Dallas to Bangkok

Sawatdee Korp,

 After almost a week in Bangkok, this is just about the only thing I know how to say in Thai (standard hello/welcome greeting).  It doesn't take long to figure out that Thai is a very complicated language, both phonetically and in print....so I am not going to waste much time trying to become fluent because I only have 6 weeks here, and I imagine I would need something in the order of 6 years to become proficient.

I guess before I go into the details of my trip thus far, I should start by explaining why I am even here to begin with.  As some of you who are reading this know, I was accepted into the University of North Carolina full time MBA program.  I will be moving out to Chapel Hill in late June, so I figured it was a perfect opportunity to take a little time off and see a new part of the world before I dive head first back into College.  Southeast Asia seemed like a great place to explore….and so, here I am, on the other side of the world, hoping to gain a few lasting memories, make a few friends and find out a little bit more about myself all at once.  My plan is to update this blog at least once a week, and hopefully internet connections will allow more….but we will see, and I hope you enjoy the blog!

My journey to Bangkok began in Dallas on March 1st when my flight left DFW at 4:30 pm....and a quick 10 hours later, I found myself on a five hour layover in Frankfurt Germany.  Now, I'm sure you are wondering why I flew east instead of west in route to Bangkok....turns out Thailand is basically the farthest place on Earth from Dallas, so it really doesn't matter which way you go because it's a long ways either way.   After a few Weissbeirs and a bratwurst, I prepped for my next flight bound to Bangkok.  A few things jumped out at me while I was waiting to board the plane…..first, I was once again reminded that the Germans and I don’t see eye to eye when it comes to fashion; and second, all but 15 or 20 people on my flight (out of a couple hundred) were Caucasian.  This really surprised me, but I guess it makes sense due to Thailand’s internationally driven economy.  After an additional 11 plus hours I was given to digest all of this, I was in Bangkok.  By the time I stepped off the plane, almost 25 hours had passed from the moment I boarded my flight in Dallas.  I had also traveled through several time zones, which helped explain why I was passing through customs on the morning of March 3^rd (2 days after my departure). 

Feeling a little beaten down after the journey, I was very excited to be greeted at the airport by my Aunt Merrie.  Merrie and my Uncle Bert have lived in Bangkok for two and a half years when Deloitte gave Bert a great promotion if he would relocate to Bangkok.  His job keeps him very busy, so Merrie has become very involved in many non-profit activities to raise money for local charitable foundations.  They have a wonderful apartment in the central business district which allows Bert to walk home from the office every night, a full time maid that irons everything (including your underwear) and they have two great dogs Max and Sam…..anyways, it was great to see a familiar face after a long trip.  We 

jumped in the car, which is driven by their personal driver Surop.  I thought I was good with directions and navigation, but Surop puts me to shame…..Bangkok is about the most confusing place I have been in terms of its layout and size, and Surop has the place down.  I think I could get use to having him drive me around……..so we went back to their place and I got unpacked and showered.  Merrie is an expert in switching time zones, so she informed me that even though I had only slept about 7 hours over the past 48, I would have to gut through the entire day (it was only 7 am when she picked me up) and not go to bed until 9 to make the adjustment easier.  I knew we had a few things to do, including picking up my fellow travel partner, the one and only Bob Baublits III (Trey).  After Trey arrived on schedule, the rest of the day was spent shopping for groceries, getting settled, and trying to stay awake until 9.  I ended up making it to 9, but I really don’t remember much about the day other than feeling like a loony toon from lack of sleep.  My initial observations of Bangkok were big place, densely populated, a few foreign smells, a surprising amount of billboards/signs/etc written in English, and horrible traffic.

The next couple of days were spent with Merrie acting as our tour guide.  We went for a run in Lumphini Park, the main city park that is full of locals exercising, doing yoga, etc.  It really is a pretty park and reminded me a little bit of Central Park in that it has lots of trails, ponds, trees and tons of activity.  A subtle difference would be you would NOT want to go swimming in these ponds because they are home to a bunch of Monitor Lizards….quite possibly the most disgusting animal ever created.  I have some great footage of one swimming up to me.

We also have gone to a few different shopping districts, which mainly consist of lots of people, knock off designer clothing at a major discount, pirated DVDs and CDs, etc.  They are quite entertaining to just walk around and see the large variety of things to buy, but once your shirt becomes completely drenched with sweat, it is usually time to go find some AC.  The highlight thus far in terms of general tourist stops would have to be the Grand Palace.  It is 

the site of many temples and buildings within which the Royal Family conducts many affairs.  The architecture and attention to detail the creators of the Palace used really makes places like The Sisteen Chapel seem unimpressive.  One fact that really blew me away was everything that seemed to be gold was in fact covered in real gold, which included an entire building.  If you are ever in the neighborhood, The Palace is a must see.

A big concern of mine regarding being in Asia for 6 weeks was I would not have any access to Mexican food and 

might 

go crazy before I make it back to the States.  Well, my worries have been placated because my Aunt informed me on my first day here that a place called Coyote has pretty decent Mexican food.  It took us all of 48 hours before we decided to check it out…the food was pretty good, the 

décor reminded me of a cheesie Scottsdale tourist restaurant, and all the waitresses were in blue jeans and cowboy hats.  Very entertaining and very comforting to know I will be able to get my Mexican food fix when I need it.

My Uncle was kind enough to help both Trey and I find mini “internship” opportunities to help compleme

nt our travels and give us some international work experience.  Trey will be working on a project with The Deloitte Consulting Group, and I will be working with a company called Asia Cement.  Their main plant is located about 2 hours outside of Bangkok and near a town called Saraburi.  So, I will spend this coming week at the Plant to learn about th

e wh

ole process.  It should be very interesting, and I am just as curious about how everything else will go in terms of what I will eat, will anyone speak English up there, etc.  I am not worried, but I suspect I have an adventure ahead of me…..so stay tuned! 

sbt