So I dusted off the backpack and took off again for one last international adventure before I have to go back to the reality of the working world. By the end of this month of traveling I will have flown completely around the world... Denver --> Hong Kong --> Bangkok/Ko Samui --> London/Amsterdam/Germany/Czech Republic/Austria/Italy/Ireland --> Denver Not a bad itinerary My mom, dad, little brother Sean, and I left for Southeast Asia a couple of days ago to do some sight seeing but also to meet up with some of my mom's family for a big anniversary party off the coast of Thailand. Hong Kong Our first full day in Hong Kong we spent the morning with some family who lives in HK so they were able to show us around to some of the less touristy, more culture shocky areas. We went and got breakfast at this fish market that had tanks of about every type of fish and shellfish imaginable. Locals would walk up and point out which fish, squid, clam, or other strange looking animal they wanted, and then the restaurant would either cook it for you or pack it up to take home. We had an interesting meal of prawns, fried squid, beef and noodles, and a couple chicken feet appetizers. Got to say I prefer chicken fried steak and eggs for my breakfasts. We spent the rest of the day doing some sight seeing around the HK harbor and making it to some real important destinations.... Like the Apple store. Then took the rest of the day to prepare ourselves the madness that was Bangkok. Bangkok I have spent time in some of the biggest and craziest cities in world and none of them prepared me for Bangkok, Thailand. The heat, the smells, the traffic, the mayhem was unlike anything I'd ever experienced before. But mostly the heat.... I brought something like 7 shirts to carry around for my month of backpacking, I think I went through 5 of them in 2 days in Bangkok. I don't think my dad has any left. Over 100 degrees, humid, and not a single breeze anywhere. Regardless of the heat, I thoroughly enjoyed Bangkok and the food is out of this world, the coconut curry dishes are seriously mind-blowing, there's no other adjective to describe them. So the first day in Bangkok was mostly spent eating and looking for air conditioning. We also made it to a Thai massage parlor where we got 60 minute foot massages for like $10 US. It was awesome. So we walk into this massage parlor and these cute tiny little Thai girls come out and start rubbing my parent's and brother's feet. Of course the girl that comes out last for me has bigger arms than I do. She kind of looks like E Honda from Street Fighter and she beat the crap out of me. But I have got to admit I kind of enjoyed it. She slapped the hell out of my legs and feet, popped every toe multiple times, and bent my ankles and legs in ways that they should never be bent. I looked over to see if my family is getting the same treatment and they all have their eyes closed and about to fall asleep. I'm white knuckling the arm rests and clenching my teeth. But she was awesome and I walked out of there feeling great. Our next day we got a good dose of the real Bangkok. We walked around to some of the Buddhist temples and through the Grand Palace which is where the King of Thailand supposedly lives. We saw lots of Buddhas, monks, and other tourists. We also did some good shopping which is a must in Bangkok. Some Indian dudes made me some custom tailored dress shirts and I bought a $5,000 Rolex for $45 dollars so I'm pretty stoked about that. The Rolex is real.... Obviously. For dinner we went to this place called the Bed Supper Club, where you seriously eat dinner in a bed. You take your shoes off and crawl onto this big white bed where they bring your drinks and food to you while your stretched out in this bed. Very cool place. Fortunately, or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it, I didn't make it to Patpong for a darts and ping pong show.... I'll let you google that one on your own. For now off to Ko Samui to go party on the Thai Island for a couple days...rough life I know. Cheers