Running around Bangkok and getting the run-around

Hey guys!

We had a fun day today! We woke up early caught some breakfast at the hotel and left to walk around a little. We walked a few blocks when we were approached by Chang. Chang let us know that it was a religious holiday and that all the temples in town were free and open to the public. He gave us a list of 5 sights to see and told us that a Tuk Tuk could take us around for about $1. He found us a Tuk Tuk and gave our driver instructions. We were off!... We got to see many amazing temples and statues of Buddha. In between a few though our driver told us we had to stop by random shops... The story was that these shops give out gas cards to drivers that bring in tourists. He explained that we needed to spend five minutes or so browsing so he could get paid. The shops were filled with agressive "pushers." Even that was fun though. We told our driver we wanted to eat so he took us to a touristy place across town and he told us he was done for the day. We paid him and went to eat. After we finished our meal we began looking for a new ride only to find that none of the drivers knew where our hotel was only they wouldn't tell us that until they drove us around for a while... Long story short... Two hours later we got back in time for a shower before we met our group and group leader. We just got back from dinner and we enjoyed the company of our entirely unAmerican group.
More to come later.. My minutes are ticking away!

we made it!

After a pretty uneventful 24 hour trip, we've arrived safely to our hotel in Bangkok and even managed to find internet access!

The highlight of the journey was definitely the taxi ride to the hotel... we were approached at the baggage claim by Mai, a Thai restaurant owner. Her restaurant and cooking school are right next to our hotel so we caught a ride together. She was even sweet enough to pay for our taxi fare as long as we come visit her restaurant... so it looks like we have plans for lunch tomorrow!

No worries, we're already having fun!

crunch time

The countdown is really on... we leave for Asia in less than 36 hours.

One of my last minute items is creating this blog. I think it will be the perfect way to keep everyone connected to us as we travel through Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam. The plan is to update as much as possible but who knows how often that'll be. Feel free to send the link on to anyone I may have missed or who may be interested.

We are soooooooo EXCITED!!!!!!

Enjoy the reading!!