The first 24

Tuesday November 1--1:00pm local time

Spent majority of yesterday figuring out, well trying to figure out, what exactly my plan was in thailand. Spent the morning scouring the markets in Bangkok. As I walked past the food carts, I the first meat I saw on a skewer. Actually, I bought two. It appeared to be grilled pork.  As I took my first bite of authentic Thai food, I realized it was not pork rather an organ meat.  Round 1-Bangkok  The texture was smooth like a pate, so I was thinking liver.  Not the best breakfast.  So here I am walking around with two pig kidney skewers and an empty stomach.  I gave one to a beggar and threw away the one I had taken a bite out of. Problem solved.   

I spent the rest of my day reconfiguring plans, taxiing back to the airport, catching a flight north to Sukhothai, and crashing in a new bed--hard. 

On a side note I can report what I've seem regarding the floods which everyone is concerned about.   Downtown Bangkok seemed very normal. Some of the stores had sandbags in front, but I did not see any water in the parts I was exploring.  People don't see overly concerned.  On the other hand, flying north was something totally different.   From 20,000 feet I could see the destruction.  Entire towns were underwater.  I could even see the ancient capital of Ayutthaya which I could make out using the map in my guidebook.  The water went on for miles. Sometimes all I saw were buildings poking out of the water here and there. It makes me thankful for what I have.  And I know a lot of people say that,myself included, but I've never personally witnesses the destruction of a natural disaster until today. 5 years ago we read about the wrath and devastation of hurricane Katrina, and this is probably equal- not in terms of dollars, but in terms of people's lives.  

Needless to say I'm humbled 


I am now in Sukhothai enjoying a Chang beer (22 amazing ounces  for under $2) after an exciting morning of temple exploring. I will share more about that later.  I am in real Thailand now-- the constant sound of 2-cycle motorbikes and tuk-tuks, no real traffic laws, and people who are super friendly (except the bike rental shop owner whose lock I lost the key to...she was piiiissed). I can't wait to share more. 

Jeff