Three nights in Bangkok

Bangkok surprised me in its modernity. It just seemed like another city; and I'd yet to see a modern style city for months. Everything seemed so clean, litter was not to be found; the buildings were neat and spread out along the river.

Julien and I found a room at My New House Guesthouse, just a block from the tourist ghetto of Kho San Road. The whole place was an overload of senses. Western music pumped from every place, tourists were everywhere, drunk. Hawkers sold everything from trendy t-shirts to wooden frogs that when a stick is rubbed across the back it sounds like a frog. People were getting massages every few feet. Women were wearing next to nothing; there was so much skin, my head felt like it would explode. I could understand why Indian men seem to lose their cool at the sight of western women. India was so oppressive compared to this. The biggest change was the 7-11's all over the city, selling everything a tourist could need from toiletries, to cigarettes, to beer, snacks or an iced coffee. And they were everywhere. In India, I could search for an hour to just to find a bar of soap. I couldn't help but love the convenience, the pure catered quality of it all.

Daan arrived the next morning and we all spent the days lounging around, eating wonderful, cheap Thai food and drinking Chang Beer and iced coffees over games of billiards. It was the type of town where 5AM came easily. I did not go to bed even a single time early.

I spend one day sightseeing. Kho San is so close to the old city that a good day is all one needs to walk through the main stuff. I skipped the Royal Palace because of the cost, but visited the fantastic Wat Pho, home of the world's largest reclining Buddha. The whole grounds were incredible; it may have been the most fantastic temple I've ever seen. I walked around Chinatown to try to find some good food, but I managed to get trapped in the Indian district, a place I needed not spend any time. Eventually I found some fried tofu dish that I didn't care for much. I stopped by a few more temples, including the hilltop Temple on the Mount, where I could see Bangkok stretching forever in all directions; all looking the same except for scattered wat.

I hung out with Nat one night, making plans to meet in Malaysia in a couple weeks. It was great to see Nat as a man in his home city.

Daan encouraged me to hit up Koh Tao next, so I followed his advice and booked a bus and boat combo from my guesthouse. It took mere minutes to have everything planned. No cues, no language hassles, and an empty seat. Thailand is so easy.