Bangkok

So we made from Tokyo to Thailand!

We arrived pretty late (11:30 locally) and hitched a cab to our hostel. We were a little worried that it may not be open but surprisingly the place was Jumping .... there were people hanging out at the restaurant/pool and the receptionist lady was wide awake. We however were not so we hit the hay and got ready for our first day in Bangkok!!

It was Sunday and Jenna had found a walking tour in our little "Thailand Guide Book" but it recommended we go in the evening to see the sunset so we weren't sure what we were going to do in the morning. At breakfast, however, one of the workers made an announcement that there was a bus heading of the weekend market so we decided we should check it out. WOW! That place was ridiculous! There was stuff everywhere and it was all packed into hundreds of very small stalls. You could buy everything and anything ... we decided to buy a foot massage. Jenna had been talking about it all morning so we found a massage place and settled in for a half-an-hour. Jarret was a little uncomfortable because he had never had a massage before but Jenna thoroughly enjoyed herself and almost fell asleep! After the massage we walked around the market for a little longer and eventually decided to go back to the hostel for some food ... we were still a little nervous of just purchasing it from vendors and knew the restaurant at the hostel was quality and priced really well.

For the afternoon we decided to pursue this walking tour Jenna had read about so we assumed our roles - Jarret the Navigator and Jenna the Photographer - hopped in a cab and look off. We walked all around what seemed to be the more marketplace friendly area of Japan. There was Chinatown, Lil' India, and every other type of ethic 'market' you could think of thrown in with stores and booths that ranged from places that sold bulk 'Hello Kitty' pens to Gold and other Jewelry. Plus, one could never travel too far without coming across a Temple (or Wat in Thai) that locals could/would be worshipping at. There were some really cool monuments that we came across, most if not all of them having to do with the King, and eventually we made our way into a more 'back-street' setting where we eventually found the "Beach View Guest House" where there was an amazing view of the river and parts of down town. We tried to stay and watch the sunset but unfortunately it was a little too cloudy out. Beers however were super cheap! After a few brews we found our way back out on to a main street, caught a cab, and booked if home for the night.

Our second day of Bangkok was just, if not more, action packed than the first. We started off by heading over to one of the larger parks in Bangkok, Lumphini Park, and walked around admiring the locals, the swans, the turtles, and the lizards!! After wards we headed into one of the more 'middle-class' shopping districts; the 'Central Mall' seems to be a chain of department stores very similar to Zellers or Sears. After finding something to snack on we decided it was time to head over the the Grand Palace!! The Palace was unreal. There were people everywhere, a lot of tourists which we actually hadn't seen too much of other that at the hostel, and, unbeknownst to us, one had to be properly covered before entering the Palace. However, because of the high volume of tourists, the Palace authorities, if thats what one would call them, had no pants to lend to Jarret so we had to find something else to amuse ourselves with until the Palace calmed down a bit. We found a boat tour!! The Palace is actually located very close to the river so it makes sense that there would be a river tour business located in close proximity to such a tourist hub. We chose the cheapest hour-long tour which took us to another temple - the Temple of Dawn - to a floating market - which only consisted of two boats/shops when we were there - and a really large Golden Buddha where fish seemed to like to congregate ... weird. Anyways we got off at the Temple and took some pictures, bought some bread from one of the floating merchants, and feed the bread to the fishes at the Buddha ... thats actually what we were intending to do with the bread in the first place haha! After the boat tour we decided to try the Grand Palace again and sure enough, there were pants for Jarret! After attempting to get in the entrance without paying the fee (we didn't know), attempting to get in the exit without paying the fee (we didn't realize), we finally payed the fee and went in. It was immaculate, everything was done up to the nines and was really clean! There was lost of Gold and lots of Statues which represented mystical beings. There also was a temple for an Emerald Buddha (we later found out it was actually Jade) but it was covered in Diamonds and sat on a hug Golden thrown. No one was allowed to take pictures of the Emerald Buddha ... sorry. We also walked around and saw what was possibly the home of the King and a building of Parliament of some sort and a lot of security guards. Needing a break from an exhausting day we decided to go to a movie. So we headed over to one of the more fancy shopping districts, Siam Square, and into the MBK mall where the movies were only 100 Baht ... roughly $3. And we saw the new James Bond movie ... I only make note of this because if you are following along this day was Monday the 10th and Quantum of Solace does not come out in the Americas until the 15th. Finally we decided to head home and crash ... and indeed we crashed!

Not having anything too pressing to do on our third day, the 11th, we slept, and slept , and slept. We probably didn't leave the room until about 2 and that was only to eat ... we probably didn't get out of the Hostel until about 6 or 7. We decided to go to the really fancy mall, the Siam Paragon, and have dinner at a nice restaurant recommended to us called the Orangery; it was delicious! Afterwards we decided to go to another movie because it is all we really felt like doing haha. The movie theater at the top of the Paragon was AMAZING. There were probably only about 24 seats in the theater, each one a leather recliner and they gave you blankets once the movie started. The people next to us ordered Champaign! Turns out we were a little underdressed but no one complained. We saw Tropic Thunder, because Jenna had never seen it and Jarret really liked it last time. Afterwards we were tired again so we went home and to bed.

Yesterday, the 12th, was our fourth day in Bangkok and it was very similar to the previous day. We decided, however, that we should get a cell phone because we have been talking to a lady who runs an orphanage and she recommended it - it would make communications a lot easier and convenient - and it was really cheap. After that .... you may have guessed it ... we went to a movie!! They are also really cheap and alot of fun so why not?! This time we went and saw Eagle Eye in IMAX and it was really good ... way better then we both thought it would be I think. Afterwards we walked around the mall some more looked at a couple more of the sights (they have started setting up for Christmas) and decided to head back to the Hostel.

Today, the 13th, is our Last in Bangkok for a little bit. After having to talked to the orphanage lady (Marg) and the lady who runs our hostel, we have decided that we are going to head down to a sister hostel on the island of Ko Chang! Its on the beach and it should be a blast. I can't talk too much about it because we aren't there yet!

Anyways our days in Bangkok have been great and we are excited to come back in a bit but for now we are heading to the BEACH!!!

Cheers,

Jarret and Jenna

---

---