Goodbye America, hello Bangkok!
Talk about a change of pace! Jacob and I arrived in Bangkok close to midnight on the 15th after a whopping 22 hours of travel time. Trying to keep track of when I took my last injection of Lantus while jumping time zones and fighting jet lag was no easy task. I eventually gave up trying to keep up with the time changes, and used my watch set to American time. Anytime the hands hit eight, whether it was AM or PM, I took a shot of Lantus. I alternated between 12 and 15 units (normally I take 12 in the morning and 15 in the evening, but morning and evening simply became “airplane,” so that was out). By the time we woke up in Bangkok, which is 15 hours ahead of San Diego, I was able to get my injections on local time.
I realized quickly though, that carbs are going to be the toughest challenge of this trip. Every dish comes with rice or noodles, including our meal on Japan airlines. When you’re confined to a seat for eight hours though, you have eat at some point. The constant carb influx kept my BGs above 200 for several hours on each leg of the journey, which was frustrating. Here’s a sample meal from our flight from Tokyo to Bangkok-its a dish of chicken, noodles, and rice, potato salad, a biscuit, and a pasta salad. Carbs much?
One thing that made me smile though, was when I asked the Japanese stewardess for sugar substitute for my coffee. She looked perplexed for a moment then smiled and said she’d be right back. She returned with this little packet:
“How do you call it in Engllish?” she asked.
“Sugar substitute” I told her, returning her sweet smile. I flipped the packet over and saw that it had “10kcal” printed on the back. I wasn’t completely sugar free, but it certainly lived up to its funny name.
So much more to write and tell! This city is wild. It breathes a hot and heavy air, bustling with an international crowd that zips along the ancient streets past temples and palaces on modern motorcycles and trams. The juxtaposition of new and old is fascinating, as is the feeling of being on an adventure with no set plans. True freedom indeed. More to come friends!
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And so the adventure begins! Adapt and survive.