Busy Bangkok

Yesterday morning we awoke to a whole new world - streets teaming with the traffic of taxis, tuk-tuks, and motorbikes; scents of foreign foods, automobile fumes, and other "interesting" aromas (you never knew when it was safe to take a deep breath); and shouts and chatter in a completely foreign language.

After spending two days in Bangkok, I think I have had enough. We did have a great time seeing some of the many unique sights that Bangkok has to offer. First, we made our way through the hustle and bustle of Bangkok to Wat Phra Kaeo and the Grand Palace - two "must-see" sites. Here, we hired a tour guide "Jeffrey" who provided us with umbrellas to shade the steamy rays of the sun and gave us a wonderful tour of the grounds. Jeffrey guided us among the ornate structures of the wat... golden temples highlighted with shiny and colorful jewels; walls covered in detailed paintings depicting ancient stories; and six-meter tall demons to ward off evil. He also provided us with a bit of history and background info to enrich our viewing. We then took off our shoes and entered the bot... a holy feeling place that is home to the Emerald Buddha who sits atop a golden throne above his worshipers down on the bright red carpet. After leaving the shiny and colorful grounds of the Wat, Jeffrey led us around the Grand Palace. These grounds are also full of grandeur, yet they seem a bit bland when placed next to the glowing brilliance of the Wat.

Down the road from Wat Phra Kaoe and the Grand Palace, we entered the grounds of Wat Pho. Once again, we found shiny and vibrant structures of all sorts. The most significant monument of Wat Pho is the Chapel of the Reclining Buddha - housing an enormous golden (and yes reclining) Buddha. The Buddha is so large (semi-truck size!) that only a narrow pathway allows visitors to pass.

Today we visited Jim Thomson's House, the thai-style home of an American entrepreneur who amassed a grand collection of Asian artwork to decorate his home. While Jim mysteriously disappeared, his beautiful home remains for visitors to tour.

Aside from seeing all the touristy sites, Mally and I have enjoyed a collection of scrumptious Thai food and the wonderful art of Thai massage. We've tasted the 50 cent pad thai from the night markets and dined in style at the fine Jim Thomson restaurant where we were waited on by about 5 different people (our water glass was never empty and no dirty plates were left on the table for more than seconds) and sat in an elegant dining room enjoying fruit smoothies, thai meals, and a wonderful mango sticky rice (all for less than $10). Yesterday we treated ourselves to massage after tramping around all morning in the heat. We had been dreaming of this massage for ages throughout all our sore muscles and tiring days on the bike... just the thought of this day inspired us up mountains and over the enlessly hilly terrain. It was like a dream come true. We spent an hour getting our legs, arms, back, and neck kneaded and our muscles stretched in every which way. We left with cool ice teas and a very big smiles.

Despite all the wonderful experiences, we did have a few let-downs. First, we discovered that the bedbugs do bite in Bangkok (hence, we did not sleep tight). We also got set-up with a tuk-tuk driver (Yo) who after zig-zagging us through traffic to many sites in his zooming three-wheeled buggy then led us to a misleading tourist agency. We wanted to go to the TAT or Tourism Authority of Thailand which is government run... and were told that the TAT-signed tourist agency was in fact THE TAT... we thought it was like an i-center in Australia and booked the rest of our journey with them. Later we discovered that it was a TAT sponsored travel agency (the TAT doesn't actually book trips). At first we worried all our tickets were a scam, but it turns out we probably just paid too much for our journey (still a deal in US$). Then, Yo tried to con us into shopping at a gem store. He took us to one temple where the gentleman inside told us how much money we could make buying jewelry and selling it at home... he also tried to tell us it was our lucky day because the temple is not normally open to the public... next thing we know, Yo pulls up to a gem store and tells us to just go look... we refused and then demanded to be taken home... Yo was no longer the nice friendly driver he appeared to be earlier in the day.

We are definitely rich people here in a very poor country. It is fun to spoil ourselves so cheaply and we figured out that we can make somebody's day by tipping an extra 50 cents, but we also found out that we look like walking ATMs to many people. We must constanly eschew the numerous offers for rides of all sorts (boats, taxis, tuk-tuks), we are hastled to buy all kinds of goods, and nice conversations turn into sales operations after a few minutes. After a while it wears on you. You never know if a friendly hello is out of kindness or in hopes of getting you to buy something. Bangkok soon became a sensory overload and we are happy to be making our way to Chiang Mai where we are going elephant trekking and learning to cook Thai style - Oh boy!