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Published: January 12th 2006
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Ahhhhhhhh! Pardon that but I just finished a lengthy and exhaustive 30 minutes with picture related upload only to have Internet Explorer crash. It is reassuring that half a world away and nothing changes. Alas. So not to be outdone by yesterday, we have returned to the cheapie mall and started putting in serious time at the internet cafe. In addition we also picked up our plane tickets to leave for Burma tomorrow. Some of you may know it as Myanmar. Some of you may know it as the Golden Land. Others may have no idea what I am talking about. Basically this is a military dictatorship neighboring Thailand. We know very little about it except what we read in our book and on other people's travel blogs but it looks fantastic and exciting. We will keep you posted. If you search this website there are many blogs from the area which is reassuring to us. It means people go there and come back.
As for our time in Bangkok, other than many hours at MBK which is one of three or four malls in the Siam Square area of Bangkok, we revisited the reclining Buddha at wat Po
and took the brand new sky train and river taxi. Very fun. It seems that at the rate they are polluting the river you may not need a boat soon. In a few years I predict you can just walk from trash heap to trash heap. Even more concerning is the fact that people are fishing in the river. Oh well. As for the reclining buddha, it is just as if not more impressive the second time around. New lessons learned are that when the menu says spicey they mean thai spicey not white man spicey and proceeding with caution is the better part of valor. Twice we actually had to abandon our dishes when we literally felt the heat inj our bellies and sweat pored from our brows.... We have not done the shopping we anticipated but plan to return to outfit ourselves with the latest in knock-off fashion and accessories. Aneta already has plans for a home with a wing devoted solely to purses and one for shoes. I am eyeing the 52 inch TV made by Sone (real spelling). Okay that is all lies but it does seem like a possibility when you spend enough time in
the mall. As we are unsure of the availability or quality of internet access in Burma this may be the last message for some time. So don't think we are ignoring you all. Not much else from Bangkok...
OK- so I had to add a few amusing observations:
1. The mall, this mall, is definitely THE place to be. At the moment I am breaking out in a spasm every few minutes as Thai school children yell at their various interconnected computer screens while playing games- this goes on at several points throughout the day (we know because, as you know, we've been here almost 2 full days)...it's both entertaining and, as you can imagine, HIGHLY annoying and distracting. It is the place to bring your date and a distinct viewing point to check out every combination of bizarre (usually creepy) sex tourism. Infinate entertainment. Who knew...Before we leave we still plan to karaoke, bowl, catch a flick and maybe even shop- all at the mall. if we wanted to- there's actually a rather nice hotel built into the side- this place really rocks😊
2. jon's full time current hobby is chewing his nails (not sure why
since we are, technically, relaxing on vacation). Maybe it's all the radiation this mall emits. Perhaps the complete isolation of Burma will be the cure...
3. Our favorite food venues are undoubtedly the food vendors standing in the polluted streets outside the mall- full, delicious, un-sketchy lunch including beverages - exactly $2 and minimal wait- excellent!
4. Unlike new zealand and most of australia- sushi in singapore and thailand is very reliable- as long as you don't order the spicy anything hand roll- which is actually fish in some sort of tomato/mayo sauce with every form of veggie imaginable- instantly falls apart, of course. on the other hand - Swensens and McD's sundaes- very reliable!
5. No partying like our last time around- seems that eating has actually replaced it for now - I guess we'll catch up on that when we get back to the islands- though I hear Yangon (aka rangoon) is actually party central nowadays.
6. Many many people travelling here with their young children (never really thought of thailand as a family destination).
7. will need to activelly schedule at least one full day devoted to shopping when we come back
through here!
Conclusion- still love Thailand, especially since, now that we've discovered the corner 7 eleven and the post office- we could very easily make bangkok our international stop off point for any future getaways. Though it has become somewhat of the SEA disneyland- especially for sex tourism- it remains fascinating and entertaining enough to warrant return trips....
that's all for now. miss you all
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Dana
non-member comment
Is it just me???
I dont know why, but I want to take a long shower after ready that entry. From the satanically spicey foods to the river of polluted sham..Thailand sounds like it could use a good cleaning. Shopping sounds interesting...Aneta,you better come back with some good shit! ;)