what I did this weekend

yesterday was our last day in bangkok, and becky’s brother, bob, and his friend john finally caught up to us around 2pm, 12 hours before we caught our flight out. Unlike us, bob and john actually learned a bit og thai, and became very good at chatting up strangers with bits of their silliness. The most striking thing about john and bob in thailand is their height. They are both well over 6 feet tall, and in relative terms, they are giants in thailand. Americans always stand out in thailand, but in a sea of american hippie backpackers, these guys stand out in an almost freakish way. unsuspecting vendors would approach with the usual push of crap bracelets, t-shirts, or factory reject silk scarves. John would fire back with an almost intimidating if it weren’t so jovial style of bartering that worked like magic. While I hestitated in the corners wondering if I was breaking the rules of engagement, john seemed to be making his own rules, and since he knew just enough thai to crack jokes along the way, the sellers were always compelled to meet his demands. Bob and john together were and unstoppable force blowing through the market with their oversized knock-off north face duffle slung like a knapsack, these giants got good at returning stares with smiles. From the cab, bob would make faces at the girls on the street that got caught looking at us. she played back by sticking a french fry up her nose. some things are universal I guess.

overall, it was great to finally see these guys. Meeting up with friends and family in a foreign place after seeing so many strangers is a rare treat. We had such different journeys, but in a few short hours, we were able to create a shared memory that has made me appreciate my travels even more.

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becky and I left the boys at the night bazaar around 9:30. after a few unsuccessful attempts, we finally found a taxi driver willing to take us across town to our guesthouse. Bangkok is all lit up right now in celebration of the king’s birthday. It’s like the forth of july, except it’s lasting all week. There was a huge parade and royal appearance at the palace very near our guesthouse. The rediculous Bangkok traffic was even worse than usual, and nobody wanted to waste time going that far, at least not with stubborn americans that wouldn’t be suckered into paying triple fair for the journey.

we made it back to the guesthouse by 10. I took my last cold shower in the shared bath area, threw on a recently purchased t-shirt (clean for once), and rearranged luggage before we jumped in the “Shanti Taxi” for the airport. The taxi was a plain back car driven by someone who seemed like a brother-in-law or cousin of the guesthouse owners. He was definitely not a regular driver, as he was not running red lights or speeding through alleys like the rest. But, we got to the airport in plenty of time for our 1:50 flight.

my last bit of asian noodle soup turned out to be ramen noodles, but it was good to eat before getting on the plane. The 6 hour flight to seoul was smooth, and I was really only awake for about 15 minutes when food was served.

9am arrival in seoul, with our flight to seattle at 6:30. Luckily there is a nice transit lounge here with free internet access. But, now I’m distracted by a huge Samsung plasma display directly over my shoulder blaring Titanic with Korean subtitles.

3 hours left to wait. I’m anxious to see my dog. Thanks for the comments and emails. See you all soon.