Back in the BKK

---

After an uneventful flight from Jakarta, Wes and I returned to Bangkok. We caught a cab to Liv's apartment (the driver definitely sped up the meter - it generally costs 150 B and we paid 400!). It was heavenly to have an apartment with a comfortable bed and a shower to crash at. We washed up and napped, waiting for Liv and David to get back from work before venturing out for anything other than lunch. That night the four of us went out to the Sukhomvit district and enjoyed a feast of Middle Eastern food followed by drinks at a swanky bar. It was a lot of fun, and good to see our friends.

Tuesday we slept in again, then headed to Carrefour for breakfast. From there we ventured to Rambothodi Hospital so Wes could have his shoulder checked out. He'd hurt it a few weeks ago and it wasn't getting any better. $3.50 later, they told him it was tendonitus and prescribed some medication. We were next to one of the palaces, so we wandered there next, but it looked closed down and had guards with guns out front. We decided to move on to the marble temple, which was beautiful. But before we went in we searched for water, a side trip that landed us at the government offices in the midst of the protests. We entered through an opening in the razor wire, passed a weapons check (they wouldn't even let the fruit vendors bring in knives), and wandered around the sea of yellow shirts for a while, taking in the protests. The police were lined up quite a ways away, not interfering and just waiting around in case things turned ugly. They didn't. The whole affair reminded me a little bit of the state fair, what with all the vendors and free food and clappy things for sale.

The actual Marble Temple was next, and we stayed long enough to cool off and have some ice cream. A cab took us to the river, where we dined at the "In Love" restaurant, which was pricey ($4 a plate!) but good. Next we boarded the Chao Phraya River Express for some views of the city and Wat Arun.

The rest of the day was sleepy and slow. We waited for Liv and David, then met friends of Liv's at the Lumphini Night Bazaar for dinner. No sooner had we finished eating than I had to head back to finish packing and go to the airport.

I'm now waiting out my 6 hour layover in Seoul and will be back in SD soon. It's been an amazing summer and it's very hard to bid it farewell.

---

Photos

Fish Feeding Frenzy
It was crazy to watch the fish fighting for bread.

Comments

[Carey]

I just finished catching up on your journals - what an amazing trip! Have a safe flight home and I can't wait to talk to you about all the details. The pictures are gorgeous - I'm so jealous!