Hello, from the Other Side!

I hopped out of bed as soon as my alarm went off at 4am Sunday morning. "Today's the day," I said to myself as I began getting things ready to head to the airport in Atlanta. Isn't it funny how I never really want to get up early unless I have a seat on an airplane waiting for me?

I was through security in less than 10 minutes (a perk of flying out so early, I assume), made my way to the gate, then set out to find caffeine! Knowing that this was probably my last iced caramel macchiato for a couple of weeks, I savored it!

The flight from Atlanta to Montreal was uneventful and I processed through the proper channels in Canada and arrived at my connecting gate with plenty of time to spare.

The flight from Montreal to Tokyo was LONG! Thankfully, I was able to sleep a little bit which helped the time pass.

By the time I got to Japan, I was so ready to see Thailand that I could barely stand it. Luckily, the flight from Tokyo to Bangkok was only six and a half hours (Montreal to Tokyo took nearly 15 hours). Thankfully, my row on this flight was not full so I was able to make some room between myself and the other passenger and I slept for about half the trip.

I arrived in Bangkok a little after 10pm Monday evening (I’m 11 hours ahead of you East coasters) and processed through immigration, baggage claim, and customs without a hitch. Mai & Chan greeted me with smiles and hugs immediately!

We made a pit stop along the motorway between Bangkok and Pattaya for a much anticipated McDonald’s chicken sandwich (a girl can only handle so much airplane food ).

We made it to my hotel and I was settled in my room by 1am.

Surprisingly, I was able to fall asleep sometime between 2 and 3am and slept until 9! Hopefully, this will make my jet lag over the next day or so a little less of a beast.

My balcony has a great view of Jomtien Beach and the Jomtien Street Food Market. I was extra excited about the market because, if you know me, you know how much I love Thai street food!

My hotel rate includes a buffet-style breakfast which was delicious! Fresh fruit in Thailand just hits different!

The weather today is very overcast with brief bouts of rain here and there (it’s rainy season). Temp is 83 F, though it feels more like 89 according to my weather app. My room is air conditioned (thank heavens) so I’ve been very comfortable.

Today's plan is to rest and recover from the trip and this afternoon I'll spend some time with Mai and Chan before our work at GRACE begins tomorrow.

I plan on doing one to two blog posts a day, one in the morning and one in the evening, to keep you all up to date and engaged throughout my time here.