Everything I say is fascinating.

classic melissa

Yesterday we took a tour off of some of the islands around Thailand which including, snorkeling, kayaking, swimming and chatting. In that order I might add. I would like to discuss the snorkeling and kayaking part of the trip. I have never snorkeled before and I lasted about maybe 5 minutes and two of those minutes were spent trying to put on that stupid mask. Then there was the kayaking and God help me it was supposed to be for 15 minutes but we had the kayak for 45. Of course it was Emily and I who were stuck and the boat is honking and we are paddling with all our might and somehow just managing to go in circles. We ended up getting out of the kayak and dragging it behind us but not before I fell on the rocks. Ahh good times. But the talking with french boys with nice accents? That was nice.

Culture Shock

Well after over 24 hours of traveling I am in Bangkok. I have been here for three days and it is a sight to see let me assure you.*  Everyone here is so nice and goes out of their way to help you. I haven't seen an elephant yet which I'm not quite sure why I thought I would see one roaming the streets since this is a very western city. Oh well maybe at the next town.

On our first day we decided to go to the weekend market as well as the Jim Thompson house. The Jim Thompson house was an interesting sight to see because it is a traditional Thai house but since they are small he built three together connected by a long hallway. He was an American that moved to Thailand and revived the Thai silk trade to what it is today. He disappeared on a trip to Cambodia never to be heard from again and the government turned his house into a museum of sorts... and of course there is a gift shop. No, I didn't buy anything.

The weekend market was crazy and like nothing I have ever seen before. It is crowded with so many people selling everything from jeans to puppies. Now being an animal lover I have to say it was very hard for me to see these puppies being sold from cages, some of them looked so scared. I had to walk away. I did find some cute things here and there that I did buy but overall that wasn't really my favorite part of bangkok no matter how cheap I can find a dress ($3). Okay maybe it was great feeling to find stuff and haggle for the price but for the most part I felt bad suggesting a lower price because it was so cheap already. I felt like i was robbing them... although to be honest that really didn't stop me.  I'm emotional not stupid.

That evening my friend Emily flew down from New York to join us and the following day we went to The Royal Palace. I couldn't describe this place even if I wanted to, it is that amazing. The walls are so white and the attention to detail is dumbfounding. It is made out gold and they have these "demon" statues that guard the Buddhas and keep the bad spirits away. I took a lot of pictures and will post them when I get back home. It started to rain and we tried to hurry to the next sight which was the reclining Buddha but we didn't get there in time to escape from the rain. We got drenched and had to seek shelter for a bit. I should also mention that the reclining Buddha is only around the corner from the Royal Palace.

It seemed like it was about 20 minutes when I'm sure it was about 5, but time gets to be tedious when you are waiting for something, it stopped raining and we continued on. The reclining Buddha is made of pure gold and can be blinding and again I took tons of pictures.

I have much more to say but I'm about to run out of minutes on my paid internet so I will have to update later. I will say keeps those thoughts/prayers/good vibes coming because I got sick on the airplane and vomited twice (lovely i know). In the taxis alone in bangkok we have gotten into one wreck,
one flat tire on the highway, and another fender bender in phuket
coming from the airport. One would even think I was driving but let me
assure you that is not the case!

*I'm now in Phuket and have been in the country for 5 days. I've been working on this post little by little.

And we're off

Well as read this I am in the air on my way to Tokyo and after that 14 hour flight I take another 5 hour flight to Bangkok. To say that I'm not nervous would be lying. I'm not a good flier and I get sick easily. You want to travel with me now don't you? I know that this is going to be a great trip but I'm still nervous. I blame my mother.

I know I will get to see things that I can't even imagine but for now as I'm cruising at probably 35,000 feet I'm completely freaked out. I will be so much happier when I get to Bangkok on Saturday night. I ask that if you are the praying kind that you say a prayer for me while I'm gone because I honestly don't know what to expect. If you aren't the praying kind and want to send me good thoughts or vibes I will take those too. I'm not picky.

I'm sure I will have story after story for you, and I promise a blog post while I'm gone. (You know I can't stay away from the computer that long.) 

imix

Music is essential in life and I think we can all agree on that. I myself LOVE music and I am always looking for new artists.  I have music from the Three Tenors to Bob Marley. Music determines so many of my moods and I like I said I can't get enough. I would love to know what songs you listen to when your travel? What are some of your favorites to listen to when you flying high above the sky or are on a road trip with your family or friends?

One of my favorite songs to listen to while I'm driving is Love Song by Sarah Bareilles. I will crank this song up and sing like I'm giving a concert at Madison Square Garden. Even at the stoplights. With the windows down. Can I ask who doesn't get pumped up by Madonna? I know that if I have a big meeting at work or a date with a cute boy Madonna will do the trick. Her song Jump is probably on every playlist. A little bit of unrequited love got you down? And you want to wallow a little bit longer? Just put on We're All In The Dance by Feist or Magic in the Air by Badly Drawn Boy. When I moved back home from New York I listened to The Long Goodbye by A Girl Called Eddy on repeat for about two weeks. I'm sure my neighbors wanted to kill me. When I feel like going out and helping the world I listen to MercyMe's song Hear Am I to get me going. Amber by 311 is calm and soothing and always reminds me of the beach. How can you not relax when that is coming out of your speakers? If you hear It's A Great Day to be Alive by Travis Tritt and you see me driving with the windows down I'm probably heading to the lake to kick off the start of summer in Texas. If I had to have a theme song for college well lets just say you shook me all night long by AC/DC and George's Bar by Pat Green will always bring a smile to my face. Which if you ever do go to George's Bar look for my picture because it's  there... you might say I was kind of a regular.  And whenever I hear Forever Young by Youth Group I always think about how time seems to be passing me by.

Songs bring back so many memories and they can transport you to another place and time entirely. It happens to me all the time. I will be sitting in the car with my ipod plugged in and set to random and a song will come on that will either bring tears to my eyes from laughter or from sadness. When I think about this upcoming trip I wonder what song is going to make me think about it in the future. What song is going to bring back this once in a lifetime trip that I am taking with 2 great friends? I truly can't wait to find out.

A little bit of lite reading you say?

I'm leaving in less then a week for Thailand. I have to pack everything I'm going to need for 2 1/2 weeks in a backpack and that even includes books. I love to read and will usually finish a book in about 1 - 2 days. Yes I'm somewhat of a nerd but lets not get into that right now.  When I had to decide which book I wanted to take with me on vacation that would hold my attention and last for two weeks I knew it was going to be a bit of a daunting task. It reminds me of the question, if you are stranded on a deserted island what 3 things would you want to have with you? I always throw a book into my answer but I never give a title.

As a woman who is on a budget to save money for her impending move or to buy a house, I have been buying my books on amazon.com. I like that I can find my favorite titles for as little as 1 cent and all I have to pay for is postage. A couple of days ago I went into Barnes and Noble for my quest to find a suitable book that would hold my attention as well last 2 weeks and 2 transcontinental flights. I hadn't been in a bookstore in a couple of months and I didn't realize how much I missed it until I was there. I love going up and down the aisles and seeing all the titles and different authors. I love smelling the scent of coffee that slowly drifts from the starbucks shop to my nose. 

The first thing I do when I enter a bookstore is I go to the new releases section, knowing full well I'm not going to buy a book from there, I still like to look at whats come out.  I then spend a good thirty to forty five minutes going up and down the aisles picking up whichever book strikes my fancy. I will look at the cover, read the back, look at the cover again and then see if I want to carry it around the store with me till I find a table to review my selections. I always end up with about seven to ten books that have caught my interest. I nestle into a a comfy chair or sit down at a table and begin to see which one is going home with me tonight. I don't share my nightstand with just anyone, you know. 

After doing the aforementioned routine I settled on two books  and made my way up to the cash register.  My chosen selections are Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy and The Other Boleyn Girl by Phillipa Gregory. I had been thinking about reading Anna Karenina for quite some time actually and it really seemed to be popping up everywhere I looked lately so I took it as a sign and purchased it. The fact that it is 795 pages and only $8.95 helped. As for The Other Boleyn Girl it just peeked my interest and I liked the cover. I also figure if I get bored with Tolstoy I have something to fall back on... well that and my UsWeekly and Oprah magazines.

Annoyed

I love Christmas just as much as the next person but it's getting a little out of hand around here. My parents live in a neighborhood where people hire other people to set up their outdoor decorations and the day after Halloween their front neighbor had people setting up their very own winter wonderland. This annoys me to no end! It's two weeks from Thanksgiving and I have seen several places with Christmas lights. I mean whats next Christmas starting in September?

And so what if I started listening to Christmas music yesterday morning because it was rainy and cold outside. This is my blog and I can set a double standard if I want to!

Dear Santa

I have a wish list and it's pretty long. I thought I would compile a list of the things I would like in case someone wants to buy it for me! Just Kidding. Some of them are pretty expensive but thats why they call it a wish list right? Others are more reasonable but for the most part its mostly expensive stuff so sue me!

1. Anything Chanel because Karl Lagerfeld can really do no wrong in my book.

2. Christian Louboutin Shoes! I have nothing to wear with these but my goodness they are a vision!

3. This pretty Kate Spade Bag

4. A ipod shuffle for when I work out in this color.

5. My face to be super smooth.

6. More shoes but I'm going to go get these tomorrow!

7. a goodnights sleep

8. An apartment on park ave.

9. guitar hero

10. eduardo verastegui i mean seriously look at that face! Oh and he is in this great movie called bella check it out.

11. And of course world peace.

Now what is on your wish list friends?

Why I haven't posted, in pictures!

Instead of writing about everything i have been doing instead of posting I have decided to put pictures up because I'm lazy like that.

Hiking with friends

Wurstfest

Halloween and yes that's the same costume as last year but none of them had seen it and I'm lazy.

And that my friends is my life in pictures. Currently I'm trying to book our hotels in Thailand and figure out all our travel arrangements which I'm sure I will have tons of funny stories to tell.