Thursday (1/6) – Lamphu Treehouse (Bangkok):

I have a feeling that I’m really going to like Thailand. Our plane landed just after midnight, local time. The whole country is in the same time zone as Olgii, so we are 1 hour behind UB but 15 hours ahead of California. It was a pretty long day of traveling for us – especially for me since I was up at 3am, so we were pretty knackered by the time we made it to the airport. We were so tired, in fact, that on the way from the plane to the immigration desk we broke into fits of hysterical laughter when we saw that the people-mover was named the “travelator.” Why was that so funny?

Anyway, the airport, which is about a 30-minute taxi ride from central Bangkok, is nice and new. It also has one of those distinctly Thai (and totally unpronounceable to English speakers) names: Suvarnabhumi International Airport. We sailed through immigration, snatched our luggage (we’re traveling pretty light), hit an ATM for some baht (the Thai currency), and grabbed a taxi to our hotel. Thai currency is called “baht” and 30B is about 1 US dollar.

I must confess that I don’t really know much about Thai culture. I know, I know – I’m being an “ugly American.” Well, I guess I do know a few things, but please fact check these independently before you quote me.

• Thailand is bordered by Myanmar (Burma) to the west, Malaysia to the south, Cambodia to the east, and Laos to the east and north. The southern part of the country has long stretches of coastline along the Gulf of Thailand and the Andaman Sea (Indian Ocean).
• The population is a little over 60 million and Buddhism is the dominant religion.
• Because the country is so stretched out vertically, it has a pretty diverse geography – mountainous jungle in the north and sandy beaches in the south.
• The government is a constitutional monarchy led by King Bhumibol, who has been in power since 1946, making him the longest-serving current head-of-state and Thailand’s longest-reigning king. He is highly respected in Thai culture and it is a grave insult to not treat him and his office with reverence.
• The language here is Thai and they do not use the Roman alphabet. All we know how to say is “hello” (sa-wat-dee) and “thank you” (karp kun).

So, yeah, I guess I’m not totally ignorant of Thai culture. Thailand even shares a few similarities with Mongolian culture – the most important of which is you must be careful with what you do with your feet. Make sure you take your shoes off before you enter a person’s home, keep your feet pointed towards the ground and definitely away from any temple or Buddha image, and don’t touch anyone with your shoes.

Our taxi ride to the airport went smoothly. Our driver was a kind older man who treated us fairly and who even let us stop at a 7/11 (there are everywhere!) to buy a bottle of water and to break some of the large bills we got from the ATM. There seemed to be an elaborate road and highway system and we passed tons of large buildings – Bangkok is definitely much more developed than UB. Cars move quickly and despite the late hour there were lots of pick-up trucks, motorcycles, and tuk-tuks (sort of a hybrid motorbike and wagon) making their way around the city. Even with just what I saw last night I already know that I wouldn’t like driving a car in Bangkok.

The other thing I noticed on our way into the city was the fact that the king’s image is everywhere! Plastered on billboards, the sides of buildings, and in gilded frames along the streets and avenues of the city, the king is always smiling down on you. There also does not appear to be a standard picture of the King. The snapshots are from various stages of his life, with our without his wife, and in various outfits – from everyday wear to pretty regal costumes. He seems to be a kind man and you can always identify him by his large squared eyeglasses.



We arrived at our hotel a little after 1:30am. We are staying at the Lamphu Treehouse, a mid-range option recommended by Lonely Planet. We quickly checked in and were shown to our room. We’re staying on the 5th floor in a nicely-furnished room complete with a queen-size bed, flatscreen tv (with 3 watchable channels), mini-fridge, safe, and an ensuite bathroom with shower. The most important thing in the room, however, is the air conditioner. I forgot to mention how warm the city is. We felt it immediately upon disembarking from the plane – actually right when the plane touched down on the landing strip I felt the plane’s climate system switch from heating to cooling.



Anyways, yes, the weather last night (and this morning) was in the 80s with some decent humidity. Our little remote-operated AC unit seems up to the task of keeping our room cool though. We’ll see what it’s like once we get to Phuket where we are staying in a hut on the beach with only a fan…

After unpacking a bit and showering to get the plane smell off us, we hit the sack. As I lay in bed drifting off to sleep with the sound of the AC whirring over my head, I remember being amazed at what a difference a day makes – afterall just 24 hours earlier I was waking up in a snug little guesthouse room in Ulaanbaatar relying on a radiator to fight of the -35F chill outside, and then there I was in Bangkok in the exact opposite situation.

We both slept comfortably last night and we got up and downstairs in time for the tail-end of the hotel’s complimentary breakfast buffet, which we enjoyed on the patio in the sunshine. It was surreal sitting out there in shorts, sandals, and a t-shirt realizing that today is January 6th and that, had we not come, we would still be in Olgii huddled under wool and fleece to escape the winter chill.



Breakfast was nice – they had eggs, pancakes, French toast, maple syrup, toast with jam, yogurt, cereal, and muesli. The drip coffee was also pretty darn tasty. The dining area is pretty much the whole first floor of the building and it completely opens up onto the street, which borders a small canal. Living up to its name (the Lamphu Treehouse) the décor is heavy on wood and green leafy plants. There is also a pool and small patio just to the left of the front desk. Ceiling fans (and the entirely open section of the front of the building) do a good job keeping the air moving. December and January is the peak of the tourist season here in Thailand, so there were plenty of English-speaking westerners out and about this morning.


After breakfast we came back to our room for a little late-morning nap – hey, we’re on vacation! We are also putting together a plan for the rest of the day. While there are plenty of sights to see, I think we will make our way down to Khao San Road, which is sort of the backpackers’ strip, to see what’s up.

That’s all for now!