Day Thirty-Eight: Familiar in the Foreign

Today we went to IKEA! We had no idea Bangkok even had one until our friend in Manila told us about it. It's not central at all but there is a huge mall there so we went on an adventure.

I think it was about 13 BTS (sky train) stops away and then a 20 minute shuttle bus. It took us over an hour to get there but we really enjoyed watching the city go by. We realize that Bangkok is not for everyone but we've totally fallen in love with this city.

Much of it is completely foreign. Most of the signage is in Thai, culture is different, it's WAY bigger than Winnipeg or Davao, street food is still a little daunting... a lot of the food we get is so spicy it feels like your face will melt off... and yet... IKEA... Sometimes to manage the culture shock of a new place, having something familiar to experience can be the break one needs. 

Speaking of which, the Mega Banana* mall where the IKEA is also has an ice skating rink. We can even do some winter stuff! 

Don't get me wrong, we love the Thai culture and are not generally the type to want all of our Western comforts all the time, but it does help to ease into a new locale.

~ Bonnie

*It's actually "Mega Bangna" but I kept reading "Mega Banana" so that is what I call it.