Month: February 2016

Thai massage

I’ve never had a traditional Thai massage. Heard it was a bit intense. It was so intense that I fell asleep whilst a tiny Thai woman walked on my back. Two hours of bliss for 600 TB + 100 TB tip because I loved Pan that much. Equivalent of USD$18. And that’s expensive for here. This may become a daily treat.

Thai guardian angel

We were looking for a lunch spot while salivating after walking past several Bangkok street food vendors. They seemed a little intimidating day one in Bangkok. We must’ve looked a bit lost as a smartly dressed nice Thai lady stopped to ask us where we were going. She worked at a local hotel and offered her help. We said we wanted good local cuisine. She directed us to the food court in a luxury mall nearby that features all types of street food at discount prices. This provoked memories of a former Bangkok-born-and-bred co-worker who explained to me how important the “mall culture” is to locals. Anyone who knows me knows I abhor shopping malls but we heeded her advice (especially after she helped us safely cross the busiest intersection I’d ever faced in my life and Amy and I agreed she had no skin in the game). It took us awhile to find this place. Escalators up to the 6th floor where we meandered past several fine looking but pricier restaurants featuring both local and international cuisine. We were a bit disappointed with the recommendation then came across a super market. Wandering through just to peruse the aisles, in the rear of the store, we stumbled upon the actual local foodcourt and hit the jackpot. We enjoyed the most amazing Thai food (pad Thai w squid and panang curry w pork) I’d ever had in all my life for less than $1.50 each. The foodcourt caters to the locals who work in the mall and we were certainly the only non-locals present. We now refer to this lovely woman as our “Thai guardian angel” as we’ve since hit another one for lunch and enjoyed Tom kha kai chicken curry soup (the best thing I’ve ever put in my mouth) & an amazing spicy papaya salad. I love Bangkok malls.  
  
  

Shrines in odd places 

Shrines to various Gods seem to be randomly interspersed between high-end shopping (Harrod’s, Alexander McQueen) and ubiquitous chains (7-eleven) in Bangkok. It’s clear one is close as sidewalks are lined with street vendors hawking flowers, incense & trinkets to the faithful who lay them as tribute in hopes of answering prayers.  
  
  

 

This stuff fits in there

I decided upon a Kelty Redwing 50 backpack in my fave color of navy blue. These handy ebags contain everything I’m bringing for a few months in SE Asia (much easier than our European packing experience, Sar). Quite a different look than what I’m accustomed to for Monday morning air travel. I sure am not going to miss this frantic snow removal scene at Ohare.  

  

Trip eve anticipation

Perhaps most people, on the eve of a long trip to SE Asia, would opt for an “Americanized” meal… burger, pizza, etc. Not me. I’m so looking forward to exploring the cuisine, especially after discovering Vietnamese eat pho for breakfast. So my dinner on the eve of my trip was pho from my fave little Vietnamese spot in Chicago. Yum.  

A different kind of trip

I made the difficult decision to retire from my financial consulting world after much frustration to focus on myself and my true passions. I say “difficult” because it sure seemed that way at the time but 2 months removed from that decision, less than a week after my last day of work, and happily enjoying the first next phase, it seems like the easiest and most rewarding decision of my life. The first next phase involves traveling with my good friend Amy (who recently made a similar life-altering decision) to Southeast Asia, on what we’ve coined our WAVE. Wild or Weird (depending upon one’s view of the trip) Asian Vacation Extravaganza. Acronyms are HUGE in my former consulting world – both widely overused and frequently changing – so this seemed entirely appropriate. My family and friends have been so lovingly supportive throughout this process and are genuinely very happy that I finally put myself first. So I decided to blog about my trip to keep all of you apprised of my adventures as well as provide proof to my mother that I’m still alive. My brother is gut laughing right now at me using blog as a verb as I’m not the most tech-savvy and social media-friendly person. So I apologize in advance for what I’m sure is the basic nature of my blog, forthcoming tech issues, and the risk this becomes too tedious of a task for me and is promptly abandoned. First timer here so cut me some slack.