The first day in a new country is always challenging. We have chosen a hostel from our guidebook
while flying to Bangkok. We took a train
from airport to the city. Then we were
told to take bus number 503 to Banglampoo, the touristy area. We have waited for an hour for the bus. It was getting dark. The traffic started. Locals were catching taxis. By the time we decided to take a taxi, it
took us about 15 minutes. All were
full. It costs over the dollar just for
sitting. The meter keeps turning while
the car is stopped at the intersection.
I am not sure if the fare is based just on time, or combination of time
and distance. By the way, we later
learned that bus number 503 does not go to Banglamboo.
The tourist area was busy (more tourists than locals). We found a cheap hostel for $9 just before
the rainfall. We have moved from one
hostel to another a few times in the area.
Some rooms smelled like smoke or had loud neighbors. The towels, blankets and internet were extra
in most rooms. In one room the internet
(which we paid for) was working, but no power supply. The other issue we had that a fan had only
high setting. We have not been able to
get rid of runny noses, since we arrived.
I was not able to get away from the extremely low air conditioned
stores,buses and trains, just like in US. 
It seems to be a trend: the cheaper the country, the more we spend. We allow ourselves to do more things. I have received more massages in 10 days we
spent in Bangkok than in all my life.
The oil massage is my favorite so far.
It costs $10 per hour. We also
went for teeth cleaning and yearly physical health check up in the local
hospital. We got the blood results in 2
hours. The equipment in the hospital
seemed older, but everything was very clean.
The overall experience was very pleasant. No long waits anywhere. It was nice to communicate with local people
outside of the touristic area, even if it was in the hospital. No country should be judged by the taxi
drivers. They seemed to be very
interested in where we were going. Some
people acted like they knew where we wanted to go. They would tell us to turn around and go to
some tourist attraction. 
A lot of things are cheap in Bangkok, but not tourist
attractions. The entrance to King’s
Palace costs twice as much for one person as our hostel room. In comparison, I would not pay $100 to go to
a museum in US, so we did not go to the King’s Palace. Instead we went to see the Reclining Buda. We also heard that the prices are different
on different days based on the number of tourists. Instead we went to see the Reclining Buda. The Buda was inside a small temple, which
made it difficult to see the whole Buda at once. The donation boxes were inside the temple every
few steps. The entrance to the temple
was not free.
Also, we noticed that almost all the stalls with food and merchandise were
closed on Monday. The 2 that were open
were confiscated by the police.
Apparently, it is illegal to be selling anything on the streets on
Mondays in that area. The vendors have
to pay a fine before they can retrieve their belongings. Two hours later the confiscated stalls were
back up with the rest of the stalls on the street. The police do not bother to come and check
twice a day.
Another adventure was getting a visa to enter Myanmar. The country opened its borders to tourists
only recently. The information is
scarcely available about the visa requirements, entering the country or
travelling in the country. It looks that
the rules are continuously changing. The
land borders with Thailand opened only on the 29th of August 2013. It is still impossible to legally enter Laos
from Myanmar by land, which was our original plan. We may need to get back to Thailand for that.
It took us 3 days to get a visa for Myanmar.
We went to the embassy on Monday morning. There was a line starting outside (around 40
people). While Dangis was standing in
line, I have filled my application. It
was pretty simple: personal information and employment history. We just had to bring 2 passport photos each
and copies of our passports. By the time
Dangis filled his application, it was our turn to receive a number. After our number was called, we submitted our
visa applications and paid $28 per person.
It took us 2 hours. We left happy
and sweaty. On Wednesday we arrived 15
minutes early. The line was already
formed. After embassy doors were open a
little late, it took us about 10 minutes to pick up our passports with visas. 
So far, we are enjoying Thai food. The
choices are endless. Just yesterday we
tried steamed fish in curry paste, fried calamari and vegetables, coconut juice
and ice cream in the world’s biggest weekend market Chatuchak. The shopping also was an enjoyable
experience, although not as exciting as eating.
I got to buy a blouse and a dress for myself.
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