Bangkok

We left for Thailand on Friday the 13th, arriving in Bangkok about 6 in the morning after an overnight flight from Melbourne. We took a cab into the city and woke up our hosts, Newley and Anasuya. We hung out at Anasuya's pad and caught up for a few hours before catching breakfast across the way at Crepes & Co. We headed down to the river and did a quick cruise with the tourists with our guide pointing out all the #1 spots in Bangkok to visit ("if you have time"). We also took in some beef noodle and proceeded to Khao San market to observe Bangkok's playground for grudgy backpackers (check out Newley's recent article in the NYT). We grabbed some tasty Thai vittles and finished off the night at the Suan Lum Night Bazaar where we drank German beer and watched a tacky stage show featuring Thai versions of top-40 hits. Not bad for day 1.

Day 2 we dared to venture into Chatuchak Weekend Market. If you can't find it at Chatuchak, you don't want it. Highlights included the rabbits in knitted sweaters and the squirrels with little hats. But an outdoor market in Bangkok's heat and humidity can only be endured for so long. We rewarded ourselves with a proper Bankok Sunday brunch at Trader Vic's at the Bangkok Marriott Resort and Spa. Three hours of devine gluttony! We took a siesta in the afternoon, and Uta and I wandered off down the road to check out the neighborhood and dropped in on Bei Otto.

On Monday, we turned into proper tourists, and hit some of Bangkok's cultural sites. First stop was the obligatory Grand Palace followed by Wat Po. We had to do the tourist dance with a clown outside Wat Po who tried the ol' "the temple is closed for lunch, you can come back later, in the meantime why don't you take a tour with my buddy" routine. We said thanks and proceeded to walk into Wat Po. We then had a spot of difficulty catching a cab to Siam Square, as none of the cabbies wanted to use the meter - we had to hop in and out of a few cabs before finally getting a lift. Siam Square and the neighboring shopping precincts represent some of the more posh shopping in Bangkok, no shortage of Prada, Gucci and other things we can't afford (not to mention one of the biggest freakin' food courts we've ever seen). We regrouped with Newley and Anasuya to finish off the night with dinner at Cabbages and Condoms, before taking a cab through some of Bangkok's peak traffic (dreadful) to the airport to travel to our next destination.

Photos here