Bangkok: the Tourist Trap

I arrived in Bangkok where Mathew - such a good brother - dutifully waited for me in the airport. Safe at last with my favorite traveling knight, I waited while Mathew negotiated rates with the cab drivers.
"The place we're staying at is a real shit-hole" Mathew kept warning me. "But it has A/C." I told him it was fine, but as I arrived, I kept my mouth shut. There was a sign, "Don't flush condoms down the toilet" which Mathew said tipped him off that this was a whore-house. We found a new place the next day without A/C, and jiminy cricket, it was friggin hot! We vowed to stay out of the room by day, and only return when it cooled off by night.
It was good that Mathew and I spent a couple of days in HOT Bangkok, so that my body could acclimate to the heat. In Thailand, people just get used to the heat, whereas in the States, we walk from our airconditioned car, to our airconditioned house to our airconditioned job, and we never get used to the weather. Imagine: drinking a ton of water, coconuts milk, fruit shakes, and you might not pee for days. This is how your body gets acclimated.
What I learned in Bangkok, aside from it being just a giant tourist trap, is that there is aerobics everywhere. It is funded by the government to help with healthcare. I think it's a brilliant idea. There is aerobics everyday in the afternoon during the week, and in the morning during the weekends. There are even parks that have workout equipment. "Funded Fitness" I call it, and I wonder how much the government saves in healthcare costs?
Could FAT America learn something from this?
Mathew and I went to the city to entertain ourselves. Truth be told, with Mat's narcolepsy, he can be content (probably for the rest of his life) laying in a hammock with Sudoku puzzles and taking naps. Insert a walk to the local food station, and back to the hammock, and he's got life made. So, I find that it is up to me to say, "Let's do something!" and off we went. Into the city in a little tuk-tuk, we were helpless sheep in the back of this crazy-mobile and on our way.
Note: For anyone who doesn't like to get a little crazy sometimes, a valium is a good thing to have on hand when you drive with Thai people. We drove in and out of lanes, we even drove on the wrong side of the road. Mathew explained ot me that in Thailand, people don't drive with their egos, so it makes it safer in the sense that if you drive on the wrong side of the road, the other cars will simply move out of the way, whereas in America, we would typically get mad, honk, and HONK! Mathew and I watched the movie: "Sugar and Spice" in a foreign language... with English subtitles.
We enjoyed street food, and headed back into our side of Bangkok into our hot guesthouse.
Leaving Bangkok, Mathew and I took a sleeper train. Phew. If America has spoiled me, then this was my wake-up call. Thank GOD for my earplugs! I was in sleeping by 6pm. At least, now I can say that I have been on a sleeper train. It wasn't so bad when it was over...

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