bangkok

Thailand’s GRAND Palace

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The following day I was able to experience Thailand’s own Grand Palace. This walled city known as the Grand Palace was built in 1792 by King Rama I. It is the city’s most famous landmark and was home to the Royal Family for 150 years.

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The palace, known for its decadent and unique style, became an important architectural symbol of the Thai royal family and country as a whole.

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Although it is open to visitors, the buildings are sometimes used for state occasions and royal ceremonies. This place was absolutely beautiful! If you are ever in Thailand, it is a MUST see.

Welcome to Thailand

After fifty million days and twenty eleven hours, I finally made it to Bangkok Thailand!!!! I was so happy when I got off the plane. It wasn’t the most comfortable experience but I made it safe and I was grateful. I got to Bangkok in the evening so I went straight to the Hotel and unpacked and rested till the next day. I stayed at the Centara Grand at Central Plaza Ladprao Bangkok. The hotel was really nice. I wish I would have taken pictures.

My first full day in Bangkok included visiting numerous locations. I first visited the Temple of Golden Buddha. This was the home of the world’s largest solid gold Buddha statue. The Buddha was 10 feet high and weighted over 5 tons. It was worth about 14 million dollars. I then got to see the Temple of the Reclining Buddha (Wat Pho). Thailand is about 90 percent Buddhist so there were a lot of temples to visit. Each temple had a story of its own.

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My First Solo Trip

I’ve been traveling pretty much all my life and Thailand (thus far) has been my absolute favorite. I can honestly say I fell in LOVE with this country. This was my first solo trip and it was seriously amazing. To be able to do  you WHAT want… WHEN you want, HOW you want and even IF you want is just very liberating.  It really makes you feel powerful and allows you to learn so much about yourself along the way.

My trip to Thailand started November 2014 and it  was the longest trip   E V E R  …seriously…like I said, I’ve traveled to many places but this was my longest to date. I had a total of 3 connecting flights but I was ready! I first departed Chicago and then headed to LA. It was an awesome connect location since my best friend lives there. It had a four hour layover but I was ready to make  the best of it. After I landed in Los Angeles, my best friend picked me up from LAX and we then headed to a Mexican restaurant about 15 minutes away from the airport. It was good seeing her and catching up over dinner.

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After that she dropped me back at the airport and shortly after I was headed on to Asia! My next stop was to Hong Kong, China where I had an 8 hour layover.

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That layover was tough! I actually thought I was going to take advantage of the layover and go see The Great Wall of China but as soon as I got there, I was informed that this Great Wall was in Beijin and NOT Hong Kong….talk about embarrassed….I was SO salty. This is why you should do all your research when traveling. I figured I would still take advantage of Hong Kong. I left the airport and took a transit train to a mall called IFC that was about 25 minutes away from the airport.I made sure I was aware on how to get back to the airport before I left.

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It was seriously a basic mall with the Apple store in it. I could tell I was in a touristy area due to the niceness of the place…I wasn’t a fan. I walked around, snapped some pictures, ate a snack,  tried to hustle an iPhone 6 from this man on the street and then hopped back on the transit back to my safe haven: the airport.

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I would soon begin my journey to Bangkok, Thailand…