Sometimes I just have to take a pause and realize just how amazing this world can be. Let me step back a bit first and set the scene for you.
So my second day in Bangkok started out with me sleeping for a total of TWELVE hours! I was completely shocked! I have chronic insomnia and difficulty sleeping so I can't tell you the last time I've had a solid 6 or even 7 hours of sleep, much less 12! It goes without saying that I felt pretty rested.
That morning I managed to Facetime/Skype (when one application stopped working we moved on to the next one!) with my parents which was much appreciated. I've been feeling tinges of loneliness and homesickness ever since I arrived in Thailand. I hate to admit these feelings though because I'm supposed to be strong, and I want to live up to all my travel idols abilities to be steadfast and strong in the face of solo travel. But I still felt it. I miss Danny terribly and with lack of communication between us it makes my trip all the more nerve-wracking.
I made my way over to the boat terminal, kind of in a funk. I was comparing myself to all the groups of happy hostel-hoppers that I came into contact with, couples holding hands as they marveled at all the things I was seeing....by myself. But just as I was feeling truly down in the dumps I swear the travel gods were on my side to turn that downer train around!
At the boat pier I met three really awesome blokes from Montreal who were on their way to Wat Pho, the temple I had visited the day before. I offered to show them the way and they gratefully accepted. So we all made our way to Wat Pho, chatting along the way, I practiced my rusty French with them which they assured me was still very very good! Instant boost of confidence right there! ;)
I dropped the boys off at Wat Pho and we parted ways as I headed back over to the Grand Palace. I had to borrow a skirt and shirt from the Grand Palace, which is customary among most of the temples and religious sites. Modesty is very very important in Buddhism and even though I was wearing capri length workout pants I was told I would still have to borrow the pants. Dang.
Donned in my oversized new clothes I made my way to the giant temple complex that is the Grand Palace. The Grand Palace is a mixture of government buildings, traditional Thai temples, and royal residences. It also houses the Emerald Buddha, which I was not allowed to take pictures of as is the case of a lot of Buddhas. In any case, here it is in all its glory!
So my second day in Bangkok started out with me sleeping for a total of TWELVE hours! I was completely shocked! I have chronic insomnia and difficulty sleeping so I can't tell you the last time I've had a solid 6 or even 7 hours of sleep, much less 12! It goes without saying that I felt pretty rested.
That morning I managed to Facetime/Skype (when one application stopped working we moved on to the next one!) with my parents which was much appreciated. I've been feeling tinges of loneliness and homesickness ever since I arrived in Thailand. I hate to admit these feelings though because I'm supposed to be strong, and I want to live up to all my travel idols abilities to be steadfast and strong in the face of solo travel. But I still felt it. I miss Danny terribly and with lack of communication between us it makes my trip all the more nerve-wracking.
I made my way over to the boat terminal, kind of in a funk. I was comparing myself to all the groups of happy hostel-hoppers that I came into contact with, couples holding hands as they marveled at all the things I was seeing....by myself. But just as I was feeling truly down in the dumps I swear the travel gods were on my side to turn that downer train around!
At the boat pier I met three really awesome blokes from Montreal who were on their way to Wat Pho, the temple I had visited the day before. I offered to show them the way and they gratefully accepted. So we all made our way to Wat Pho, chatting along the way, I practiced my rusty French with them which they assured me was still very very good! Instant boost of confidence right there! ;)
I dropped the boys off at Wat Pho and we parted ways as I headed back over to the Grand Palace. I had to borrow a skirt and shirt from the Grand Palace, which is customary among most of the temples and religious sites. Modesty is very very important in Buddhism and even though I was wearing capri length workout pants I was told I would still have to borrow the pants. Dang.
Donned in my oversized new clothes I made my way to the giant temple complex that is the Grand Palace. The Grand Palace is a mixture of government buildings, traditional Thai temples, and royal residences. It also houses the Emerald Buddha, which I was not allowed to take pictures of as is the case of a lot of Buddhas. In any case, here it is in all its glory!
Absolutely breathtaking! I just can't believe the immense detail on these temples, it's amazing!
After spending about 2 hours at the Grand Palace I decided I wanted to go to Terminal 21, a giant shopping mall with a cool travel theme. But I couldn't figure out how to get there....I asked about 4 different people and got 4 different responses. So super helpful. I eventually hopped on what I thought was the right bus only to end up on the entirely opposite end of Bangkok, very very lost.
I was starting to freak out a little bit and felt all the more alone and homesick. There were moments of, "What the hell did I sign up for?!" for sure as I stood, mouth agape, tears welling in my eyes just looking both ways over and over again without a clue as to where I was.
I stopped in a 7/11 and bought a cold drink and an ice cream bar because I was dying of hunger and it seemed to help me calm down a bit. Thank goodness for ice cream that's all I have to say. An old man saw me looking very confused and offered to help me out. He told me to get back on the bus I had jumped off of and keep going. So I did that and as the bus trundled along the road I saw another shopping center, the MBK. I wanted to eat some real food and take a break from public transit so I decided to reroute and head inside the MBK.
The MBK is a massive structure of ever single thing you could ever want to buy in life and then about 10 million other sellers peddling that same exact thing. It's mind boggling how any of the thousands of cell phone charger, purse, watch, shoe, ipad case, iPhone case, and every other type of sellers make money! I wandered around for awhile until I decided I would just head back to the hostel, feeling a bit bummed out that I hadn't found Terminal 21.
As I was going down the escalator something magical happened. The travel gods reappeared and there they were again! My three Montreal fellows! I mean, that just baffles my mind; that I would run into the same three gents on the entirely opposite end of Bangkok, in a GIANT shopping mall with billions of escalators, at that exact moment in time, when I wasn't even supposed to be here in the first place is INCREDIBLE.
We all couldn't believe our luck and I stuck around with the boys for awhile, meandering our way around the mall and eventually stopping in the International Food Court for a bite to eat. I was STARVING at this point and in desperate need of sustinance so I was glad we were able to sit for awhile and just enjoy each others' company. I ordered a bowl of vegetable pho for about 200 baht ($6) and it was absolutely delicious. The boys all got Thai food and were choking from the spice, it was hilarious!
Two of the guys wanted to buy, in their words, "cheap, fake watches that don't look like fake watches" and we were definitely in the right place. They eventually found what they were looking for at a decent enough price and we called it a day.
We parted ways once again, but not before getting each others' contact information and sharing this cleverely snapped photo, courtesy of their selfie stick (which I totally gave them a hard time for!):
After spending about 2 hours at the Grand Palace I decided I wanted to go to Terminal 21, a giant shopping mall with a cool travel theme. But I couldn't figure out how to get there....I asked about 4 different people and got 4 different responses. So super helpful. I eventually hopped on what I thought was the right bus only to end up on the entirely opposite end of Bangkok, very very lost.
I was starting to freak out a little bit and felt all the more alone and homesick. There were moments of, "What the hell did I sign up for?!" for sure as I stood, mouth agape, tears welling in my eyes just looking both ways over and over again without a clue as to where I was.
I stopped in a 7/11 and bought a cold drink and an ice cream bar because I was dying of hunger and it seemed to help me calm down a bit. Thank goodness for ice cream that's all I have to say. An old man saw me looking very confused and offered to help me out. He told me to get back on the bus I had jumped off of and keep going. So I did that and as the bus trundled along the road I saw another shopping center, the MBK. I wanted to eat some real food and take a break from public transit so I decided to reroute and head inside the MBK.
The MBK is a massive structure of ever single thing you could ever want to buy in life and then about 10 million other sellers peddling that same exact thing. It's mind boggling how any of the thousands of cell phone charger, purse, watch, shoe, ipad case, iPhone case, and every other type of sellers make money! I wandered around for awhile until I decided I would just head back to the hostel, feeling a bit bummed out that I hadn't found Terminal 21.
As I was going down the escalator something magical happened. The travel gods reappeared and there they were again! My three Montreal fellows! I mean, that just baffles my mind; that I would run into the same three gents on the entirely opposite end of Bangkok, in a GIANT shopping mall with billions of escalators, at that exact moment in time, when I wasn't even supposed to be here in the first place is INCREDIBLE.
We all couldn't believe our luck and I stuck around with the boys for awhile, meandering our way around the mall and eventually stopping in the International Food Court for a bite to eat. I was STARVING at this point and in desperate need of sustinance so I was glad we were able to sit for awhile and just enjoy each others' company. I ordered a bowl of vegetable pho for about 200 baht ($6) and it was absolutely delicious. The boys all got Thai food and were choking from the spice, it was hilarious!
Two of the guys wanted to buy, in their words, "cheap, fake watches that don't look like fake watches" and we were definitely in the right place. They eventually found what they were looking for at a decent enough price and we called it a day.
We parted ways once again, but not before getting each others' contact information and sharing this cleverely snapped photo, courtesy of their selfie stick (which I totally gave them a hard time for!):
I hope our paths cross again but I am just so grateful for the day spent with the Montrealeans (new word, bare with me!). That is one of the things I love most about travel: you could be having a really really bad day, or even just missing home and your loved ones and then a chance encounter with some really awesome fellow travelers can have the power to turn your day around entirely. Getting lost becomes not such a bad thing when you end up being in the right place at the right time, even if you never knew it. Travel has the ability to bring people together from all walks of life; regardless of nationality, ethnicity, beliefs we are all woven together through the shared experience of travel and that is just awe-inspiring. This truly is a wonderful world, my friends.
Until next time!
Happy Travels!
-Freckles
Until next time!
Happy Travels!
-Freckles