One night in Bangkok...(literally)

Barely a handshake with the city, my one day in Bangkok wasn't wasted, although by the end of the night, I was.

I spent the morning in one of the temples close to my hotel. It was an incredible space to sit and ground myself before experiencing the madness of Bangkok. On the advice of a student monk I had met, I was off to see some of the sites. I hopped in a TukTuk (a little 3 wheeler taxi moped thingy) and rode around Bangkok for about 3 hours. I saw a 45m tall Buddha, a reclining Buddha, a smiling Buddha, a Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday Buddha (seriously, you worship the one that corresponds with the day of your birth).

The architecture is incredible and there are pictures of the King everywhere. The Thai people are serious about their king, really serious. I had arrived one day after his birthday celebration and everyone I ran into mentioned it.

The final stop was on the advice of the TukTuk driver, a fine thread suit store where I was persuaded to buy nothing (not for lack of effort on the salesman's part). This is a typical scam that some of the drivers will try and pull. The ride cost about $1.50 (or 60 Baht). If only NYC was down with the TukTuks.

(Click to enlarge photos)






I met some experienced travelers on the plane who had some friends living in Bangkok. That night they took me to an outdoor 'do it yourself' Korean style BBQ near the Grand Palace. The place sat about 200 with twice as many little grills for BBQing. I ate a pounds worth of food (I think)...they just kept bringing beer and I just kept drinking it, so I can't really remember.

There was a Thai version of KD Lang on stage performing during dinner...then she was joined by a guy in drag who proceeded to shave some guys beard off on stage. What? Yup. Not sure I understand it myself and I was there. Everyone seemed to love it though and it was a really beautiful night out so that was nice. The rest of the night was spent wandering the streets of Bangkok trying to get some sense of what the city has to offer.

I am excited to get to Chiang Mai and get into a rythm of yoga and bodywork. Bangkok was great, but not a city I need to spend too much time in. On the dark side... Hardcore pollution, many prostitutes, lots of traffic...on the light side...incredible temples, amazing food, overabundance of culture, such nice people...and it is Thailand for goodness sake. In all fairness, to form an opinion in one day is a joke.

A few more pics...






Now off to Chiang Mai, I will touch base from there. Much love and I hope all is well,

Kevin