Day 237 - When is a Planetarium Not a Planetarium?

When it's the Bangkok Educational Science Center! Listed simply as a planetarium, the science center actually consist of a planetarium PLUS 4 more science museums. Admission to all four museums plus the planetarium costs less than $3 (As opposed to the $18 for the NYC planetarium and science museum). The guidebook also says to allow at least a half day for the museum[s].

We were there for the reccomended half day and only managed to hit the planetarium and two of the museums.

Our first stop was the main physics and technology museum. Unfortunately one wing was closed, but that didn't stop us from playng with the childrens' exibits, climbing through a giant computer, and checking out the robot exhibit - which featured among other things screening of I Robot in Tai.

Afterwards we wandered through the Ocean Life museum and admired the fish. We didn't understand much, as most of the signs were entirely in Thai, but occasionally the fish names were in written English. I would not want to be caught downriver from this fellow.

Also in the exhibit were several aquariums of corals and reef fish. We were endlesly amused taking pictures of ourselves 'underwater'.

At 2:30, we trouped into the planetarium. It has been ages since either of us had been to a planetarium show, and we had forgotten how much we love the star-making machine. Once again, the dialogue was entirely in Thai, but the displays were great. It was especially neat seeing the Thai versions of familiar (and unfamiliar) constellations. No 'Big Bear' 'Little Bear' here. Thais see in the stars curling dragons, naga, and all manner of mythical half bird, half human creatures.

After the planetarium show, we wandered through the attached space museum looking at model rockets, satellites, and launchers. Who knew that Kazakistan had its own launcher and satellites?

By the time we blinked our way back into the sunlight, it was nearly 4PM and the other museums were closing down. We never even set foot in the Environmental Hall or the Museum of Medicine.

At a loss as what to do with the last few hours we had left in Bangkok, we wandered over to the Foodmall across the street from the museums. I had a huge headache, and was hoping a caffeinated drink would clear it up (it did, along with the tylenol). While there, we discovered that there was an English language screening of Sweeny Todd playing at 5PM. We had our solution of for how to entertain ourselves for our last night in Bangkok!

After the film, we ate a noodle dinner from one of our regular foodstalls, did some last-minute shifting of packs to make them more airline-friendly, and were soon on our way. The cabdriver drove as if pursued, and we made it to the airport in record-time. The check-in process was smooth, but for Cz's very suspicious thermometer, of course buried in the very bottom of his pack. After figuring out that was what had set off the sensors, even the security staff couldn't figure out why, and were very apologetic. Best we can figure is that the heat made the mercury rise and so the thermometer looked like a thn metal rod on the scanner.

In any case, we were soon tucked into our comfy Korean Air seats. As with the other Asian airlines, Korean Air is supremely comfortble, with foldable headrests, and near constant traffic from the stewardesses offering snacks and drinks. We are so unused to the treatment that it seemes almost a pity to sleep through most of it.

Day 236 - Bangkok Hit List

We were not very ambitious tourists the last time we were in Bangkok. Today we decided to make up for lost time, but not before lunch at the fish and soup lady's stall. She remembered us!

We stopped first at the Vimanek Teak Mansion, the largest golden teak building in the world, apparently. Built in 1900, the royal family lived there for 6 years before moving and using the place simply as a storehouse for the royal furniture. In the 1980's the current queen decided to re-open not only the teak mansion, but the surrounding buildings as museums. As a result, the teak mansion is now just one of 14 small museums scattered across the former palace grounds.

The Dusit Throne Room was built around the same time as the teak mansion in a Moorish style. Today it is a crafts center showcasing traditional Thai handicrafts. Especially striking were the little sculptures and boxes 'enameled' with mosaics made of tiny bits of beetle wings.

The grounds also house the grand Throne Hall, a neoclassical beast, approximately 85 metres long. It was getting late in the day, so we opted not to visit, only to take photos from the outside.

Most visitors to Bangkok stay on Kao San Road, the backpackers' ghetto. We felt we would be remiss if we didn't at least visit this most famous street. Stopping there, I can see why so many people we have met have had less than kind things to say about Bangkok. It was crowded, dirty, and oh-so-commercial. Most of the kids there were quite young with fresh sunburns from the islands, or with plans to head to the islands at the nearest chance. Popular with boys were dreadlock extensions - so many clean-cut college kids were sitting under the nimble fingers of Thai ladies having their J-Crew preppy hair transformed into world-traveller ratty dreads. Equally popular with the girls (all white, mostly blonde) were having either braided extensions, or tiny braids put in all over their heads, complete with beads on the ends. Perhaps no one told them that they are on the entirely wrong set of islands for that style.

Feeling sufficiently touristed, we decided to head for home. I figured if we aimed for the sun (it was late afternoon) we would be heading west, and would eventually hit the river, and by extension, the river taxis. This reconing made Cz very nervous, but he had no better idea, so off we went. Sure enough, within a few blocks, we reached a sign pointing towards Wat Pra Kaew, which I knew was right on one of the main ferry stops. From there it was easy as pie to just follow the arrows back to the riverfront and hop on the water taxi back to the skytrain.

Back in our neighborhood, I was disapointed to find that pumpkin custard lady had taken the night off. Cz went for a massage, and I consoled myself with a sticky rice and mango. After his massage and some internetting, we went for dinner at all our favourite street stalls, and then caught the skytrain back out to the night market. Once again I was disappointed - bra lady no longer appeared to have a table - but we did finish up the last of our gift buying.

Day 207 - Sunrise, Sunset

We woke up this morning hours before daylight to catch the 5:00AM bus to Aranyaprathet, the Thai border with Cambodia. Unfortunately, I was wide awake for the dark part of the ride, and fell asleep just in time to miss a lovely sunrise.

Thai tourist buses are generally a scam, but are very easy to avoid simply by buying all bus tickets directly at the bus station. The bus station sells tickets only for state-run bus companies, and the quality of each class of travel is strictly regulated. The express buses to the border are all first class, which means not only are there air con and reclining seats, but someone comes by with little snacks and water. On the VIP buses, the service is upped once more, including meals, movies, and essentially barca loungers for seats. (We haven't gotten to ride one of these yet). On the downside (or upside depending on your opinion) karaoke is just as popular in Thailand as in the rest of SE Asia, and often the bus's audio visual system is set to en route karaoke. This is less than amusing at 5:30AM.

We arrived at the stop closest to the border at about 9:30AM. After a quick trip to the toilets, we negotiated a tuk-tuk to the border. The driver initially asked for 150baht per person. We ended up agreeing on 20baht per person. He was very cheerful about the whole thing - I suspect that when they ask for such ridiculously high rates that it is more a game than actually trying to get it.

The border was a little dodgy, as visa scams are common. We ended up having to pay a little more for our Cambodian visa on the Thai side of the border because Cambodia was temporarily suspending visas on entry for foreigners unless they could provide proof of onward travel. I would call it a scam, except that this particular hitch was government sanctioned - which makes it no less scammy, but at least I don't feel like a chump for falling for it.

Visas in hand, we walked across the border without a hitch, took the government bus to the taxi stand on the Cambodian side, and had soon negotiated a fair price for the bumpy 3-hour ride into Siem Reap. Bumpy because the road is largely unpaved. Having been to India and Nepal, we were unfazed by the unpaved road, and in fact felt pretty swank as we sat in air con comfort watching the dust billow past our sealed up windows.

Once in Siem Reap, we were surprised at how lovely the town is. Unlike Agra which knows people will come to see the Taj no matter how nasty the town, Siem Reap retains much of its French-Colonial charm, despite the recent boom in tourism.

By the time we finished a late lunch and showering off the road dust, it was nearly 4:30, and time to meet our tuk-tuk driver to take us to the ticket office and sunset point. Sunset point is a tiny temple perched on a hill over the plains and Angkor Wat in the distance. Unfortunately, it is VERY much on the tourist map. Resulting in the more striking view being red-faced tourists puffing their way up the hill and crawl-climbing the extremely steep steps to the top rather than the sunset. It felt like a scene from a Hieronymus Bosch painting.

It was still nice, though, if very strange. Monks in saffron robes peppered the crowd, and the Buddha statue in the center of temple had offerings of fruit and incense laid at his feet. I liked these small reminders, that despite being a UNESCO site, and tourist trap, it is still a working temple.

Tomorrow we follow the hordes once more to the mother of them all...Angkor Wat.

Day 205 - Park Benches on Pachyderms

The Dutch girl we met in Kanchanaburi had never ridden on an elephant, and really wanted to try an elephant ride and elephant bathing while she was in Thailand. Cz and I have met, ridden, fed, and washed multiple elephants already, but I like elephants, so we decided to go too.

Unlike the elephant treks in Nepal, this one really was just an elephant ride. Much like pony rides in the States, we were placed on a gentle elephant and even seat belted into our park bench. The elephants did a slow circuit of a the woods near their camp and then walked down to the river for the 'elephant bath'.

We were each given a life jacket and rode the elephants into water deep enough that they could 'dive', dunking us into the water. More emphasis was placed on personal safety, and less on just playing with elephants in the water. I suppose that is necessary, as this is a much more established and touristy operation, and the river current seemed stronger than in Chitwan. It was still fun, but I missed my pachyderm pals from Chitwan.

After the elephant wash, we dried off, ate a last meal at our favourite restaurant, and hopped on a bus back to Bangkok. Apparently we chose the most popular bus, as we claimed some of the last seats before the aisles were stuffed Indian-style. Luckily it was only 3-hour ride until we back in Bangkok. We spent a little bit of time at the bus station getting info on tickets to Siem Reap, and were soon happily ensconced back at Sukhumvit Hostel munching on our favourite Phad Thai and fruit smoothies.

Day 202 - Tiger Tiger

We got up with the sun this morning to catch an early train to Kanchanaburi. As the taxi

crossed the bridge to Thonburi (the neighborhood with the train station) we were surprised at how much the bridge's silhouette resembled the silhouette of a famous Paris landmark.

The train itself, because it was a local train only offered third-class cars. The insides of the cars were painted an institutional aqua and mustard that was somehow cheerful in the way of grade school classrooms. Reinforcing the classroom feeling were the rows of wooden bench seats and the slightly musty smell of a classroom at the end of the school year - a faint combination of dust, sweat, and disinfectant. The windows, however were wide, and we passed through some very nice countryside. The Thais of this area are known as a riverine people, and we rode along several lotus-choked canals with houses perched carefully on stilts above.

We arrived in Kanchanaburi at about 11:00AM. The first guesthouse we tried was booked, but the second had rooms floating right on the river Kwai. Literally - many of the guesthouses in Kanchanaburi -this one included - rest on docks floating in the river Kwai.

By 11:30, we were settled around a shady table nursing cold beers and waiting for lunch. Incidentally, one of the top beer brands in Thailand is called "Tiger". As we sipped our Tigers, we discussed what to do for the rest of the afternoon. Aside from its rather famous bridge (yes we're on that River Kwai), Kanchanaburi is also near "The Tiger Temple", a tiger sanctuary run by Buddhist monks. Perhaps fortified by our tiger in a bottle, we decided to spend the afternoon frolicking with tigers of of the stripe-y variety.

It was a bit of a madhouse, as the tiger temple has become quite famous, and now tour buses from as far away as Bangkok make trips to visit the tigers. Despite the crowds, and being less of a temple, and more of a canyon populated with tigers and monks, it was still worth a visit. for the first part, we were escorted into the tiger area and allowed to pet the tigers. Judging from this fellow's reaction, it seems even big cats like Cz.

At 4:30, it was time for the tigers to walk up to their sleeping quarters. The youngest tiger actually got to ride piggy-back on one of keeper's backs. All the grown and half-grown cats had to walk. The younger ones were encouraged on their way by a 'cat toy' of two water bottles on a string being jiggled along in front of them. One didn't want to go in and snarled quite crossly at his handlers. He brought his point home with an impressive jet of pee on one of their shade umbrellas before allowing himself to be led up the hill. The final tiger was the largest and most docile of the group. Each of us got to take a turn walking with him and his monk towards the feeding area.

I was a little bothered that the tigers spend most of their day tethered essentially as a tourist attraction. This was alleviated somewhat because at the end of the day, they are released, and allowed to play with their handlers, the monks, and each other.

In addition to the tigers, Tiger Temple is home to a menagerie of other beasts, from a tiny bantam chickens, medium-size goats and deer, and giant oxen. I don't know how many of these other characters are destined to be tiger food, but until then, they have run of the compound and regular feedings of kibble and root vegetables.

It was hard to tear ourselves away from the animals, but our van was waiting to take us back to the guest house. we returned in time for dinner and few rounds of pool at a local bar. The local bar however, left something to be desired in the music department. When the four songs on repeat expanded to five with "Popeye the Sailor Man", we opted to pay visit to the local 7-11 (They're EVERYWHERE), and take the party home. Luckily we occupied 4 of the six rooms on our houseboat, and the other two were currently unoccupied. Otherwise there might have been some frustrated and sleepy neighbors.

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.

Day 201 - Sa Wat Dee Pee Mai!

Happy New Year!

Day 200 - New Years Eve

We spent much of the morning lolling about the hostel reading books and newspapers and drinking coffee. That's the danger of a very nice hostel - sometimes it's virtually impossible to peel oneself off the roof deck and actually do anything. Fortunately, one of the blessings of long travel is that it is not necessary to do absolutely everything everyday. In regular life, no one is on-the-go all day every day. If we were, we would be frazzled messes. When one is travelling for several months, it becomes less like 'traveling' as we generally think of it, and more like 'living abroad in lots of places'. Travel becomes 'regular life', and downtime days are just as necessary as they are at home.

That said, we did spend a few hours out and about this afternoon. We started our day with a late breakfast/early lunch at a little restaurant serving fried fish and soup. They might have offered other things as well, but those were the ones on display which we could point to and order with hand gestures. The fish were just in a large bowl. Not wanting to appear too greedy (and not realizing just how good they were) I reached for a medium-sized specimen. The motherly lady working at the counter shook her head no,no, no, and tsking-tsking me, my picked out the plumpest, nicest one and plonked on my plate with a big grin. Both ladies were tickled with Cz eating vast mounds of rice from the serve-yourself rice cooker (most SE Asians we have met seem to think Westerners don't really eat rice, and then find it highly amusing when we do), and at my eating all, even the head, of the fish.

After lunch, we decided to ride the river taxi to Chinatown with two Americans. As usual, the river was quite busy with all manner of boats whizzing and chugging up and down. Longtail boats like this one remind me of mayflies the way they zip around the surface with their motor-on-a-pole trailing out behind. Most exciting were the many fireworks barges being set up for New Year's displays. All the swank hotels along the waterfront were scheduled to have New Year's galas, and each one seemed to have its own floating fireworks stage.

Since the other Americans had not yet visited Wat Pho (the big, reclining Buddha wat), and because that one is our favourite, we stopped there first. After the requisite oohhing and ahhhing at the big gold Buddha, and giving the great gong a few good hits to ring in the New Year, we spent the rest of our time wandering around the outer courtyard taking irreverent photos. We saw Thai families doing the same, so we figured it couldn't be too sacrilegious. I think this pony might be a bit too small for me. We were a little surprised at first when we heard one of the stone statues say "Pssst. Pull My finger!" , but being fart jokes being universal humour (even among the sacred inanimate) Cz obliged.

We walked from Wat Pho into Chinatown. It is one of the largest Chinese centers (maybe the largest) outside of China. We only skirted the edge, maybe the middle is more intense, and maybe we just built it up in our minds, but it seemed tame compared to Canal Street. We did however have a sampling of some seriously tasty street snacks. Here's one of the simpler ones.

Ingredients:
quail eggs
wonton wrappers
Optional ingredients (not in the one we ate, but I think it would be good)
scallion
parsley or cilantro
salt
chilli, pepper, or paprika

Hard boil and peel quail eggs
fold up in wanton wrappers
deep fry

It's that simple.
If you want to get fancy, you could season the eggs with salt, herbs, and spices, and tie up the wonton top with a scallion. Still pretty simple, and your momma would be so impressed.

Around 6PM we started gearing up for New Year's. First we stopped by our local food stalls for a 'fancy' New Year's Eve dinner of soup, fried rice, and coconut smoothies. Then we hopped on the sky train and hurled ourselves (or shoved ourselves to be more accurate) into the scrum of Central Square. I was surprised at how few foreigners were present. The crowd was mostly a sea of Thai families cheerfully jostling for position in the crowded square. It was crowded, but relaxed and happy, with none of the fierce competition for 'prime real estate' that happens every Dec 31 in NYC. Everywhere bright lights cheered 'Happy New Year' and 'God Bless the King'. The Ganesh statue on one side of the square was wreathed in swirls of incense and buried under mounds of jasmine, tuber roses, and marigolds left by Thais hopeful for a prosperous new year.

Fueled by two parts excitement and one part beer, we laughed and mugged for one another's cameras in anticipation of the big event. 2007 is coming to a pretty spectacular close. We are in short sleeves and sandals waiting to ring in the new year half a world away (and twelve-fifteen hours ahead) of everyone we know, yet we are still surrounded by friends and laughter. The Central Square celebration has been advertised as "Hands Together 2008" in the hopes that everyone will join hands at midnight in a gesture of peace and goodwill. So hand-to-hand we count down the last few minutes of a most eventful year. 10, 9, 8, 7, 6...

Day 199 - Market Day

Today we went to the famous weekend market. The weekend market is a covered market with over 15,000 stalls selling everything from live baby squirrels (Pets or food? - I didn't dare ask) to handicrafts to random plastic junk, to 'designer' clothes and underwear. Pretty much if could be bought, sold, or traded, it showed up in the market.

We started the day with Thai ice tea. I guess here it's just called 'ice tea'. Regardless of the name, the making of it is an art form. Hot (but not boiling) water is pured though giant strainers of loose tea leaves. Loads of sweetened condensed milk is added, and then the whole concoction is poured back and forth between metal cups to cool and froth. As he pours (with as many as three cans in his hands) the tea man turn slow pirouettes and brings the cups closer and farther away from each other. All without spilling a drop!

After our tea, we nosed around the various shops. Perhaps most surprising was the shop specialising in country and bluegrass. Somehow we had stumbled on 'Little West VA' in the heart of Bangkok.

Of particular interest to me were the underwear sellers. A broken underwire and dead elastic converged with simply being tired of wearing granny bras. To my rescue came stall after stall of nice bras for $1-$2. Or so I thought. My bosoms are of average size by US standards. By Thai standards, however, they are HUGE - as evidenced by the only bras being close to my size having no sex appeal in colours like 'putty' with padded straps and triple rows of industrial hooks. After much searching, I finally found a simple black size 36, and snapped it up. First thing back at the hostel I tried it on. It was comically too small, a concept that my all-male roommates found hard to fathom. Lets just say my cups runneth over.

Despite the bra debacle, we had a marvelous time eating our way through the market. Most of the shops were a wash, but OMG the food. Perhaps this is why my clothes are rapidly filling out in all the places trekking had emptied them. Row upon row of steaming vats and sizzling woks competed for space with charcoal grills, smoothie stalls, and deep fryers. We never actually ate a sit-down meal, but sampled all sorts of tasty treats form the various stalls. Highlights included the phad thai, grilled something that I think was giant squid, strawberry-coconut smoothies, and spiced fish balls served with a spicy-sweet dipping sauce. Nothing cost more than 50bhat (about $1.75) for the big plate of phad thai, and most snacks were only about $.30.

I try again for a bra at the local shopping arcade, and again come up blank. The largest they carry is a 34B that looks more like a 34AA. I console myself with an amazing pumpkin custard served right in the steamed pumpkin shell.

After digesting for a few hours over a book that could have been written by Cz (by the wife of a traveller who is decidedly less keen on having 'adventures' than her husband), we head out for the phad thai at our local street vendor. It is billed as 'the best in the world', with newspaper articles in many languages extolling its virtues taped up on the cart windows. It does not disappoint - spicy and sweet with piquant lime undertones, this is probably where we will have our New Year's Eve dinner as well.

Our stay in Bangkok has morphed from its planned 2 days to nearly a week now. I really like it here, for much the same reasons that I liked the Pest side of Budapest and all of Istanbul. It is a heady mix of ancient temple, modern craziness, and just enough dirt to feel authentic. I look forward to ringing in the new year here with fireworks and over 100,000 of my closest friends tomorrow night.

Day 198 - The Big Guy

I have been wondering why this is such foodie blog. and I think it is because eating, along with pooping and sleeping, is one of those things we do every day. And while the first squat toilet or hand and water 'wipe' might be a culture shock, after a few times, it becomes the norm and you stop noticing it. Same with sleeping - the beds might vary in dimension, height, or materials, but they are still essentially a rectangular place to sleep. Food on the other hand is different every day. Imagine the variety of foods available at home, and now imagine that same level of variety in each country with not a single item being familiar. Everyday is a surprise. Even if you dine entirely on street food, which we have been doing in Bangkok, one can go an entire trip without eating the same thing twice. Only sampling a only few street stalls, we have had different varieties of meat on a stick, tons of fruit, barbecued squid in spicy sauce, fried fish balls, and an amazing seafood stir fry for a late lunch. Tonight I am going to haunt the streets near our hostel and see if I can't rustle up a plate of phad Thai. (I've heard the vendor on our corner makes the best in the city)

Other than eating, we spent the day riding the water taxi and legitimately visiting the temples that we saw last night. Bangkok used to be known as 'The Venice of the East', a title which still holds water, if you will pardon the pun. By far the most convenient way to reach most of the monuments and temples is via the water taxis and cross-river ferries.

We began our day by taking the water taxi up to the temple district, and then the cross-river ferry over to Wat Arun, or temple of the dawn. The temple's many spires are covered in elaborate mosaics. From a distance, they appear to be simply coloured tiles, but closer inspection reveals them for what they really are; pieces of dishes and other china that had been used for ballast in Chinese trading ships. Flowers whose petals use the curved edges of plates with dainty blue borders flank other blossoms with tiny porcelain saucers for centers. A series of frighteningly steep stairs leads up almost to the top of the wat, and offers views over the river and city.

From Wat Arun, we caught the cross-river ferry back across to Wat Pho, where we visited unofficially last night. Today the 'Buddha Room' was open and we spent a good while marveling at the largest gold reclining Buddha in the world. This guy stretches over 45 meters long and I think 15 meters tall. The pillars surrounding him are all inlaid with coloured tiles and semi-precious stones. Even the soles of his feet are decorated with mother of pearl whorls on his toes, and pictures on the soles. Outside the temple a great gong sat waiting for anyone who wanted to to strike it. It produced a resonant booo-ooong that was as much felt vibrating through one's body as it was heard.

We walked from the giant golden Buddha to Wat Prakaew and the Royal Palace. The place was crawling with people, as this complex is the top tourist attraction in Bangkok. Justifiably so- it is a marvel of gold leaf, mosaic, and Thai architecture. Though the king no longer resides here, it is still used for some official royal functions. This December was the king's eightieth birthday, and in honour of his birthday, much of the mosaic work is being cleaned and restored.

The place complex also houses the Wat Prakaew, home of the Emerald Buddha. Actually made of another green stone (Jade maybe? Jasper? I forget), the little Buddha sits atop a glorious heap of gold and crystal spires. Unfortunately photos are not allowed inside the wat - fortunately, the outside is just as elaborately gilded and decorated.

Hungry from playing tourist, we made our way back to the area near the ferry dock, and tucked into the delicious aforementioned seafood stir fry and a bottle of fresh juice. It was fairly thick, dark green, and not too sweet. It tasted good, and was deliciously cold, but I'm not entirely sure I want to know what sort of plant it came from.

By the time we finished 'lunch', most of the temples and museums were gaining on closing time. rather than trying to rush and cram one more thing in, we hopped on the water taxi and headed for home. We have since spent a quiet evening reading and blogging. I think I will ask at the front desk if we can stay here through New Year's Eve, then try rustle up some street food. The carts outside are calling my name.

Update: We will be staying in Bangkok through New Year's Eve, and have found a ourselves a posse of fellow backpackers to celebrate with. We will have a real UN intro to 2008 - In Thailand, celebrating with an Indonesian (now living in the US), some Americans, and a Swede (now living in Germany) ...plus whomever else we can convince to come with.

We ended up not having street food for dinner after all. We and the Swede went to a shopping center where he had eaten lunch, and ate at a 'shabu-shabu' chain. Shabu-shabu is a like Japanese fondue, with a bowl of boiling broth at the center of the table, and trays of raw foods delivered to the diners for cooking at the table. My arteries are celebrating the complete absence of meat or fat on the veg and mushroom platter we ordered.

After dinner, we returned to the hostel to see what our roommates 'going out on the town' plans might be. In the lobby, we met an Indonesian-born California girl who was going to see the red-light district. Thailand is known for its sex trade. In fact, quite a few westerners come here purely for 'sex tourism'. Intrigued, we, and about half our floor it seemed, decided to tag along. The district itself was quite fun with bright signs, 'hot' markets selling 'designer' goods, and even a baby elephant that for 20bhat once could buy a bag of elephant food (cucumbers and fruit) and feed. The shows themselves are about what one would expect....more dancing than clothing, and some 'special' tricks. Most of the shows are known as 'ping-pong show', I'll leave the whys up to your imagination.

After going to a 'ping pong show' (when in Rome...),we went to a (somewhat) more legitimate bar. There were still 'working girls' and dancers, but no tricks. Everyone (including the girls) seemed to be having a good time. We actually got into conversations with some of both the clients and staff. One gentleman we talked to has been living in Thailand for seven years, and is a regular at the bar. He flirted goofily (and very drunkenly) with all the ladies, and they seemed to like him. Granted they are paid to do that, but in this case, their attentions seemed almost more friendly or maternal than sexual.

All in all, we had a fun time, and look forward to ringing in the new year in 'The city of Angels'. (Really - that's Bangkok's other name)