Welcome to Bangkok!

Here we are! Kate’s third trip, but the boys’ and my first trip. From the time we left our house to the time we got to the apartment we’re staying at, it was about 30 hours of travel. Overall, the boys were champs. 15 hour flights are not easy. We flew from South Korea for a 6 hour flight to Bangkok. A slight mishap with the ground transportation when we arrived only resulted in a short delay in getting to the apartment.

The food on the flights was not bad, but the boys had little interest in Korean style beef. That was the kid’s option on the Korea to Bangkok leg. We’re not in the USA anymore! On the first leg, they did have pizza and french fries for the boys, though, so that was good. My wife and I had bibimbap, which was surprisingly good for airplane food.

We got to the apartment we’re staying in around 3:30am Bangkok time. We got the boys in their pajamas, and we were all asleep within 20 minutes of arriving. We were all spent, but in really good shape, considering.

Day one: we all woke up just shy of noon. Kate ran out to get some breakfast from the place just outside. Milkland - yummy bread with different toppings and some shakes.

After breakfast, we went to the rooftop pool and swam for about an hour in the infinity pool. Really beautiful view of the city from here.

After that, we all got showered off, and walked around the area. We’re southwest of the river, so we’re in the ‘burbs of Bangkok. But it’s still bustling with activity. Directly outside our building is a day market and night market. The day market was closed by the time we got outside, and the night market was just getting set up. So much good food there! I can’t wait to try it all! A five minute walk up the road took us to BASIS International School Bangkok, where my wife will be working and our boys will be going to school next year. We continued past the school to Central Rama 2 shopping center.

Central Rama 2 is a MASSIVE shopping mall. When we first walked in, we were surrounded by countless restaurants, each one looking more delicious than the last. I didn’t actually count, but I think there are 5 floors to this mall. Each floor has at least a half dozen restaurants, and each floor seemed to have a theme of the types of stores. There were housegoods stores, technology stores, car dealers, toys, clothes, shoes, etc… And food, food food. The basement has a grocery store that has anything you could think of. There won’t be an issue getting food the boys will eat, thankfully. But we’re still going to do our best to introduce them to the local cuisine.

We got the boys KFC, and Kate and I went to a ramen place. It was absolutely delicious. I can’t tell if I’m going to get fat from eating so much, or lose weight from walking so much.

After day one, my first impressions are that the people here are lovely! Everyone we’ve come across is really nice. Nobody is in a hurry! Everyone takes their time, and just walks a few steps slower than what I’m used to in the States. It is very relaxing.

This is the first time in my life I’ve been the outside, though. It’s a new experience being the one that doesn’t speak the language. Not being able to read signs is daunting. Most people seem to have at least a small working knowledge of English, and they all seem to make an effort to help. Whenever I say “hello” or “thank you” in Thai (presently the only things I know how to say along with “not spicy”), the people’s faces light up and seem so appreciative. I hope to spend my time before we move learning at least a little of the language.

Oh, and the toilets. Every toilet has a butt wash or bidet. I quickly came to the realization Americans are savages. How does every toilet not have either a bidet or butt wash attached to it?

Now that we’re here, and I’m considering the fact my wife and boys will be in school during the day, and I’ll be here by myself, I wonder how I’ll spend my time. I’m probably most nervous at this point of being an island. Not knowing anyone back home is OK because I speak the language and can at least have a conversation with a stranger at a store if I have questions about something or need help with anything. I know there is a vast ex-pat community, so I’ll certainly be looking into finding those folks.

I’ll also be looking for the jazz scene here. After a cursory google search, there are a bunch of clubs, and they aren’t prohibitively far from where we’ll be living.

I’m definitely anxious about finding my place here. That’s the most stressful part of the process now that we’re here for our first visit. I also need to remind myself that this first week I’ll be watching over the boys as Kate will be working, so I don’t have time to go off on my own and explore the things I need to so I can acclimate and figure my path while we’re here.

The only time in my life I can relate this feeling to is getting to college. The sense of unfamiliarity and not knowing anyone. Starting completely with a clean slate, but with the added challenge of not knowing the language, people or customs. I remind myself college turned out great, and I made some of my best friends through it. I am optimistic this chapter will lead to the same things.