Thailand - Bangkok

Wow, this is one crazy city. Nice but crazy. I arrrived early one morning and was surprised by many sights. One neighborhood is a complete backpacker hang-out, with restaurants packed to the rafters with white faces. The city is a busy, busy metropolis with quaint neighborhoods mixed with canals, a big river, skyscrappers and shopping malls. The 'street' food available is amazing: noodles, curries, pastries, fruit shakes, coffee. Anything and everything cooked up right in front of you, oh so fresh and yummy.




Bangkok seems pre-occupied with business and making deals. An evening trip to the top of the very posh Banyan Tree Hotel provides a 360 roof-top view of a twinkling city, full of glass buildings and pulsing with life. This is still a party town though and there is no shortage of bars and clubs. The seedier side is not as prominent any more but you can still find various oddities such as ping-pong shows (don't ask). There is also a large number of "lady-boys": transvestites all dolled up and craving attention. Funny.




Shopping can be a major pre-occupation here. All the popular brands are copied and sold in stores and malls. Polo, Adidas, Puma, Lacoste, Fred Perry, etc. Everything is cheap and plentiful; there is definitely no effort to crackdown on this market.