crazy, busy Bangkok

We arrived safely in Bangkok after a day of sightseeing in London. We were incredibly tired but still in good spirits and we were very happy to have the time we did in London - wouldn't have done it any other way! And may I mention that our first Qantas experience was a very good one! I was very impressed with the food on the airplane, so much so that Chuck thought I was going to write to the airline company to congratulate them on their culinary skills. Maybe I still will... we'll see how the rest of the trip goes first! :)

First thing I have to say about Bangkok is WOW - It's H-O-T (and it's only winter here) and the people are SO friendly! It's truely the land of smiles! Definitely not used to the humidity anymore but we're hangin' in there and enjoying our time here. We've seen several Wat's (Buddhist temples) including the 45M gold Buddha and the Marble Temple which was beautiful! All the Wat's are being repainted or power-washed right now for the King's birthday next month. And a lot of people are wearing yellow or gold shirts in honor of his birthday.

We went to Chinatown and Siam Square yesterday/last night and realized just how busy and big this city is! We got a glimpse into the huge sex industry in Bangkok. It's very interesting to say the least and kind of sad to see such young girls putting themselves out there. We've also tried our hand at haggling with the Tuk-Tuk's and have have some favorable outcomes. It's fun riding around in those little cars, aside from all the exhaust and smog blown in your face!

We've had great food so far and have done a bit of shopping (as can be expected when things are so cheap). Our average meal cost is the equivalent of EUR 8 including drinks and tip. Can't beat that! Don't worry, we made up for it a bit at the night markets tonight...had to be done! We have also been pleased to find that the toilet situation has been much better than expected. I guess we were expecting China (holes in the ground), but we've had real toilets all around so far. Very nice and clean too!

Tomorrow we're going to see the Grand Palace, which we're very excited to see. It was closed on Wednesday because of some holiday and then we slept in too late today to see it (still getting used to the 7 hour time difference from Dublin) so tomorrow it is the #1 spot on our list before we head out of Bangkok for the islands. And for those of you wondering... we're 13 hours ahead of CST time.

We leave at 5:30 tonight (Friday) for Koh Tao and the beach life for a week. We've booked bus and boat transfer(12 hour over-night bus ride followed by 2 hour ferry), accommodation and the PADI Open Dive 4-day course (which we hope we didn't get ripped off for... but that's always a question in the back of your mind in Thailand) and will be in Koh Tao (the diving mecca of Southeast Asia) for the next week. We will decide where to go next while we're there.

We're definitely looking forward to some beach time because this type of weather can only be thoroughly enjoyed on the beach. I do have to say that the Thai people are THE friendliest people I've met so far and the heat doesn't seem to effect their friendliness or helpfulness.

Enjoy the couple of pics I've posted and hopefully we'll be talking to you again from Koh Tao with an update on our scuba lessons. Fingers crossed we (I) can handle the diving bit...

Love to all - we miss you! R&C