Not Dead!

so, in thailand, they speak thai. and when you try to blog at an internet cafe in thailand, all the webpages are in thai. and that means a jet-lagged, non-thai speaking patty can't figure out how the hell to sign in and post a message...until now! just cracked it wide open, I think. hopefully, this'll work and the post won't be an incomprehensible mess. apologies if anyone was concerned that I died. I didn't!

right now, I'm sitting on a beach in railay (southern thailand, google image it because I'll be damned if I can figure out how to upload pics with the unfortunate language barrier) after spending a day and a half in bangkok. which is a shithole. imagine LA during rush hour, combine it with manhattan if all the taxis spewed enormous gray plumes of crap, and throw in a good dose of vet stadium after an eagles' loss and you'll have a vague idea of the chaos that is bangkok. the lowlights:
1. a mom driving a moped with her 2-year old kid sitting on the handlebars (not an uncommon sight, unfortunately)
2. getting royally screwed by a tuk tuk driver who told me the grand palace/emerald buddha temple was closed (it wasn't)who then proceeded to take me on a tour of other "great" temples then forced me to go into a fabric store in the middle of nowhere to shop so they would give him a tank of free gas (I know, it makes no sense...imagine my confusion.)when I finally told him to take me back to the grand palace, he refused and drove off, leaving me in the middle of the shadiest part of the city. what the?
3. the smell in my hotel room: a combination of feet and dead cat

okay, since I now feel like you're all going to think I have bad attitude and am ungrateful for this amazing travel opportunity, I feel like I should list some highlights. fine. here:
1. my first thai meal. the pad thai was the best I've ever had. and I also ordered a grilled cheese...which only cost 10 cents! heaven!
2. the 19 hour flight wasn't horrible. china air provided lovely pillows with which to cover my ears and drown out the screams of an exorcist baby two rows up and the strange moaning woman sitting across from me who slurped down ramen noodles the entire flight.
3. met a handful of fellow travellers who helped me approach the bangkok experience with an open mind and a sense of humor.

so, here I am. in railay. 200 miles away from bangkok. these amazing cliffs tower behind the beach and in the distance more cliffs rise out of the water. it's quite surreal. seriously, google it. I wanted to spend a day or two lying on the beach, working on my sunburn. the weather report says there's a 100% chance of thunderstorms for the next four days. I'm a positive thinker, so I see the clouds as 100% full. that's a stupid joke. railay is a small beach, populated with a good mix of hippies...and thais on a weekend bender. lonely planet said nothing about that. sidenote: the thai people seem to be enamoured with late 90's soft rock. today my cab driver was singing along with taylor dane on the radio. now I'm rambling and it feels like a good time to sign off.
flying to phnom phen on monday, fyi.

Patty Can't Spell

friends. sorry.

p

Patty Departs...

hey freinds.
welcome to my blog.
I'm leaving in a couple hours for my 3 week cambodian adventure, so I don't have a lot of time to write a witty au revoir message. right now I'm thinking that I packed way too much stuff (but I can't live without my hot rollers and Hummel figurines) and am wondering if I should stop at the supermarket to pick up some lipton cold brew ice tea in travel-sized packets. whatever. I'm off. will write when I get to bangkok...in 19 freaking hours...on china air...econo-class.

the plan is to hit thailand, cambodia, laos and vietnam. I have four lonely planet guidebooks and a positive attitude(!), but no concrete itinerary. let the fun begin.

good day!

p