Hello, Bangkok!

Sawadee (hello) from bangkok, everyone!
After 1 layover in Beijing, 3 very decent airplane meals from Air China and a quick 25 minute cab ride out, I made it to my hostel! It is currently 2:04am in Bangkok and 82 degrees outside. already had 2 giant water bugs / cockroaches scurry by my bare feet. keeping it cool.
I got pretty emotional after waving goodbye to my parents past the gates, especially once the plane took off. But from that point on the emotions turned to pure excitement. My cab ride consisted of me looking out the window with my mouth wide open the ENTIRE TIME. like a kid in a candy store, seriously. And people say that Bangkok is the least exciting of all places you'll visit in southeast asia. WELL... in that case, i can't wait. i smiled as i saw the first colorfully-lit tuk-tuk drive in front of us (they are so cute!), 3-wheeled bicycles stationed up ahead, 8 foot buddhas waiting to be sold outside closed shops, locals cooking curried rice near street-long fruit stands and other markets. the humidity makes this feel even more real and raw for some reason.
Depending on how much sleep i get my first night here i plan on visiting the main sites tomorrow. I'm only in bangkok for 3 nights, then i'm going to the islands for probably 1-2 weeks. We'll see how it goes! I'll write again in a few days or a week. feels surreal to be here.
Celine