laurie was here

We’ve only been in Bangkok a few days, but I feel like we’ve experienced a lot of what this city has to offer.  On our first day, we ended up spending the morning with a tuk-tuk (mercenary 3-wheeled taxi) driver who, after we turned out to be not quite as easy marks as we first appeared, became very friendly and accommodating, and spent the next few hours giving us a personalized tour of the city’s many temples.  Apparently, it was a special festival for many of them, and we were given access that is only available 3 times a year.  At each temple we met crazy friendly people who were working or visiting there for the holiday, and they were all really happy to show us around and tell us about its significance.  Everyone was so friendly almost to the point of it seeming like a scam, but if there was one it never materialized.  I think most people are just really nice here.

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We’re finally here and settled into Bangkok.  Checking in on our first day was an epic adventure, followed by an epic reward.  From managing to find each other at the airport after 24 hours of flying despite no working communication methods, from navigating two different Thai public transportation methods in the sweltering heat, to slowly making our way through a crowded marketplace where bikes share the sidewalk with pedestrians, to finally finding our hostel nestled in on a side street, all the while carting our big backpacks around, it was a wonderful feeling just to step inside the (air conditioned!) lobby and set our stuff down.  Checking in however, took the exhilaration to the next level.  When we got to our private room ($4.50/night each), we quickly discovered that not only did it come with a queen-sized bed and a (stocked!) minifridge, we also had our own bathroom and shower!!  This was ridiculously exciting, in fact two days later it still is.  Both of us have done hostel traveling before, and this was a first for both of us.  We couldn’t believe our luck, and spent the next few minutes wrapped in shouts of joy and exclamations of disbelief.  We treated ourselves to a minibar beer, and everything was perfect in the world:

So this is it!  I’m currently on a Singapore Air flight somewhere over the Pacific, on my way to Hong Kong, then Singapore, then Bangkok.  It’s a long flight – about 24 hours of total travel – but it’s nice to relax after a truly epic going away weekend.  Oh and it was also my birthday yesterday, so you can bet there were definitely some exhaustingly fun times leading up to this.

It was really special to see everyone who made it out to at least some part of the weekend, and it really reminded me of all the treasures I’m leaving behind in San Francisco. Goodbyes always suck, but seeing all my beautiful, amazing friends made me confident that, whatever happens, I have a pretty stellar track record when it comes to making positive life decisions.

Michelle and I are on different flights right now, but they have roughly the same timetable, so we were able to hang out at the airport for a little while before takeoff.  Her flight was a bit earlier than mine, and I sent her off with a “See you in Bangkok!” which was slightly surreal to say.  Also, her carry-on backpack was only filled with snacks, including a giant bag of goldfish crackers.  I appreciate that, as well as the evident focus on food that this trip will likely have.

…And a bonus postscript especially for those at karaoke last night: as some of you may remember, the song “Orinoco Flow” (or Sail Away) by Enya played a small but fabulous role in this weekend.  Earlier in this flight I was watching The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and, during a scene where the serial killer has his victim strung up and ready for torture, he puts on that song to get aroused.  It was a pretty special moment, and gave me my first tiny bout of homesickness.  Katie, that one is for you.

I just got back to San Francisco after driving all my worldly possessions down to store at my parents’ house in San Diego while I travel.  The trip went more or less without a hitch, but it really drove home the fact that this is for real.  I’m typing this from my now-empty room, which I’ve loved and lived and grown in for the past 3 years.  I’ll be moving out of it forever in less than a week.  In the past I’ve had a lot of interesting experiences that basically felt like a bluff I just kept on taking farther without having thought it through, and this kind of feels like one of them.  I didn’t really plan for this, I haven’t really even researched it, I feel like it’s just kind of happening;

 ”Sure I’ll buy this one-way plane ticket!” “Sure I’ll cancel my interviews and stop job hunting.” “Sure I’ll get some travel vaccinations.” “Sure I’ll buy this travel gear and move out of my apartment!” “Hey why not store everything I own!” …and then holy crap I’m actually in Asia.  Ridiculous.

My sweet rental ride for the long drive.  Hot tip: avoid LA rush hour at all costs, unless you hate yourself.

I have one week left in San Francisco before I rent a car and drive my stuff down to store in my parents’ house in San Diego.  I’ll be there for a few days, then back to SF to take care of any remaining responsibilities/good times, then I leave.  This is crazy.

I keep waking up early and not being able to go back to sleep because I start thinking of all the little things I still need to do.  I lay in bed trying to convince myself that I can still sleep before throwing in the towel and just getting up, at which point I may or may not actually do the things I was thinking about - there’s also still a lot of fun to be had in this city.  Today was one of those days where I woke up stupid early (7:30?? wtf), although to be fair I did take care of some important things before breakfast, like booking the rental car and buying travel insurance. 

I don’t know if I’ll ever feel totally confident that I’ve taken care of everything I need to do, even though I don’t really have any reason to doubt myself.  I’ve always been good at making things happen and taking care of details… I think it’s just that, in addition to the logistical minutiae associated with disrupting my life and planning an exotic adventure, this trip has a lot more existential question marks than I’m used to… how will this experience change me?  What if I decide that the awesome life I’ve built for myself so far isn’t what I really want to do?  Deep down I know I’ll figure it out and everything will be fine, but in the meantime there is plenty to think about.  And plenty of fun times to be had before I leave.

This was my day yesterday.  It was perfect.