First impressions of Bangkok

The flights to and further from Amsterdam were a success by all means. Actually it was a surprisingly painless way to reach the destination Bangkok. Entry formalities were flexible, just some ten minutes of queuing.

My contact person at BU, Ms Jiab met me at the airport to drive me to the Waterford Park Condominium. Two-bedroom apartment is the same as Kimmo and Marina have had - so I felt at home here at once. I am very satisfied with all the practical arrangements - even the Internet access was available straight away.

  Combined living room, dining room and kitchenette.

The master bedroom with king-size bed - guest room is smaller.
                                                     


A view from my balkony to the backyard with swimming pool.

 

General atmosphere in Bangkok is stable and peaceful. If I didn't know anything about last week's riots, I couldn't even imagine there has been such hostile actions going on. I haven't visited the area which was partly ruined by arsonists setting several buildings in the fire. Anyway, there's no curfew anymore and life has normalized - also according to The Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland, or rather according to the Finnish Embassy in Bangkok - they've even moved in their office back to the center.

Adjusting to new climate and environment has not been totally painless as I've been suffering from splitting headache, similar to the headache that I tend to suffer from in Finland just before thunderstorms - painkillers don't help. Today I read one article about possible effects of jet-lag, and they wrote that the symptoms of jet-lag are worse when travelling eastbound than to the west - I was surprised and kind of relieved too.

I have met a whole bunch of BU colleagues. All of them are extremely helpful and friendly - I find it pleasant to start my summer job tomorrow at Bangkok University International College (BUIC) as everything has been organized exemplarily well so far.

Turn in for Bangkok tones and modes every now and then - I'll do my best to mediate some of the ambience!

ps. Food is HOT & SPICY!