July 25, 2017

Today was our first full day in Bangkok. We started our morning with an amazingly diverse breakfast to make my inner fat kid happy. We travel through the bustling streets of Bangkok as we gathered a wealth of knowledge about the culture and the history from sanity of our air conditioned car. Umongst the bustle of the daily morning commute for the locals the streets were lined with locals adorned in black to commemorate the beloved king that had past in October in order to pay respect. We were asked to dress in all black, covering our knee and shoulders in ordere tonpaybrespect to the kings whose ashes remained in the Grand Palace as this was taken as a very serious issue. We made our way through large densely packed crowds to see multiple inasturctures adorned with elaborate detail. Each build was just as maticulous as the next, howevere, was unique in it own way. Many of the building had architecture that was influenced my neighboring countries architecture. For example the pottery from China that had broken in shipping transit was used as tiles to decorate the building and the statuary that was used to balance ships was used at the base of stair cases.as wew made our way to what most people came to see we were hearded like cattle into the building entrance, yet upon entry it's as if everyone else in the room disappears as you feel the grounding of the cool marble against your bare feet and you stand before a immensely large gold infrastructure that houses the 18 cm Emerald Buddha that is in fact made of jade. There was a feeling of euphoria the moment crossing the threshold of the building. As I began to open my sense to those around me I notice locals paying respect to the deceases king before me and a monk praying in solidarity. Seeing a monk for the first time made me truly gleam like a child. I was in utter bliss and would never leave if I had the chance, but we had much more to see. We were in haste to get to the next temple but not before getting our "happy pants" that everyone wears. Absolute tourist trap, but hey you have to embrace it some times because they make you happy! Next up was the Wat Pho to see the massive reclining Buddha statue that had made himself to prove that evil entity was not the biggest in the land. Although we had to make our way through in a time conservative manner we learned much about the Buddhist culture and the statues that surround the buildings. Next we walk to the Pier and boarded the iconic long boats to tour around the Klongs and see how the rural life lives. It was enlightening to see how much of an integral part of life the river, I wouldnt ever swim in, is for the locals. Our boat then dropped us off at a resort for our lunch. We received a set menu in which we thought we would get and appetizer, soup and entree, but in fact we got appetizer, soup, and 4 entrees. It was and absolute feast. We then returned to the hotel to sit poolside and cool off whilst enjoying a piña colada. When we returned to the room Kacey was exhausted and she fell asleep, but the excitement of the day still fresh in my mind I couldn't rest. I decided this trip to me was about leaning into the discomfort and did what would make any parent cringe (sorry dad), I went out on my own. I walked the bustling street behind our hotel and watched the nightlight that was unraveling before my eyes. I walked through the streets watching night vendors. After awhile it became apparent to that the street was filled with young women , about my age prostituting themseleves. The more I looked the more I watched the process unfolding before me. I realized I had never seen anythingr quite like it, because to us it is something that is instilled in us as shameful, but here it is the norm. I decided to enjoy a beer in a bar to watch the world go by. The moment I sat down two girls approached me from bar and began to talk to me. She was very intrigued by the fact that I was from the US. She then asked if I wanted to play a game of pool with her and her friend...so naturally I accepted. The stigma of prostitution from the Western world rittled my mind and. It made me nauseous to see such beautiful and young women actively pursing men, but I had to do some self talk and to assure myself that in their culture it was widely accepted and after my game of pool with them seemed as though they were some what prideful in what they do. Even despite their apparent display if Thai culture it is apparent to me that they idolize the western appearance...I am an absolute anomaly to the people around here. There have been many instance that Kacey and I have been asked to take our picture by foreigners. Being abroad has made me both proud and disgusted with the America culture all at the same time. I wish I could begin to explain the amount of apparent cultural diversity. There are very few words that can even begin to explain the breadth of what it feels like to be here.