Day 7: Khanchanaburi, Thailand

9:30am: Took a mini-van full of Israelis, Germans, and Spanish to my next town.  I had booked some reservations online at some resort spa, but.... I said fuck it.  I went w/Carlos and Nacho (36, Barcelona) to this tiny hostel that they were going to.  I got the last room!  It's this private room in a stilt house on the famous River Kwai. 5USD/night?  Hah...  Anyway, the hostel and everything is all good.

noon: Carlos and I checked out the bridge over the River Kwai.  I hung out with a tiger cub and petted it.  :)

7pm: We also caught a baby bird that fell from a tree!  We tried feeding it, and we put it back in the tree.  :)

10pm: There's a funny city strip with a ton of prostitutes and foreigners hanging out.  I also met a Finn!  Hanging out with Spaniards and Finns... just like a couple years ago in Madrid!  Anyway, his name is Villa (27, construction worker), and we had an awesome time at the bars and everything.  Love those Finns.

Day 6: Bangkok, Thailand

Peter (UCSC '06/Bio/Stevenson, Santa Barbara) and I went to the Royal Palace and the temples around there.  It was sweet!  Of course, many people told us that it was closed, but it wasn't.  I'm pretty good at not getting swindled.  Sometimes.

We went to the flower market, which was crazy.  Everything was so bright and colorful and intricate. 

After that, after a LOT of bargaining, we got a longboat ride throught the canals around Bangkok for 17USD each.  It was well worth it.  The pics say it all.  Which... will show up anyday now.  Well, maybe in like... a week.  Or whatever.

Oh, and I met my first Bahai person. 

Day 5: Bangkok, Thailand

Went to a Muay Thai boxing match today!  It was only juniors, so they were all about 20 years old or younger.  It started with like... 10 year olds!  Haha... But I saw a KO!  It was sweet!  I had ring-side seats!  I took some pics w/the boxer who won the biggest match, but I forgot the battery for my digicam.  Louis has it.  I'll show you sometime.

We just walked around and chilled, but I pretty much have the rest of my Thailand plans planned out.  I have a plane from Phuket to Sukhothai on the 29th, then I'll go to Chiangmai, then to Laos!  Sticking to my vague plan!  I also am in the process of getting my visa to Vietnam.  :)

Day 4: Bangkok, Thailand

We went to a big market today (see: DENIO'S).  Got some silk ties and links for like $3.  Word, right?  We took the skyrail across the city then we took a boat up and down the river.

I checked out the red light district of Bangkok later.  I hung out w/some ladyboy prostitutes for a while and went to some bars and clubs around Khao San Road, too.  Tuk tuks (3-wheeled taxis) are awesome!
Ern: "Khao San Road."
Driver1: "Khao San Road... Very far... 300 baht."
Ern: "Fuck that."

Ern: "Khao San Road."
Driver2: "200 baht."
Ern: "50 baht."
Driver2: "It midnight.  75 baht."
Ern: "Deal."

I take a bus on the night of the 18th to the south of Thailand.  I wonder what I'll do until then...

Day 3: Ayutaya, Thailand

Daria (Russia, 26), Ninette (Germany, 31), Louis (Thailand, 27), and I hired a driver to take us around Ayutaya, the city an hour north of Bangkok.  It's kinda like the cultural center of Thailand.

We were quickly pulled over by a police officer.  He was on foot, though, and he kinda just waved us over.  Apparently, we were driving in the wrong lane or something.  A bribe for something like that is 100baht (about 5USD).  A more serious bribe is about twice that.  You better be loaded if you wanna bribe the cops!

We checked out the... Handicraft... Center?  I'll get back to you on the names.  It's this huge center created by the queen that's like a mall and a training center for ancient Thai handcrafted goods where people can buy and sell different works.  It was pretty sweet!  Just saw a lot of cool art and textiles from all over Thailand.  We had the whole place to ourselves.

We took a trip to the royal summer palace, which is a massive amazing estate with European and Asian architecture.  We had to take a little cable car over a river to get there.  There were maybe 100s of people out there drawing.  I guess it's just a pastime?  The buildings of course were full of royal accoutrements.  There were a ton of people there.  Later, we ate some noodles by the river.

We ended up seeing about 8 temples today which were spaced out throughout the city.  Some of them were up to 1,000 years old.  Most of them are in disrepair from the Burmese War or flooding.  But people come to all of them to pray, meditate, and give offerings.  There are actually male monks all over Thailand who where orange robes and shave their heads and eyebrows.  They're as young as children.  The Buddhas, even if they're missing heads or appendages, are adorned with similar robes.  There are others who aren't monks but have dedicated time to meditation and where white robes.  We walked through a village of them where everything was almost silent.

We went to a little river village where all the buildings were on stilts and boats and bridges connected everything.

After that we went to a heritage festival with all kinds of food, art, fireworks, and performances.  They lit some lanterns and let them drift through the air, and then we left.

After getting back to Bangkok, we decided that we still had a little more energy left.  We went to a lounge on the roof of one of the highest skyscrapers in the city.  We sat out there and had drinks and lied under the night in the middle of all the lights of the city, even though we were covered in sweat and filth.

Pictures are coming.  Sorry, been busy!  Need to get... visas?  Train, bus, airplane tickets?  Postcards?  Soon!

Day 2: Bangkok, Thailand

Phew!  I slept so much last night!  Wow, it's nice to NOT WORK.  After waking up around 1am to beautiful 30C (maybe 85F) weather, I had a mocha, rice, and eggs.  I met some super sweet Russian and German girls who I hung out w/all day.

Can I tell you that I can't remember the names of the places we went, because they're super long and in Thai?  We started out going to some beautiful temples in the city.  They're huge, ornate, and colorful, and there are golden Buddhas all over.

We ate some food and checked out some other interesting statues and temples and then went to China Town!  Hah, it was super-shady looking, but Thailand is apparently hella safe.  I mean, everyone tries to sell you things at super-inflated prices (like 4 times what they sell it to Thai people), but you never feel worried or like people are even trying to pick-pocket you.  Some lady tried selling us a small bag of cherries (maybe 20 cherries?) for about 25USD.  HAHAHA.  Yeah, right.  We tried buying some weird meatball things in soy sauce from a food cart.  She told us 2.50USD.  But it said on the cart's front .40USD.  So she was like... "Oh, okay."

I accidentally walked through some setting cement, and we took a boat trip down the river to watch the sunset over another beautiful temple.  You need to wear sleeves and pants to all of the holy and royal sites, even though it really is beater, shorts, and sandals weather.

We took another boat ride, got massages for an hour for 10USD (nice-eu!), ate some more yummy food, smoked some hookah, drank some beer, and called it a night.

I'm looking at a buncha cute, yellow geckos on the wall in front of me, and I saw a big toad today!  Good omens, right!  The Thai people are super friendly and funny, and there are monks everywhere!  My hostel isn't bad either.  The Thai language has 5 different tones, so... pretty difficult.  A plan is slowly coming together... in my head... as to what to do next.  Pictures to accompany the posts coming later!  Let me know who wants a postcard!

Day 1: Bangkok, Thailand

Following all of the festivities, I left my apartment at 1am.  After going back in time half an hour, I arrived in BKK airport at around 4pm.  Yeah, lots of traveling, huh?  Well, I'm here at a hostel.  Deciding my "next move".  But first of all, a shower, beer, and RICE.