Bangkok, eye patches, marathon runners...

Hello from Chiang Mai!
I have only been here six days but am amazed by how much I already have to share. My flights here went about as smoothly as one could hope for. There were no delays and my baggage was waiting for me upon arrival. I met Kathryn at the airport about half an hour later, and we took the shuttle to our hotel together. By miracle, Sarah also met us there a couple hours later, though her taxi driver tried to drop her off somewhere else along the way.
On our first day we took the sky train to the Vietnam embassy to get our visas. We also checked out the MBK, the biggest mall in Southeast Asia we have been told. With movie theatres, bowling alleys, and endless shops and stalls, it was both amazing and overwhelming, just like everything else in Bangkok. The next day we moved to Khao San Road, the backpackers alley. We were all very excited upon arrival as we saw the stalls full of goodies and the outdoor restaurants decorated with lanterns, ponds and statues. We lost track of time relaxing with a Chang beer and spring rolls, so we made it back to the Vietnam embassy to pick up the visas with 5 minutes to spare. This was the first of many times the three of us would run down the streets of Bangkok.
Our hostel, called Nap Park, was a great place to stay. They had a no shoe rule, giant mats in the communal area and a great design that made for a lovely atmosphere. In the evening we went out with a group from the hostel. A memorable stop of the evening was the reggae bar. The group of us left covered in neon face paint. Other highlights of our time in Bangkok include the incredible, seemingly endless weekend market, the vegetarian festival in Chinatown, and the Grand Palace. In Chinatown there was a street filled with the tastiest looking food I’ve ever seen. Whether it was freshly cooked noodles sizzling in a giant pan, the gem-like pomegranates or the wide array of desserts, the sight and smell was, as I said before, amazing and overwhelming. Some of my favourite food has been mango with sticky rice, the various sorts of fried rice, and of course pad thai. At first I found it hard to relax when eating and trust it wouldn’t make me sick, but everything we’ve had so far tastes so good and we are sure to pick places that are busy.
We took our first tuk tuk home from Chinatown. Though at first it was terrifying as we weaved through the traffic and held on for dear life on the sharp turns, it became exhilarating to be a part of the rush of the city. Unfortunately, something flew in my eye which left it rather irritated. Sarah crafted me an eye patch with gauze and a tensor bandage, very reminiscent of a wounded soldier. Now it is feeling all better. I will have to post the photo; I know you would all get a laugh from the look on me.
Our last night was quite the adventure. We went up to the sky bar, the same one that was used in The Hangover 2 movie. It was stunning. We each bought a cocktail, ate all of the free bar nuts, and took in the incredible city scape. Though we stood out against the elegantly dressed people around us, we were happy and relaxed. Fast forward an hour and a half, and it was an entirely different scene. We were in our comfiest clothes, sweaty and gross, once again running as fast as we could with our packs and bags. Turns out you can only print out the proof of the train tickets you buy immediately after you buy them. No logging on and printing them later. Oops! We got to the station, were yelled at by a very mean man, and then helped my many kind locals as we raced to catch our train. Sarah revealed her secret marathon runner skills as she threw off her pack and bolted towards an Internet cafe, fearlessly running through a construction site. After getting our code, we were taken to a travel agency where a very nice lady made phone calls and printed out our tickets. We thought our train was leaving in two minutes time. We made another mad dash back to the train, arriving panting and furiously thanking everyone. We were truly amazed that we had made it. And of course, the rush was for nothing as the train left over an hour late. In total the train was delayed by 5 hours, so it took us 21 hours to make it to Chiang Mai. Bangkok was a smelly and dirty, exciting and beautiful city that I loved exploring. Though there are still many things I would like to do in the city, we were exhausted by our few days there. It’s still early days, but so far so good! Now we are in Chiang Mai, and off to what looks like paradise tomorrow.
Sending much love,
Brig xo