Bangkok

Two months ago, I went to Bangkok. Like most tourists I stayed in the Khao San Road area. It was nice going from being noticed everywhere as the only white guy around in Kuala Terengganu, to being just another white guy in Khao San.

Of course the downside to this is how lame the area was.


Look! House music all night long! Civilization, at last.





I complain, but I will admit it was a nice change of pace for a bit.


But seriously, this area was like a low budget, Vegas recreation of Times Square.


And what tourist area would be complete without lots of T-shirts for sale?

This next one is kinda cool. You see the the red shirt on the left with the guy trying to hit a plane with a slingshot, and the yellow one with the guy draining energy (?) from the sun? They're designed by Rob Dobi, I went to college with him. You can buy them here, no trip to Bangkok needed. That said, I don't know if the shirts pictured are real or knock offs.

This is my second favorite shirt.


And my most favorite.


Interestingly enough, in the middle of all this tourism and capitalism is a Buddhist temple and monastery.


Here is the Royal Palace. A lot of touristy stuff was closed due to the running of the Olympic torch through Bangkok that day.

And did you know it's illegal to say anything bad about the king of Thailand? Illegal! Also, here's an interesting fact: the current king, His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand, was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Here is the Temple of Dawn, as seen from a water taxi.


I would have liked to have gone out and seen more stuff, but it rained most of the time. Here the storm cloud cometh.


Seeking some refuge, we go to the Chinatown market.


Also, Thailand has a lot of ladyboys, guys that dress as women. Can you find the ladyboy in this photo?


Bangkok also has these things called Tuk Tuks. They're sorta like motorcycles with a wider seat in the back.

Here's some video of the trip.




Tuk Tuk drivers are renown for taking advantage of tourists. They'll try to take you to overpriced places that pay them to bring in unsuspecting tourists. Also you can't walk by one without them asking if you'd like to visit areas of ill repute, sometimes complete with hand gestures, just in case I thought Ping Pong and Boom Boom were the names of panda bears at the local zoo.

Here's a bus.

The weird thing about the bus is that you don't pay when you get on. Once the bus is driving through traffic, someone, in my case an old lady, walks around to collect your money. It does save time, but the job requires some good balance or a lot of stumbling. The old lady on my bus chose the latter option.