Bangkok

Definitely fewer pictures of Bangkok than other places. This is partly due to my being sick after my first day there (skipped town fast after), and the fact I walked everywhere. Definitely the slow way to do things, though it was nice to just wander the place.

This is especially true since I arrived at about 10pm...after leaving Siem Reap at about 6am. There is no time change, it was just a LOOONG trip. The road between Siem Reap and Poipet (the border town) is hands down the worst road in existence. There are rumors that the government is taking bribes from an airline to not upgrade the road, which explains the terrible state of it. Let's just say, and my backside can attest to this, that was the longest busride that should have been short in my life.

After searching around and finally finding a decent place to crash around the Khao San road area (kind of backpacker touristy area, but easy to get everywhere, and a good room for cheap is always nice). Just a shot of Khao San road at night...



First day out, and it turns out the only full day In Bangkok I'll do, I definitely get the impression that they like their temples and images of Buddha in Thailand.



The one above is something like 40 feet tall. I thought this was impressive until later in the day. But first, off to see the palace.



The statues around are definitely scary. What ISN'T shown here that's MORE scary are the dozens of soldiers around with giant guns (honestly, I didn't know they MADE them that big!). It turns out that this is more common in Thailand than in Cambodia. That and the huge amounts of Royal Yellow banners around, since it turns out it's the Thai King's 60th year on the throne. His seal is on shirts everywhere, and his image is in every public space.

After borrowing some long pants from the security desk to gain enterance, I got to go in to see the shiny things. I have to say, the Thais know how to do shiny things




Definitely starting to feel sick in that above picture. The air in Bangkok is such that your boogers are grey, and everyone is hawking up spit onto the sidewalk to clear their throats (you definitely start to feel it).

On the plus side, they dress up their religious icons, such as our friend the Emerald Buddah below, in funny costumes. This little guy has 3 different ones. He has his golden rain cape on for the wet season (though they don't let you take pictures inside and close to him, so that's as good as it gets)



Just a shot of the palace proper (the guard picture is more for the elephant statue than anything)





Next stop after the palace is an easy walk over to Wat Pho to see the biggest reclining Buddha in Thailand. It takes me a bit longer since I have to duck in for a drink every 5 minutes, and I get distracted by all of the street vendors (pineapple on a stick is the best idea ever).

However, despite numerous stops for tasty food, I do make it. As promised, it is big and golden.







In case you're confused, the last was a gratuitous Buddha Booty shot.

And just some shots of around the temple grounds (they never have 1 of something, there are always TONS of buildings on temple grounds)





And, yeah. The rest of the day was just wandering markets and things, then off to chat with some people in the common room of the guesthouse, then making plans for going to Kanachaburi the next day. Tune in next time, same bat time, same bat channel (running off to dinner with friends in a few, and don't feel like working on the post later to be honest. Hope to hear from all of you!)