On the road again...

Photos/more photos to come:

Captain's Log: Star date...oh, who the heck knows what day it is any more. A long time ago, in a galaxy far far away (the time was Tuesday morning, and the galaxy was Washington, DC -- and yes, I am aware of the absurdity of mixing Star Trek and Star Wars references) Emily and I embarked on our grand tour of Southeast Asia. Because we don't start work until September 28, we'll be traveling around Southeast Asia for the next 5 weeks, which means that the Intrepid Traveler is back in action baby! We're going to be visiting Thailand, Vietnam, and Cambodia in what should be quite an adventure. 

We start out in Bangkok, where I'm currently writing this post while drinking an ice-cold Chang lager (it's not Yuengling, but it'll do). Getting to Bangkok was no small feat, however. We had a 15 hour flight from DC to Dubai, a 7 hour layover in Dubai, and another 6 hour flight from Dubai to Bangkok. We discovered that the Dubai International Airport is quite close to the downtown area, and so we decided to get out of the airport and explore the city a bit. I was worried about two former Birthright participants with Israel stamps trying to go into the United Arab Emirates for no apparent reason, but my fears were entirely unfounded; apparently, the UAE ain't got nothing on the TSA. "Ever been to the UAE before?" "Nope." "Do you have any friends or family here?" "Nope." "OK, enjoy your visit." Crazy stuff. Anyways, the part of Dubai that we saw was incredible. About 20 years ago, Dubai decided that they wanted to be a major international city, and chose to construct dozens of new skyscrapers. So, they took an area of the desert on the outskirts of Dubai, and just up and turned it into a modern city. There's giant skyscrapers next to empty lots of sand, which will probably spring into tall buildings in the next couple years. We went to the Dubai Mall, which boasts its own indoor aquarium (where you can go shark diving), an indoor ice skating rink, AND access to the largest building in the world, the Burj Khalifa. For the next four years (until 2019 when Saudi Arabia finishes their behemoth tower) the Burj Khalifa is the tallest man-made structure, and it is insane! Some 160+ stories, the Burj Khalifa totally dominates the Dubai skyline. We got to the mall before most of the shops opened, but were able to go up to the observation deck of the tower on floor 124 (the elevator takes you up 124 flights in 60 seconds!). This wasn't near the top of the building, but even from that height the tops of the other skyscrapers look tiny. It was quite an impressive site.

 After coming down from the Burj Khalifa we walked around the rest of the mall. Dubai (and I'm sure other parts of the Arab world) is a crazy combination of traditional Muslim culture and modern Western influence. In one part of the mall, there's a traditional Arab Souk where men wearing long white gowns and Khafias walk briskly in front of their head-to-toe-clad wives; turn the corner, and you run into a Shake Shack and Tim Horton's. Weird. After taking in the culture for a bit more we headed back to the airport, where we had another flight to get to Bangkok. We arrived at 1am, and after clearing customs and getting our bags (YES, they both made it!) we headed to our hotel, which was near the airport. 

This morning, after a restful night's sleep, we had breakfast at the hotel and relaxed a bit by the pool (surprisingly nice for the price we paid -- $35 for the night, which we're coming to find is quite standard for good rooms). Google Maps said we were only 30 minutes from our next hotel in downtown Bangkok -- WRONG. New Asia lesson: while Google Maps may be reliable in the States, traffic in Bangkok can spring out of nowhere, and taxi drivers are insane and might not take the best route, even when driving for a flat rate. Nearly an hour and a half later, we made it to our hotel, a highly recommended hostel in the center of town. This isn't your grungy, dorm room, get kidnapped and murdered hostel though (breathe easy, Becky Batt). It's basically a 3 star hotel, with a common area where fellow backpackers hang out, play pool, use the computers, and watch TV. We've got our own room with a king-size bed, shower, A/C, hot water -- Emily and I are both pleased. 

The goal for today was to explore Wat Pho, and to eat Pad Thai (I know, we set the expectations high over here) and we accomplished both of them! Wat Pho is one of the most famous sites in Bangkok,

and one of our must-sees on this trip. It's a large Buddhist temple complex next to the Bangkok Grand Palace. We took the advice of the front desk guy in the hostel and traveled by boat up the river. After a 10 minute walk to the water, we paid about a dollar and were dropped off 20 minutes up the river right by Wat Pho. After some quick Thai street food (I don't want to know what kind of meat it was -- sorry Liam -- but it was delicious!) we headed into Wat Pho. It was absolutely stunning, there's really no way to describe it. It's a huge complex of interconnected courtyards, temples, and Buddha statues. All the buildings have beautifully colorful roof patterns, and everything is gilded with gold, gems, and mother of pearl. We saw the huge

Reclining Buddha statue, but the highlight of the day was yet to come, because Wat Pho is also home to the school of Thai/Buddhist massages. For $12, we each got an hour-long full-body Thai massage. I don't want to make anybody too jealous, so I'll just stop there. 

Feeling relaxed from our massages, we took a walk to a place I had read was supposed to have the best Pad Thai in Thailand, Thip Samai. It really was fantastic, and was a great culinary way to top of what was a great first full day in Asia; hopefully just the start of things to come! Emily and I are now just schmoozing in the hostel lobby, trying to stay awake a little longer so we can sleep through the night, but fading fast. I think it's about time to give in and head to bed. Tomorrow we're exploring the Royal Palace, Thai Chinatown, and some other sides, sounds, and smells. Here's our soundtrack of the day: One Night in Bangkok. Enjoy!  http://youtu.be/RAIFOR0Tmyw