25th January, 2024

Sa-wut dee ka family (the polite greeting in Thailand),

We landed at 5:45 AM local time today, which felt like 10:45 PM to us. Our first impression of Bangkok is that of contrasts – old and new, poor and wealthy, concrete and greenery. There are luxury apartment high-rises next to humble dwellings or abandoned buildings. The canals look a bit polluted and there’s some noticeable smog, but also lots of trees growing by the water and throughout the city. 

There was a lot of traffic on our way to the hotel but once we reached the city it was relatively quiet because of the early hour. After dropping our bags at the hotel, we took a long walk over to see two temples and other landmarks in the Old Town neighborhood. We stopped in Saranrom Park, which was lovely, and Sarah briefly fell asleep on a bench while Spenser perused our Bangkok guide book.

Everything is vibrant and our hotel neighborhood started to get very busy in the afternoon, as one of the hotel staff told us it would. She said if we went upstairs and came back down a few hours later, we might think we’d been transported somewhere else because of how different it feels and she was right.

Crossing the street is not for the feint of heart but we’ve found if you pay attention and commit once you decide to go, you can get along fine. And when in doubt, follow the locals’ lead.

After our walk we were exhausted as it felt like the middle of the night to us, so we relaxed in the lobby. Sarah dozed off and on and Spenser putzed around on his phone. Our feet were already feeling the effect of about an hour in the customs line and our walk around the city so we decided to get a foot massage while we were waiting for our room and wow, was it worth it. We grabbed lunch in the hotel restaurant and we were relieved when our room was ready not too long after that.

Following a good nap, we took a short walk to get a couple of things at some local stores and had dinner at the hotel restaurant again, which was also delicious. We are watching some TV now before we hit the hay. Fingers crossed for a good nights’ sleep. Miss you all!

Lots of love,

Sarah and Spenser

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A view of the city as we were driving in from the airport

One of the tree-lined canals

More temples!

Fountain in Saranrom Park

Our hotel lobby – They have live jazz every night and the band was great tonight.

Our room

Hotel atrium, where they serve tea every day from 2-3 pm with live music (it was a traditional Asian instrument that we are struggling to remember the name of with our jet lag)