Bangkok

Overall, I wasn't impressed with Bangkok. It's just a big city with very little character. As a tourist there are lots of pagodas to visit and the architecture of those is cool, but I wouldn't want to live there. It was just a big, dirty city congested with too many cars.

That said, on Monday I did a bike tour with my friend Adrie that was enjoyable. The city part was alright, but then we crossed the river in a longtail boat (with the bikes shipped over too) and rode on a narrow elevated pathway in the jungle on the other side. That was the highlight because it felt like we were nowhere near the city. And technically, our guide said we were no longer in Bangkok once we crossed over the river.

On Tuesday I walked to a museum where there were some traditional Thai houses on stilts, along with pottery, jewelry, and tools that had been excavated from throughout Thailand. It was a cool museum and I had nothing else to do so I took my time. Then I went and got two massages: a 1 hour foot massage and a 1 hour traditional Thai massage, all for 240 Baht (~$7). Thai massage is different than a normal massage. They move you and bend you all around. A few times it hurt my hips some because of the way they were bending my legs, but overall it was definitely worth it!!

I got back to Pyeongtaek yesterday (Wed) evening and now (Thurs a.m.) I'm back in school already.

8 days of teaching including today, and 12 days total until I'm home!!