February 9

you hear that, bangkok?
A moment of honesty: I love Asia. I love that I’m Asian. Everyone in Bangkok is beautiful: the wealthy rotund teen at Siam Paragon in the Chloe dress and leather flats, the school girl in white and navy, clad the tiniest blue pleated mini skirt and stilettos, the Australian business man on the Sky Train. Even the young lower middle class street people wear skinny jeans with unique washes and avant-garde graphic tees. It’s a milder, more chic and placid Tokyo, a magical, au courant, stunning metropolis. And I’m here. I’m here.

Thursday, we wake up late, grab coffee from a street vender, and take the Sky Train to Lumphini Park, where gigantic is still an understatement. It has green trees and grass, a full playground, and a giant man-made lake in the center. It is infamous for its lively mornings, full of Tai Chi doers and street venders selling everything from food to snake blood. But we arrive about noon, and it’s quiet then, only filled with families or couples sitting underneath the shade of the trees. We rent a little yellow pedal boat, and Liz steers us directly under the spray of the fountain, we laugh and scream, as the park employees irately watch from the shore.

We continue to wander the city, bask in its miscellany. Liz hates the city, she’s from Montana, and says they overwhelm her. But I’m in love, entranced, enthralled, ecstatic. We get lost in search of a Wat in Ekkamai, watch a little bit of Chinese New Year celebration parades, and go see an exhibit in the Thailand Center of Design and Creativity. Jeane (our SM director at WWU) is here for a convention, so we give her a call and meet her for dinner at the Ambassador Hotel. Jose Rojas joins us, and we just recently watched this DVD series he preached at the mission, everyone loves him there, and we’re minorly star-struck. We catch up with Jeane, reminisce about WWC, talk of other SM calls, culture shocks, taboos. And then we catch a movie at the Emporium, a great movie, (American Gangster), but I’m so exhausted, I fall asleep in the middle.

Friday, Phil came back from Chiang Mai around 5 am, and as always, it was nice to spend time with him. We decided to take the midnight bus and travel all throughout the night instead so we wouldn't have to pay for a place to stay overnight (yes, broke backpackers are we). So instead we went with Jeane, Phil, and the group on a boat tour (which WWU payed for, we're such moochers) ate at the food court at MBK, and spent the afternoon chilling at Benjasuri Park. Thailand is beautiful, the people are friendly, less pushy, more helpful. Getting ready to leave, I’m almost sad to return to my destination, devoid technology, cleanliness, wealth, and luxury. Yes folks, I live in a 3rd world country, (Cambodia is not like Thailand). But then I remembered why I’m here, why I do what I do, what fulfills me, whom I serve, and why I wake up every morning. I love my life. I love it. And I’m truly blessed by the opportunities and experiences I am able to have. I can't wait to get back to my kids. But a vacation every now and then feels great.