thai everybody!

so im in thailand.
i never thought it would be possible to sweat so much. when i arrived in bangkok after a lengthy flight from istanbul to abu dhabi and abu dhabi to bangkok, i was pleased to experience smooth transportation from the airport to my new cser's apt. her name is kirsten and she is from australia, but is teaching english as a PE teacher in bangkok. since i arrived in the morning, kirsten was at work. which led to me dropping off my luggage at her building, and proceeding to tour around bangkok all by myself, and jet-lagged. when i began to wander from kirstens apartment, i was culture shock. everywhere i looked it was a bussle of activity. and the street food was cheap and EVERYWHERE! unfortunately they cook with lots of oyster and shrimp here, so i couldnt order any of it, because i cant eat shellfish, and they dont have menus, or speak english! and i couldnt get over how smiley everyone was. i felt very comfortable walking alone there. the first thing i did was find an air conditioned mall, and got my first thai massage. it was amazing, and for 6bucks an hour, i knew it wouldnt be my last.
when i met up with kirsten that night, we went out to dinner, and i got to meet some of her friends from work. over the next fews days at kirstens place i learned to navigate bangkoks 'skytrain' with precision. the skytrain is a subway like car that was built to reduce congestion on the streets. which is why it was built a top the city. when you ride it you feel like you are at disney world. on my second day there kirsten surprised me with a vip ticket to the thailand open! i was thrilled to spend an afternoon watching the pros play tennis in thailand. i was also lucky to be there over the weekend which meant i was able to attend the famous JJ market! one of my previous couchsurfers warned me to get a map before i went because its like a maze there. he was right! but my navigation skills are horrible, so i just let myself get lost and asked for help when it was time to go. i hit 'time to go' after purchasing thai silk robes, handmade chop sticks, and delish spring rolls among many other souvenirs that i had to lug to the post office to send home the next day.
one of my previous couchsurfing hosts from switzerland (marco) had been to thailand last year, and he recommended that i check out a small island called koh lanta. koh being the thai word for island. i went to a travel agent near kirstens apartment and checked out prices. and that very day i booked a night bus to koh lanta! i had lucked out and there was even a couchsurfer on the island who agreed to host me for a couple night when i was there! so i said goodbye to kirsten and caught a 19 hour bus ride to koh lanta!!