ended up painting the interior of my families two story office building which took much longer than we expected. :) At first we were just going to go to Phuket but Lindsay informed me that this was probably the last place she wanted to see in Thailand so we did some research and decided to hit up Bangkok, Chiang Mai and Krabi. Lindsay and I had both traveled through Europe extensively, and I had even been to South America when I was younger, but this was going to be our first international trip together (our honeymoon in Mexico doesn’t really count). After months of research I decided on a great little hotel in Bangkok to spend our first night in. This gem of a place was called Hotel Swana and was tucked neatly away on a non touristy street in the heart of Bangkok. We arrived in this incredible city late at night and took a taxi to our hotel. Both of us were glued to the windows as we winded our way through the amazing metropolis of Bangkok. I will never forget that initial feeling of excitement, addiction and terror as I knew I was about to be dropped off in such a foreign place. We eventually made in to Hotel Swana and checked-in to our amazingly cute/modern room (which was seriously like 105 degrees until the AC kicked on). It was late and we both just crashed as we couldn't wait until morning so that we could start exploring. As the sun came up the next day I climbed out of bed and glanced out of our 5th floor window and couldn’t believe my eyes. The street life below us was absolutely incredible. There were people coming/going, selling goods, etc. Furthermore, directly across the street from our hotel was a beautiful Wat (temple) with the typical Thai architectural elements of red roofs, sharp lines, gold spires, etc. Lindsay joined me at the window and we both just stared in awe out our window. After an amazing breakfast we hit the streets to explore. We really didn’t know were to go but I knew that only a few blocks from our hotel was the incredible Rama VIII bridge. This amazing structure opened in 2002 and has a large single pillar supporting numerous cables which of course hold up the entire structure. It is simple, elegant and one of the prettiest bridges I have ever seen. The walk from our hotel to this bridge was incredible. As I mentioned earlier we were off the main tourist roads of Bangkok so we really experienced the local street scene. There were shop owners preparing their shops for the days business, street vendors selling food, locals sitting on the ground cooking food, etc, etc. This mixed with the loud traffic and other urban sounds really helped us realize we were in an exotic location. I can literally trace my love for travel to this first morning walking the streets of Bangkok. The sights, smells and sounds did something to me and Lindsay that started an incredible addiction to travel that still exists today. We were so unprepared that all we had with us was our lonely planet guide…we didn't even have a day bag or anything. :) We eventually made it to the RAMA VIII bridge just as the morning sun was starting to shine across the city. Through the haze/smog you could see the vast, and endless, urban jungle that is the city of Bangkok. We stood on this bridge for probably an hour just watching the boats, admiring the city and trying to take in the incredible scene in front of us. We just kept looking at each other and saying…this is incredible. The simple experience of walking through the streets to RAMA VIII bridge our first morning in Bangkok was the start of a very long and adventurous love affair with travel for Lindsay and I. We will simply never forget it.