Two Burnses in Bangkok

This weekend was one of the best I've had so far in Thailand. My oldest brother, Andrew, came to visit me in Bangkok! He had a business trip to Singapore and asked if they could also set up meetings in Bangkok because he knew I would be here. It was so amazing to be able to show him around, introduce him to my friends here, and hang out. I hadn't even realized it but I haven't been home in 4 months. That's a long time to go without seeing any family members! I was giddy with excitement when I went to meet him at the airport, and the whole weekend was so much fun.

He flew in Friday night and we went straight to his hotel downtown. I dropped off my bag because I was staying the weekend with him and I experienced, on a small scale, culture shock. The hotel was quite fancy and I hadn't been anywhere so decadent in a long time. My apartment is really nice but it's simple. Also, when I've traveled these past few months it has been to budget backpacker hostels. I absolutely love the places I've been staying, they are just very different from a 5 star hotel!

We walked around the streets outside the hotel after dinner and were pleasantly surprised that right across the street was Patpong Night Market. It's the biggest night market in Thailand. The market and hotel are also right next to the Red Light district. One must keep an open mind when exploring that part of town. It's something everyone who comes to Bangkok should experience...but you just have to go and accept what happens there and understand that you can't change any of it. It was quite an experience to see it all (well, for me it was the second time), but the two of us had an interesting time navigating the streets looking for fun things to do. After exploring the market, we headed to the most famous rooftop bar in Bangkok: Sirocco Sky Bar. It is located on the 64th floor of the State Tower and was used in the filming of the movie "The Hangover Part II". The view from the top was incredible! I love how beautiful Bangkok looks at night with all of the buildings lit up.

View from the Sky Bar.

Andrew and I hanging out on the 64th floor.

The next day, we headed to an indoor market because it was raining. The hotel had a handout with the name of the market printed on it to give to our taxi driver and it said "Pratanum Market". We were very tickled when we arrived to our destination and saw a huge sign on the building that said "Platinum Mall". If you sound it out...it's close enough! It was neat to wander around for a few hours checking out the thousands of goods for sale.

Andrew outside the "Platinum Mall"

Saturday night was great because we met up with one of Andrew's friends from Camp SeaGull who is from Thailand, Krit. We all met up at Fallabella, a neat restaurant/club and had a delicious dinner. I love going out to eat with Thai friends because they order a bunch of plates and we all share. Krit is one of the nicest people I've ever met and we had such a good time at dinner hanging out. I hope to see him again during the rest of my stay in Bangkok. He is actually a news anchor for Channel 3, so I will definitely try to tune in to more Thai TV and see if I recognize him!

Krit, Andrew, and Rob at dinner.

Krit and I at Fallabella with our friends.

Sunday was probably one of my favorite days because Andrew came out to Bangmod and saw where I live! It is SO different than downtown Bangkok; I was glad he got to see both parts of town. He was surprised at how different it was and was delighted to see that all of the local Thai people are so kind and smiley. Not many people get to see this part of town when they come to Bangkok for just a few days. Many travelers get a skewed perspective of Thai people because they are only in the touristy areas. We had a delicious meal at the market I go to every day and it was also for about a third of the price as all the other food he'd had downtown.

Andrew about to chow down on delicious Thai food from the market.

I'm so glad that Andrew came and got to see where I've been living. At dinner, he kept asking why I liked it so much and why I was so happy. I think after seeing where I live and go to school, he sees how cool it is and how great my life really is! I'm writing this hastily because I need to catch our flight to Cambodia in a few hours. We will be there for the rest of the week...I can't wait to explore Angkor Wat together!