Dear Caitlin,

Mission: Accomplished!

You will be proud to know that the first thing I did when I woke up on my first morning in Bangkok was rip off a piece of an old Chang Beer box and craft this "Day 1" sign. I then folded it up and proceeded to carry it all over the city with me (despite the fact that in this heat having anything bulky in your pocket is next to unbearable) as Emily, Justin and I tuk-tuk'ed our way throughout the city. Ultimately, The tuk-tuk photo I think sums up the feeling of day 1: fast and a little overwhelming.

The next morning, we decided to leave the city and explore a little bit of central Thailand. In Ayutthaya, we biked, walked, climbed and boated in, on and around the incredible ruins of ancient Siam.

In Kanchanaburi province we celebrated the new year with fireworks on the river Kwai and an amazing bar called "restroom" (seriously) which was packed to the brim with Thais who LOVED to take pictures with us (and randomly take sips of our beers...which was a little bizarre). The peak of our night however, was lighting our lantern at midnight and watching it join the hundreds of other lanterns floating up past the full moon.

I have also had a bunch of "firsts" since arriving in Thailand:

First Thai Massage - ฿120

Minibus to Ayutthaya with surprise
stop at Ancient Wat - ฿200

Riding the Death้้้้้ Railway across
the bridge over River Kwai - ฿100

My first time in Asia with two incredible friends - PRICELESS

And while I am already having all of these new adventure I am starting to understand how difficult it is going to be to be so far away from my friends and family for such a long time. Luckily, and thanks to you, I have the wisdom of Pooh to keep me going.

“If ever there is a tomorrow when we're not together.. there is something you must always remember. You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think. but the most important thing is, even if we're apart... I'll always be with you.”

- Winnie the Pooh (A.A. Milne)