First Experience of Bangkok

Well, I have made it to Bangkok. The plane ride wasn't too bad. I was able to get business class from Salt Lake City all the way to Bangkok. There was a two hour layover in Tokyo, so I wandered around the airport gazing at duty-free stuff. There was this amazing shop, full of scenes made from oragami: the trees, the animals, the people, the houses, everything! Quite amazing. There were dinosauers, bugs, armies, Little Red Riding Hood in the forest, Cinderella in her carriage, and so much more. I had personal pictures, but I had to steal some from the internet instead :(


The six hours to Bangkok from Narita took forever! I was so happy to get off the plane. I made it through money exchange, visa check, and baggage claim perfectly. I even found myself a Taxi. The Taxi ride took forever and cost me so much! I do believe he took the long route to rack up the meter. But I was not going to struggle on plane or bus routes (which were closed any way) with two giant suitcases and a head tired from travel.

After what seemed like ages, the cab driver pulled into an alley way with a temple sign above the entrance. "Hotel" he said, pointing to the temple sign, "No, alley" I reply and we argue for quite a time and he finally goes down the dark scary alley. I was ready to put up a fight, but then I saw the sign to the hotel. It wasn't until morning that I realized that this alley was a normal street for Bangkok.

Bangkok is a maze of streets that dead end, half of them aren't labeled and if they are, they aren't on the map. My roommate and I went to Old Town today. We peeked into the royal palace, not really wanting to attempt that massive area today. Plus it is Bhuddist Lent, so it is very busy. We did make our way through markets--where my camera was stolen! I lost all my great pictures! Of course the evil person who stole my camera was long gone and the police couldn't speak a word of English (or wouldn't).

But, we trudged onto our goal for the day Wat Pho, the Temple of the Reclining Buddha. The temple is huge and amazing! The mosiacs are incredible, the gardens are amazing, and the Buddha is huge! It is Gold plated and the feet are mother of pearl inlay. It is encased in a elaborately decorated building. Then we watched a bit of a Buddhist prayer going on in another temple.

After that we took the ferry to Wat Arun, just across the river. This was so very massive! We were too tired to climb all the steps, so this might be a trip for another day.

We then took a water taxi through the disgusting river to Chinatown--where we got lost in the overwelming expanse of markets. My roommate made the point that it is silly that we have to worry about our carbon footprint when these people throw everything into the water, and I mean EVERYTHING! The alleys between apartment complexes are just garbage heaps that spill into the river and there are open sewage pipes rolling off buildings.

We got caught in a monsoon rain, so we jumped into a tuk tuk and rode out the rain. Then we finally gave up and headed back to the hotel.

But Amy and I have concluded that Bangkok culture is weird. In temples everyone must cover their shoulders, legs, and toes. However, you are supposed to take off your shoes upon entering the temples and everyone is barefoot. People dislike women to wear short skirts or shorts, and tanktops--however most of the young women wear it any way. And on top of that, the culture frowns upon skin showing but they don't care about gays