ImagiNation

One Night in Bangkok

I said good-bye to everyone in my group yesterday. It was sad, but I've already made plans to visit them in Sandusky before I start class in September! Due to the time difference in Kuala Lumpur (that's where we flew to from Ho Chi Minh City) I only had a hour to catch my flight to Bangkok- I barely made as KL's airport is huge. Once in Bangkok, I call the girl I lived with all last year. She told me to take an airport "Limo" (because it is safer than a taxi at night) to a hotel and that they would pick me up there. Well the "limo" turned out to be a Mercedes! This girl was riding in class, plus it was still pretty cheap.
My friend's house is REALLY nice. To be honest, I feel a little out of place. Not because they are not super duper nice to be, but because they have a driver and "help"- as in maids, who clean and make all their food. It was like having dinner at a restaurant tonight, only in their home. This morning I went with her family to the Monk's hospital to pray for her great grandparents (who have passed). If you didn't know this, Buddhist monks in Thailand are not allowed to buy things for themselves, so it is up to the people to give them food and whatever else they may need. They had about 8 monks praying in a beautiful chant that was in harmony. My friend also took to a couple other temples and (I saw one big gold Buddha today). I also asked my friend, since she's Buddhist and all what she thought about American's purchasing Buddhas just for decoration. She was a little confused by it when she first saw it, after all, Thai's don't put pictures or figures of Jesus up in their homes for fun. In the end the only thing that really offended her are the Buddha heads that people display- she it would be like someone just showing Jesus' head as if it's be cut off. I really love Bangkok. It's much more modern than anything I saw in Vietnam- which may or may not be a good thing.
Oh yeah, today I got a traditional Thai massage! I didn't find until after that my friend told them to take it easy on me, because it didn't hurt at all. But it was cool because they used these hot small clay pots filled with something that smelled like Vick's Vapo rub and would wrap in cloth and use it to massage you.

posted by imagine @ 10:04 AM