nat-ali

It's HOT! we're sitting her sweating after a full day tour of the floating market and a Thai cultural demonstration. Thank goodness for the air conditioned bus! We have only 1 day left in Bangkok before travelling upcountry. We've had a nice mix of organized tours and independent exploration. HIghlights have been all the intricate detail of the wats and a power boat cruise of the river market. It's amazing how much pride these people demonstrate in their faith, their country, and their king. We're also learning how to bargain, but probably still getting hosed. We've got our extra bag half full of souvenirs already!

We came in at 2am last night (10am US) and got little sleep, but finally being in Bangkok is so exciting that we're not tired yet. This morning we had a 3 hour bus tour of several wats in the city. They are amazing in their detail, and the obvious cultural devotion to their deities and king. Now we're lunching at a cafe on Silom Road, and taking the air conditioned sky train to the air conditioned MBK shopping center for the hottest part of the afternoon. It's definitely hot! We can only stand to be out for about an hour before retreating to air conditioned quarters. Tomorrow we'll take a day tour outside the city to the famous floating market. Nathan is actually enjoying himself, and has designated himself trip photographer, so prepare yourself for our full memory card capacity of pictures! We've also made friends among some of the (half dozen) younger people on the trip, and I kind of became impromptu guide for our afternoon excursion to the MBK/Siam Center. All that TripAdvisor came in handy!

Here we are awaiting departure at LAX. We had a great visit with some old friends, Matthew Ralston and Amanda Blake who live in Seal Beach and were great hosts as we spent the night in Santa Monica. We enjoyed a walking tour of the Santa Monica Pier, 3rd Street Promenade, and Main Street, and a sunset cruise along the Pacific Coast Highway to Malibu to watch the surfers and the sunset. No celebrity sightings, however. This morning we woke up early, full of excitement, and strolled along the beach to Starbucks for breakfast, and back by the Santa Monica Sunday farmer's market before checck-out. Now we're watching our 747 pulling up to the gate before boarding. Next post will be from Seoul in about 12 hours.

One more sleep until we are Thailand Bound! The trip we have been looking forward to for a year has finally arrived, with the final week whittled away daydreaming, perusing trip advisor, assembling travel necessities and making final preparations. Alisa is positively giddy with anticipation, while Nathan has been overwhelmed wrapping up work and completing his grad course final prior to departure. Incidentally, our screen name, Nat-Ali is our celebrity couple moniker, ala 'Brangelina' or 'Bennifer'. Cute eh? So off we go, to write when we can, and absorb 14 days of stifling heat and humidity while exploring Buddhist temples (or 'Wats'), jungle trekking, adventurous eating, and elephant riding. This trip was a screaming deal and an experience of a lifetime. Not bad for spring break/second honeymoon!