Day 201 con'd - First Day of 2008

We had a lazy start to 2008. Everything we did, we did slowly. We slept late, having celebrated the night away. When we finally de-cocooned from bed, it was nearly 10:00, bright, and sunny. We blogged for a bit, then we e-mailed for a bit, then we enjoyed a lesiurley tea and coffee in our hostel's little garden. Well past 1:00 now, our tummies were making 'Little Shop'-type noises, so we walked over to our favourite fish and soup vendor. She saw us coming and greeted us warmly. No fish had been prepared yet, but she dished up her lovely soup, and the best curry I have ever eaten. As we tucked in, we could hear laughing and frying sounds coming from the kitchen. Five minutes later we were presented with our very own crispy fish. She and her partner and crime even taught us a few phrases in Thai. In addition to "Happy New Year", we can now say "Very Good" "Hello", and "Thank You", which are the essential first phrases in any language.

After letting our lunch settle, we took the sky train to a massage parlour. I opted an hour and a half foot and hand massage, while Cz went for a whopping two hour full-body treatment. It does make me wonder that countries that seem to hate feet do the best foot massages. By way of apology to them, perhaps?

By the time we were thoroughly massaged, it was past 5:00. We decided to stroll home, rather than take the train. Along that route we passed a park in full bloom, and countless flower sellers offering orchids, birds of paradise, and ginger blossoms from plastic tubs on the sidewalk. Any exotic you could wish for is available for a few baht, but I challenge anybody to find a simple daisy. Fruits too - mangoes are in season now, so every corner stall offers yellow mangoes, green mangoes, mango juice, and mango smoothies for pennies, but apples and strawberries - those you have to pay extra for.

Almost home on our walk, we stopped by my favourite pumpkin custard vendor for a fix. The lady chuckled when she saw me, and gave a 10 baht discount because the piece I chose was 'too small'. In that way Bangkok really reminds me if Seattle. Of course there are the hurly-burly tourist centers, but for the most part the city feels like a big city masquerading as a small town. I like it here.