have been memorable…if I had to put it into words. This trip has started off very well. The flights were great…especially the first leg from Los Angeles to Taipei…it was “all you can do” entertainment, from self select movies on your personal TV to “on demand” games! I watched a Bollywood film with 2 of the students I am traveling with and I watched the Back Up Plan. I also played at least 100 rounds of Mahjong which was fun because the electronic/computer players moved a lot faster than real life players so the games flew by…and I only won a few individual games. The food on the plane was excellent! My fave was the beef with noodles…the beef was so tender! The entire trip we were served a total of 3 meals and 2 snacks…I wish US airline companies would do what Asia airlines do…it makes the flight so much more enjoyable!

Once I was back on solid ground (at least for a few days) I arrived at my Hotel which was tucked away so the taxi driver got lost. He asked for directions and safely found our destination. The room is cozy with a King size bed and has everything I would need. All that really matters is that the A/C works because this 100% humidity is killin’ me! It’s somewhat of a walk from things, but I don’t mind the exercise. I walked to the Sheraton which sits right along the Chao Phraya River. I ate Pad Thai for lunch and it was yummy! Went shopping at River City Market. Saw a temple and the hotel concierge (that’s the title I gave him) drove me through Chinatown…then dropped me off at the Patpong night market to see the sights and potential goods to take home! :). At Patpong they had a celebration for the Queens birthday and I held a candle and sang with the locals to celebrate the Queen.

On my walk home I decided to stop in Silom Village for some dinner and had an excellent sea bass meal with a spicy fish sauce. SO GOOD! I ate the whole thing, except the head. Then when I got back to the hotel…not 15 minutes later it started to pour down rain. I truly believe the buddhas were keeping me safe until I returned. I was exhausted and as soon as I finished with my hot shower…there was no way I could stay up and I fell asleep writing this blog. So here I am at 3:00 AM local time finishing this. I’m planning to see a few more temples today, so I need to catch a few more hours of sleep…maybe a Muay Thai boxing match tonight if I’m lucky! 🙂 Stay tuned…