First stop, Bangkok, Land of the 7-elevens

We are officially underway! The 9 days in CA absolutely flew by. The only touristy thing we managed to squeeze in between the holidays was a day trip to Yosemite. My parents dropped us off at San Francisco Airport and I surprisingly teared up a bit at all the emotions of starting this new adventure. After 14 hours to Taiwan, we had a slight hiccup when a battery pack was found in Johnny's checked suitcase (the same one I recommended we lock with a TSA luggage lock) and they had to call Johnny over the intercom to get the key. Silly thing we should have known, lesson #1: TSA locks are NOT an international thing. Silly thing we should have known, lesson #2: rechargeable battery packs are lithium batteries and cannot be checked. After a stressful (for me) 20-something minutes of watching the whole plane load, we finally saw a tiny flight attendant dragging his massive pack up the jetway for us to unlock and retrieve the culprit. Crisis averted, we boarded the plane and we were on our way. 

From the Bangkok airport, we took the city link metro (easy to figure out) and I opted out of the Skylink transfer to walk the mile to our hotel because I wanted to see the city. This is where we learned that we both packed WAY too much. I knew we weren't "backpackers" per se, but we have backpack straps so why not! It was a wake-up call to drop weight ASAP. We already knew we had too much, but nothing like lugging 50+ lbs through the street of Bangkok to drive that point home. As we walked, the number of 7-elevens was almost comical, with sometimes four on the same block. It almost seemed as if there was nowhere you could look without a 7-eleven sign in sight. These affectionately started being referred to as the "sevies" and became our go-to water and coffee stops. 

Johnny booked our first few stays because he's been to Bangkok before with some college buddies a few years back. We settled on the Sukhumvit neighborhood because it looked like it might have some good party options for New Years' Eve, which ended up being a moot point since we didn't even spend NYE there. It was a good choice however because it was right on MRT (metro) and Skylink (tram) lines which made getting around super easy. 

We hit the ground running and took the opportunity on the long, warm walk to the hotel to bar-hop our way along. After throwing down our bags and a quick shower, we were on our way to celebrate New Year's Eve. Johnny found some good options, but ultimately we landed on heading to Asiatique, an outdoor shopping mall with over 1,000 shops on the waterfront. After reading that the fireworks show here was one of the best in the world, combined with my love of fireworks, it was a no-brainer rather than being in some bar or club. After taking the sky tram to the pier, we decided to skip the long ferry line and walk to Asiatique. The crowds became more and more congested as we got closer, but luckily we were able to post up at a good spot to catch the show. Lots more walking was involved to get out of the crowds once the show was over, but even random, dark side streets felt relatively clean and safe to navigate. 

New Year's Day brought us to the floating markets. Johnny missed these last time he was in Thailand as they are only open on the weekends so they were top of his list. I research a few, but decided against the major famous one quite a ways out of the city (Damnoen Saduak) and instead headed to a more local spot that was relatively void of tourists. We took the sky tram to the end of the line and then taxied to get to Khlong Lat Mayom floating market. We ate all the snacks, took a canal boat tour, then ate more snacks, all with my google translate celiac disease warning which seemed to mostly work. After the market, we used the local rideshare app, Grab, to head to the "backpackers' party" on Khao San Road. Johnny found me a gluten-free restaurant option and although I was tired and still recovering from jet lag, managed to fuel some fun dance parties with Vodka and soda water. 

Our final day in Bangkok was spent walking and exploring parks. We hit both Benchakitti and its cool skywalk, as well as Lumphini. I most noted its friendly cats that wanted pets, Johnny most noted its outdoor gym which he was dismayed he didn't know about before. The weather has been pleasant and conducive to lots of walking around to explore, which I was starting to feel via my sore feet. After the parks, it was the MRT to Wat Arun Temple, then a ferry boat to China Town for the night street market and all the snacks. We also lucked out when we stumbled into T&K Seafood, which ended up being on a lot of must-hit food lists. We're both in love with Thai food and I have to say, so far it's lived up to the hype, even eating gluten-free (thank you mango sticky rice and curry).  

The next day it was up bright and early to catch our ride to Koh Chang Island, knowing that we'll probably be passing through Bangkok again and looking forward to more time there. And visiting all the 7-elevens. 

Johnny with his gross "tiger blood" drink from the "sevie" as we hit Yaowarat Road