Raven dreamt of Thailand

What does it mean to have a trip of a lifetime? Well, I suppose my visit to Bangkok, Thailand would describe such a trip.  I am still in disbelief that the little brown girl from West Oakland made her way all the way across the world.  I've been dreaming of Thailand since my days of training in Muay Thai at Cheetah Muay Thai Academy.  I can't say for sure what drew me into the culture.  However, I do know that at the time, my gym was an extension of my family.  First of all, I truly enjoyed training. And secondly, my trainer was just the best.  He was definitely like a big brother to me.  He took my goofy, clumsy self in and turned the skinny girl into a fighter!  Since those days, I had long to visit Thailand.  And this year (well technically last year) it happened!  I said at the beginning of 2015 I would bring in the new year in Thailand, and that's just what I did.

Bangkok, Thailand. Huge metropolitan city.  So much going on.  A city that truly comes alive in the night.  It was a solo adventure.  Just me, some Baht, and some curiosity.  It was wonderful.  Go figure, after landing I would meet another Black girl traveling solo from Oakland.  Gena quickly became my sidekick in exploration.  We started with taking a riverboat to the temples.  Learned really quickly that although the Thai people are really nice, they are hustlers first! LOL.  The temples were amazing.  So many different representation of Buddhism.  You can really feel the calm and peace in the place.  We were able to enjoy all the fresh fruit and the tasty street food.  Somehow, ironically, my 1st hotel was right in the Nana district, better known as the "Adult Playground".  The night brought streets filled with street workers and Thai boy/girls (yes, they are some kind of pretty).  We took a tuk tuk driver (an open cab) to check out a Ping Pong show.  Although, interesting to see....umm, it definitely didn't stimulate anything but compassion.  A bunch of Thai women doing some pretty spectacular things with their Yoni's, but very obviously not enjoying themselves.  

The adventures in Thailand went on from exploring and trying new foods in Chinatown (grasshoppers are interesting lol), to catching the super modern/"of the future" train system,, to experiencing the floating marketing and straight being hustled out of a lot of Baht.  There are literally malls everywhere in Bangkok and they are an attraction in itself.  

One of the best moments in my entire trip was taking a private Muay Thai lesson at Master Toddy's Gym.  It's sort of hard to explain, but emotional I was to say the least.  I trained for an hour with a Thai fighter and we just had such a good time.  He knew little to no English, but laughter and smiles are universal.  I then took a trip to one of the islands towards the southern part of Thailand called Ko Phi Phi.  If there is paradise on Earth, I believe it was here. I was able to get a traditional tattoo and that was amazing. 

Having this experience made me appreciate so much of what I have and also admiration for traditions that I do not.  I loved every moment I spent there (well besides the unnecessary small steps that are everywhere and totally not needed lol).

Thailand is forever in my heart.