Were we stoked to be in Thailand? You bet! But more than that, we were drained from the long journey. After a couple beers at the hotel restaurant (an Italian joint), we checked in, unpacked a few things, and hit the streets to check out our immediate area.

There is always an initial shock when you are new to a country. Crossing the streets is a task in itself. With cars, motorbikes, and tuk tuks whizzing through an unfamiliar stop light system, the best method is to get behind some locals and follow their every footstep until you reach the other side of the street.

While roaming our new area, we popped into our first Thai restaurant – ‘Jim Thompson’ (named after an American businessman who helped revitalise the Thai silk industry in the 1950s and 1960s) for our first meal in Bangkok: shrimp Tom Yum soup and Pad See Ew with prawns. Not too adventurous, I know, but we wanted to ease our stomachs into the cuisine, saving the street food for another day.

We went back to our hotel for a 2-3 hour nap with plans to head out again in the evening. Instead we passed out for 7 hours and woke up just before midnight still pained with jet lag.

At least we will be well rested for tomorrow…