Like every city, Bangkok has its own sounds and smells. Taking a stroll the first morning brought on scents like fresh cooked poultry (chicken and duck!), fruit juices, curry, and –it cannot be said nicely, but it should be said—pollution. The sounds make me laugh because they’re so foreign. Languages from all over the world are present at my hotel, including a woman at the front desk that speaks Polish. No English –but Polish! Awesome!

On the first day, I did not stray too far from the hotel (Rambuttri Village Inn). The hotel is bare but pleasantly cockroach-free. The air conditioner works perfectly but the shower water could be hotter.

Started the day by shopping at 7-11, browsing some outdoor markets, and visiting an Internet café. Then, sampled some panang curry (sadly, not the best I’ve ever had) and drank some pineapple juice. I cannot express how disappointed I was by the curry. It was okay. I really wanted it to be a mind-blowing experience, because I really, really enjoy curry. I could live solely off of curries, soups, and bahn mis. I think if I had a curry-off with that chef, I could have easily won.

But I will not be discouraged! The search continues for delicious Thai curry.

I watched an episode of TOWIE and took a nap. Afterward, I went outside in the afternoon and was happy to find the streets bustling. There were shops that popped out of nowhere and new food to experiment. I walked along Chao Phraya River, where I took some photos, ate some pineapple, saw an incredible amount of (what I imagine to be) stray cats and dogs, ate what is best described as a meaty Thai omelet-pancake, confused myself with various maps, booked a tour for the next day, and had a massage followed by a pedicure.

I know this is turning into a novel, so I will wrap up with four quick things about my first 24 hours in Bangkok.

1.     That river moves fast. I would not want to be caught in that thing. Saw various enormous jungle tree branches moving swift through the current… that seemed to be everywhere.

2.     It is so shocking for me to see cats and dogs just wandering the streets. And no one cares. And they’re so skinny. And they either have huge balls or large, gaping vaginas. No joke.

3.     The fresh fruit here comes with a small bag of sugar. The sugar is infused with Thai chills. I was intrigued by this, and had no idea how spicy it could be, so I just dipped the tip of my tongue in the bag of hot sugar. (Don’t judge me; I’m traveling alone!) Holy hell. Delicious, but holy hell! My tongue has never been so happy and upset at the same time!

4.     That massage was somewhat unpleasant. Definitely not your typical American style “everything-feels-awesome” massage. There was actually a moment when my hands were interlocked behind my head, while my legs were interlocked Indian-meditation-style, and then there was a medium sized Thai dude behind me, pushing my upper body and head to the ground. If you are imagining me as a human pretzel, you have the right idea. Often was thinking, “This does not feel good! Is this good for me…?” Maybe my face showed this because the only English I heard during the massage was, “Haha, funny, yeah?” Um, funny… yeah.