BANGKOK, CITY OF EXTREMES

THAILAND

This is Thailand, formerly known as "Siam".

The main city is Bangkok--also known as the hottest city in the world!  (I hate the heat.)

My husband and I used to travel to Bangkok to buy jewelry and accessories for our shops.  Did we have good experiences?  Yes, AND difficult ones.

Like the time my husband got an ear infection that was killing him with pain and we went to a hospital in Bangkok. Our experience there was very positive (after we got over worrying).  Doctor spoke English, was quick and efficient, and treated him which relieved his pain.

People usually think that hospitals in Asia are 2nd rate.  Actually, they are the best in that part of the world, except for Singapore.

GRAND PALACE

Probably the main tourist attraction is the Grand Palace.  Other smaller palaces also dot the city.
These palaces are something right out of our imaginations of what Bangkok used to look like.
 

KAO SAN ROAD

This is Kao San Road.  It is a relatively short street crammed with wholesalers selling jewelry, mostly, street food, hostels and hotels, hookers, drugs, hepatitis, and other various and sundry traveler's illnesses.  (Of course, dysentery is par for the course. :0( )

If you ever go there, I suggest getting a room with air conditioning!  The first few times, we were tight with our money and stayed in hostel type places with only one ceiling fan.

In these places, I needed to get up 20 times a night to take a cold shower (there was no hot water, anyway) so I could get back to sleep.  If I didn't sleep well, shopping was hell in the heat!

TUK-TUKS

The most popular form of transportation is called the "tuk-tuk" (after the sound these vehicles make).  It is cheap, noisy, smelly, and, of course, extra hot--and it can be quite the travelers experience.  Tuk-tuks use 2-stroke engines, so they pollute terribly.  I think the only other place where the air was so polluted was Delhi.

SELLING FRUIT AND VEG ON THE CANALS

A common attraction, included in most travel books on Bangkok, are the canal boats from which women sell their produce.  Do they really do this?  Yup.  It is really cool to see, but watch your step around that area, so you don't fall in.

PAT PONG ROAD

Bangkok is famous for its nightlife.  Pat Pong is a street in the middle of the city that is a Thai Las Vegas, except that betting isn't the main activity--strip clubs are.  There are a lot of other interesting aspects to this area, but I want to keep this post as "G" as possible!  :0)

Ahhhh, Bangkok traffic.  If you like riding around in cars for a very long time and having the driver take his life into your hands, this is the place for YOU!

This pic is the scene was experienced each time when we went to the airport.  Once we were running late and urged the driver to go faster.

The Thai people are very polite.  In their culture, it is bad form to show negative emotions.  Well, WE didn't know that!  We just continued on our volatile Greek ways until the taxi driver starting pounding his head into the headrest--while smiling all the whole time.

That was so strange (and humorous, when not thinking of the stress we helped cause this poor fellow) to see people not fighting back after living in Greece so long.  Culture shock.

Well, that taxi ride is one travel experience I regret.  But it was exciting at first to see this exotic metropolis--and business was good.

P.S. Don't tell any Thai people that you saw "Anna and the King" or "The King and I" because they hate this movie.  They contend that it shows disrespect for the King.  (Hey, they take this stuff seriously...  At the beginning of movies, everyone stands up---at least they did back then--and sings the national anthem that includes praises to the King.)