shinjiblue's VirtualTourist Home Page

Haven't gotten around to putting my photos together yet (including one for my profile - trying to find a good one!) but just wanted to share a little about my latest trip out of the country. Photos will be coming soon.

I spent quite a bit of time recently in Bangkok, Thailand - which incidentally is where I was born. I haven't spent any significant time there since I was really young (I grew up in the US), so it was nice to be able to go back and live a different life, if only for a while.
It's a lot different than I remember, but then again that's to be expected after 20 plus years. The hustle and bustle is still the same - seriously, could there be more people? But I actually love that about Bangkok because it makes everything seem more festive and alive. There are A LOT more buildings and commercial areas and even a skytrain. Okay, so the skytrain has been around for about 10 years and I'm sure the buildings aren't that recent either, but they're new to me because the Bangkok I remember had basically one highway and no buildings with more than two storeys.
Isn't it funny how you step off a plane in another country and it's like you've landed on another planet? I spent the first week wondering if it's possible to literally melt away from the heat and humidity and the rest of the time wishing I could stay forever. It was a culture shock, trust me, even to someone who was born there and has some familiarity with the place, but that's what made it fun and it's really what made me not want to leave. There's so much to see and experience.
It was good to go home again.