Love it, hate it, and everything in between, Bangkok is a dizzying array of temples, shopping centers, business districts, and backpacker grottoes. As the largest city we visited during our round-the-world trip, it surely didn't disappoint with the number of activities we could do during our time there.

Bangkok definitely challenged my emotions on more than one occasion. Whether it was from homesickness, culture shock, or just the sheer exhaustion of navigating such a mammoth city, Bangkok wasn't my favorite place in the world our first few times through it. Of course, much of the time we were in Bangkok was spent doing "admin duties" like researching our next destination, refilling prescriptions, or filing our taxes back home. So that might be why it was initially met with my ill favor.

We passed through Bangkok four different times and stayed in the city for around two months or so. And it was during our fourth visit that my assumptions and judgments about Bangkok finally slipped away. By the time we boarded our flight to leave Southeast Asia from a city that surely never sleeps, I was already wishing for our return one day soon.

In honor of Bangkok (and indeed in honor of the country where we adopted our dog named Belly), I wanted to share some of photos from our time there.