Jan 203 min read

Bangkok Impressions: Thailand Day One

• Even this city feels like a jungle. So much green and growth amidst the high rises and pop up shops, lush and humid.

• It's easy to be a non-native here, welcoming and much easier than I was expecting.

• There are still homeless people, but somehow they seem healthier.

• Ronnie McD is perhaps even more creepy here than back home.

• Fresh coconut is beyond a divine experience ... tastes nothing like even the raw organic pink stuff in bottles.

• People here are sweet.

• Walking off the main streets, birds I've never heard before sing a melodic symphony.

• Power lines like vines hang from every possible structure.

• There are walkways above the busy streets so pedestrians can get above it all: I highly recommend this!

• Like in Colorado, pot is legal here.

• I've never seen so many offerings for massage.

• The smells of this city are more delicious than Chicago. There are still some unpleasant smells, but the food here more than makes up for it.

• Shrines at every entrance.

• I'm not sure if this is true, but it felt like the sun came up hours earlier than back home today.

• I don't feel jet lagged (maybe because I ran FSM protocols or maybe because I'm just meant to be here or maybe both).

• I was a little nervous to travel alone, but that was unfounded; my taxi driver had the sweetest energy and was very kind. I have only encountered kindness so far.

• Hospitality is a major priority here.

• I love palm trees.

• My cell reception in Bangkok is 95% as good as at home and 100% better than in the mountains at home...(not for long, loves; once tomorrow is here I'll be out of cell and WiFi for 10 days so stay tuned for a photo dump on my return!)

• Walking through the city with curious eyes felt energizing and exciting, and then I found a fresh coconut so I took it back to the hotel and sat by the pool, and as I was sitting and sipping I think that's when I truly Arrived ... I could feel the levels and layers unwinding and releasing and letting go ... and then there was a moment when I felt this profound stillness, even the palm branches and pool ripples seemed to slow down and time felt different. This is a magnificent feeling and I hope it stays with me the whole trip.

• At the pool I watch two wasps, enormous, about twice the size of the ones at home, dance together in the air over the waters and it made me wonder if wasps can be in love?

• After receiving a Thai massage today at the Wat Po massage school, I realized that I could quite possibly fall in love with anyone who can massage me like this ... and SOOO excited to be learning Thai Yoga Massage this trip!

• At Wat Po, the massages are done fully clothed, on tables with a cushioned mat about a foot off the floor, in a room with 8-10 other mat tables, where others are giving/receiving massage come and go through the space. The room was dim-lit and I literally felt the presence of dragon energy flying around the room. It was a magical experience for me, the presence and intentionality of the masseur, the sweet short mantra with prayer hands prior to starting the session, the perfect pressure applied just to my edge. I'm so inspired and realigned after this session!

• Bangkok is full of people from all over the planet--I haven't heard this many languages and accents in my entire life and I've been here less than 24 hours. Incredible!

• The Wa Pho and Grand Palace ... breathtaking. Why don't we build architecture like this anymore? I could sit and stare all day at the intricacies and incredible detail. I literally have no words to describe this. Such a different feeling than the enormous skyscrapers.

• I wasn't jet lagged at first and now, at 5:20pm, I'm so tired I need a nap before dinner ... more to come later, loves!

• I had another raw coconut at dinner and it was even better than the first one. You guys, seriously, this place!!!