bangkok

don't worry, em and I aren't always atop this camode.
okay, here's em and I standing on a bridge about1 km south of our guesthouse. It's hot but nice. 'how is your trip so far?' you say, and I say back, like a dream, almost real, but not.
We slept on the plane, me with my head against the window and emily sleeping a bit more solidly, on my sholder. The food was funny and I got to see some throw away films that I decided were produced to be resold to airlines so they could have images that weren't any spicier than the food. The highlight was watching transformers, not only for the childhood nastalgia, but in retrospect, it helped prepare me mentally for what was to come.
It's tough to describe this place. many things here transform. the mid 80's scooter that you might see in the paper for $350 is turned into a taxi, or a 100 cc motorcycle turns into a truck, carying three large propane tanks on the back. the flagship of the streets out here, in my humble opinion is the tuk-tuk. imagine a motorized garden cart- a 3 wheeler, and add some rails, a vinyl top and a tired looking, fear-inducing-machine-of-a-man who floats effortlessly between a bus and an oncoming taxi, and there you have a tuk-tuk. 6 million people and there ain't much traffic, maybe due to fear of getting hit or maybe everyone rides the bus.
our hotel has made a great comand post and the ladies at the front desk are encyclopedic with knowledge of trains, busses, and english. the food is fantasyic, although only one dish so far has lived up to my expectations of spiciness. you can walk down the sidewalk, which every thai vendor has a right to use, and they use it, smell the most amazing dish, and in the middle of your inhale, get a big whomping by the rotting green canal.
we leave tomorrow for kanchanaburi which is west of bagkok, and will take about 2 hours. It's a smaller town with a 7 tiered waterfall which is about 1 hour from kanchanaburi and then few km hike will take us to the top to go swimming. we will return to bangkok on monday and get our visas for viet nam. then we will be heading north to mae sot and a little town south of there known for it's excellent hiking.
let it be known that there are a few things here that differ from the U.S. the best example of this is in this picture that I will spend the rest of my time on this computer loading. Yes, this is a toilet. the wider spots are for your feet. the hose and spray nozzle that you might use to cleen off dishes cleans off your undercarrage. Point of irony: this product is made by none other than AMERICAN STANDARD toilet company.
special props go out to jeremy foust for hookin up the travel boxers, and I wish I brought the visine you sent-the exaust is thick.

word to the bird


gavin