Off to Bangkok

This morning wasn't too hectic as our flight wasn't until noon. I sat out on the balcony for a little bit taking in the sun and warmth. Then we went to breakfast and checked out. Our taxi arrived a few minutes late and it was off to the airport.

Our flight was a little bit delayed but it wasn't a big problem. I was surprised that we were served a light snack, and even more surprised to see it was a small hot dog pretzel from Auntie Anne's! After having my snack I napped on the 1 hour and 15 minute flight to Bangkok.

We arrived in DMK Airport and found the taxi stand and got a taxi to take us to the hotel. It was kind of annoying because the driver didn't take our exact address, just the general area/street and only when we got closer he asked to see the address and realized he had overshot it and had to backtrack. Oh Mee and I settled into our room and then went to the lobby to meet her work friend, Hiro. He was there with his fiance, his brother and his brother's girlfriend, a Thai woman. Hiro's brother Tak has been living in Thailand for 5 years now. Hiro and Melissa were visiting and it worked out well that we could meet up with them.

Our first stop was Siam Paradigm shopping mall. This was a massive high end mall. First we went to the grocery store in the basement which was also very nice. We wandered through there and it was nice to see what things Thai people would buy for groceries and what things cost. Then we went up a few floors to check out the cars. Yes, there were cars in this mall. And not just cars, SPORTS cars. There were Bentleys, Rolls Royces, Lamborghinis, and Aston Martins among a few others. Then the ironic thing is next to the Lamborghini store was an H&M, just a regular run of the mill clothing store. We got a snack in the mall-a famous choux cream puff. It was pretty delicious.

Bake a wish for cream puffs

In the cool bathrooms

Next, we made our way via the MRT (rail system) to 21 Terminal, another shopping mall. Here is where we had our dinner. There was a restaurant called MIX that had won best restaurant via Trip Advisor. While Tak and his girlfriend had never been to this one, they had been to a different branch near where he worked and recommended it. We ordered a few things off the menu to share and waited as the dishes came out one by one. Tak and his girlfriend were kind of disappointed with the food and they said it wasn't as good as the other location and apologized. The rest of us all said it was pretty good! We finished eating and Oh Mee had another friend coming to meet up with us. His name is James and he's also a Korean adoptee on vacation. He joined us at the restaurant and we chatted there a little bit before all of us going to get a drink. It was interesting to talk to yet another adoptee and listen to his views and opinions on adoption.

Back at the hotel, I got a message from an old acquaintance. His name is Dong Gun and I met him in 2012. He lived in Peru for a year and recently returned to Korea and got a job in Seoul (his hometown is Daegu). He asked if I was free tomorrow evening. I agreed and we made plans to meet for dinner!