Making friends...[Entry #6 June 24, 2011]

[Above: The swimming pool at Unico Express, small but relaxing]

Entry #6 June 24, 2011

        So perhaps my previous post about the new hotel I am staying in was a bit presumptuous in that yesterday I opted to pay a bit more and received a room at least twice as nice and the size for only a bit more expense. There may be a lesson in this, that if you pay only for the cheapest service you will be sorely disappointed. Also I have realized that perhaps the best place to meet people and spark some friendships lay at the side of the pool. Twice I have meet other travelers whom I have had lengthy conversations with and then traveled around the city with over the last couple days. Today I meet a bright young Korean girl who is vacationing in Bangkok for a short period of time, and previously I meet a man from Spain who was very interested in practicing his English. Both have been excellent company and have been entertaining to travel with. I believe that perhaps the reason a pool is such a good place to start conversations is that it is a community area where people are going to relax and do not mind engaging in conversations while lounging around the pool. Much of the time in Bangkok there is a quickness in everyone's step, it seems they are often in a rush to get somewhere. Thus far I have been limited in being able to practice my Thai however I have received numerous compliments for what few phrases I have been able to remember. The time studying the language has been well spent, but it feels like I have so much to learn still. I have been looking to find some local Thai with which to do a language exchange to practice, but so far have been somewhat unable to do so.
       It has been a good experience thus far staying at the hotel, although there is some difficulty in traveling by taxi, in the end it saves me money and gives me some exercise walking back and forth to the train stations. I have yet however gone to see several of the sites I want to see in Bangkok including several temples and the palace. It seems to me that these areas are slightly less accessible by train either BTS or subway, but I intend to get over to them within the next week. It is my hope to find more travelers to share my experience with and  travel around Bangkok with. Thus far it has been very enjoyable to have some company, in truth having someone to travel with is as sweet of respite as lounging in the pool.