Expatiperro

Finally in Bangkok, after what seemed like an eternity (but in reality only a slightly shorter 20 hours) on the plane and in the Taipei airport. I flew on China Airlines, which I should not have done for a number for reasons, but especially because even the woman that sold me by ticket said it was a terrible carrier. Narrow seats, not much leg room, food that even a prisoner would turn down, and an in-flight movie that was either an infomercial about Austria or a documentary about Classical music. I was too doped up on sleeping pills to tell, though the drugs probably made the film more entertaining.

While that movie was great, even better was the informational video they played right before we landed in Thailand, titled "Fascinating Bangkok: Culture and Diversity". Using the cutting edge 1980 effects of synthesizer music and neon graphics, the film presented Bangkok in all its glory, and told us what to expect- which, judging from what was shown on screen, would be a chorus line of smiling monks, smiling old women on boats, and smiling youth in school uniforms playing in parks.

Sadly, I was greeted by none of those people when I got off the plane (these videos are obviously made to manipulate your hopes), but the actual greeters might have been better. At the airport to meet me was my cousin Seth and his driver, Tueng. Seth has lived in Bangkok for the past 15 years working as an architect, and he's been gracious enough to host me at his house in a gorgeous and spacious housing development just outside of the city. It's great having a home base while I'm settling into my travels, and especially great because I haven't seen Seth in years, and it's been fun to catch up. That he has a person who cooks for him, and who just might have prepared me a fantastic Thai dinner, also doesn't hurt things. :-)

So here I am, trying not to succumb to sleep at 8:30pm, and trying to process the change of scenery that's occurred around me in the past 24 hours. Quick first impressions of Bangkok:

• It's hot. Like, a thick, stifling, muggy heat, one that fogs up your glasses when you step outside and makes you feeel like you're moving through molasses.
• A disconcertingly large number of Thais are wearing thos anti-SARS face masks (though sadly I have yet to see one with a Hello Kitty design. Sorry Grant.). Whether this is to protect themselves from the pollution here, or a potential H1N1 pandemic is up in the air. Whether these masks are an effective prophylactic against either, I'll leave that for you to say.
• Bangkok is big, and it sprawls. Lots of traffic, too.

I would write more, but the last two bulletpoints were done with my eyes closed, which might mean that my body is sending me a message; Talk soon!