Blessing myself with a lotus flower
Tuk-Tuk ride!
I'm having fun with mirrors
After Ko Samui, Celeste and I went to Bangkok (BKK)! We were sad to leave the islands but really excited to see the city life and SHOP! First thing we noticed was everyone wearing bright yellow collared shirts. Why yellow? On everyday of the week there is a lucky color. The current king was born on a Monday and Monday's lucky color is yellow, so the people wear yellow out of respect. Tuesday is pink and so forth.
So we arrived at our hotel in Siam Square, Holiday Inn, and went straight to Suan Lum night bazaar. We took our first Tuk-Tuk ride to get there (which is basically the same thing as an auto rickshaw here in India.) The night bazaar was cracking -- lots of people shopping around, there was an entertainment area where performers were dancing and singing to popular songs, we saw a ferris wheel ride and there was TONS of food. We had our first dose of Thai food that night at a hawker stand. The prices were dirt cheap also, we got 4 dishes for less than $10USD. We tried hard not to shop too much but of course we failed :)
Celeste and I doing the 'Same Same' pose
Me and Wat Pho (Reclining Buddha)
We tried to make them laugh
Friday morning we woke up and took a tour of some temples and the Grand Palace with a tour guide, Chuckie, my uncle recommended. We saw the Golden Buddha, Reclining Buddha (Wat Pho), standing Buddha, Emeralad Buddha (yes there are hella Buddha's everywhere, probably because 95% of the Thai population are Buddhist.) We also visited the Grand Palace, where the king and his administration use to live. When entering temples, it was required we take off our shoes and wear clothes to cover our arms and legs. Some tourists forgot to wear long pants and long sleeves so they make you rent clothing, we saw a bunch of people wearing these funny Thai outfits (obviously rented.) Mahin and Jeff arrived that night, and we went to this club/restaurant called 'Bed.' You can predict the ambiance from the name of the club. Yes, we sat on beds and had dinner with pillows on our back.
On the way to RCA
Partying thugs
Saturday morning my sister and I laid by the pool. That afternoon we went shopping (I know, more) to some of the malls in Siam Square. There are 5 HUGE malls all located next to each other, offering goods from designer clothing labels to DVDs and electronics. So much to shop for in Bangkok it's really insane. That night we met with our coworker's cousins, Shaohua and Yang-Yang to have dinner at a cute little Thai restaurant, and then went out to check the club scene. We went to RCA, which is a strip of clubs aligned next to each other. What's cool about these clubs is they have an outdoor patio area where you can lounge and have drinks. Fun times!
Sunday we headed to the infamous Chatuchuk Weekend Market in Bangkok. Biggest market I've ever seen. Imagine stalls and stalls and stalls smashed togteher, housing over a 1,000 or more stores, selling EVERYTHING from remade clothes, to fake tennis shoes, boutique dresses, handicrafts, textiles, fabrics, and even puppies! We spent 5 hours there and came out with BAGS and BAGS of stuff. The fun part about it all was it was all super cheap, you would never find this kind of shopping in the US. That night we had dinner at this enormous food court in Siam Paragon mall, the best food court I've seen. Sunday night after dinner Mahin and Celeste wanted to see some 'ladybois' -- we missed a caberet showing so we went to Patpong, which is a redlight district in Thailand. Nothing to brag about, they saw what they needed to see in the most disgusting way possible, haha. On our way out, we all got 'Same Same - but Different' T-shirts, a saying used by everyone in Thailand.
I had a lot of fun in Thailand, I wish I had more time to explore the rest of the country. What I love most about the country is everyone is super friendly and there is a sense of community among all the people. Everyone LOVES the king and wears yellow shirts to show their respect. There is a lot of shopping (which I love) and the food is super good, oh and the massages feel great and are super cheap! I can't wait to go back!
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