bangkok #2

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So I feel a little more inspired tonight (after a couple of Beer Chang's!!)... and I had such a great night I feel I need to document it before it disapears into the many crazy days that I'm sure await me...

It's so funny cause at about 6pm I'm lying by the pool thinking how crazy it is that I'm alone and seeing all these groups of people around me... it made me a little envious cause I thought it would be so nice to just go out with people I knew and talk about how crazy this place was. I had met up with people the night before but it just wasn't the same, cause those people are gone the next day and those memories leave with them. When you have a bunch of people you are consistently travelling with it seems like those experiences stay alive a little longer...
Anyways...
Things change quickly, cause although I thought I'd be doing a quick dinner alone, I met up with a canadian/bulgarian guy from toronto and then had two of the guys from the night before join us. I am really glad it's that easy to meet people! Let's hope that it remains that easy around the rest of se asia.
After dinner and few drinks we headed out of Koa San road and visited the quieter area just outside which is just a little more mellow but still a lot of the same. The guys were on a mission to find Fried grasshoppers and especially to see me eat one, however I was adamant that I wasn't going there. I have funny pictures, and no I didn't eat the things... there were maggots, cockroaches and plenty of other yummy vermin. I may get the guts up by the end of my trip... maybe.
From the top of my hotel by the pool I had seen a bunch of stuff going on not even a couple of blocks away so we decided to check it out and on the way stopped at a palm reader! She was pretty hilarious, often laughing at the ambiguity of what she was saying! Looks like I will be happy and healthy, however, and she told me this under her breath very seriously... if I don't marry by 28 I will crying in my bed forever... yikes. It's all bullshit right????
ha!
Well nothing a good culture shock can't cure. We headed toward the water festival and found we were quite literally the only the tourists or "farangs". I'm not kiddin, we saw only 2 other tourists in the entire massive festival. It was quite late and I'm sure it was a lot busier earlier, but we definitely stuck out. THe kids were pretty fascinated by us and eager to show off to get our attention! pretty damn cute. We watched this motorbike thing, where it was a round stage with vertical walls and the guy would ride around and around to the point where he was horizontal and the wheels of his bike were within inches of the top of the wall and you could have touched him. I really can't even explain it, I have pictures.. it was just insane!!! I dont' know If I could ever explain it! Hopefully the pictures would do it justice. Just picture a guy on a motor bike horizontally inches from you! And on top of that a women then got on the bike and did it side saddle no hands!!!!!! Very cool.
Well i hope that was a little more interesting! I had a very great night and I'm glad I ended my first experience in bangkok on a good note. It's amazing how you can get out of koa san road and instantly the smiles seem more genuine and you get a little bit of a taste of real thailand.
I am very excited for the next while!
take care everyone,
S.

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