Love, or something like it...

What Phra Kao (Bangkok)

I overheard this as I was strolling through Banglamphu (the backpackers ghetto) at 5 a.m. this morning. Picture this, young Thai woman in short skirt and heels, arms crossed looking pissed. Young British gentleman says, "What is it that you think I'm saying? Do you think I'll never see you again?". Wow. I kept walking toward my favorite 24-hour internet cafe. At 5:05 a.m., I couldn't sleep, this jetlag is a bitch.

The streets at 5 a.m. are in interesting mix. Khao San is closed off to cars in the evenings and into the wee mornings is home to partiers, backpackers on E and a combination of whiskey and beer, and women looking to score foreign sugar daddies. Around the corner, you see hardworking Thais unloading trucks with the days wares to sell which range from backpacker tourist favorites like funky tees and tie dye (lots of white people with dreadlocks around here-beware) and tasty goodies to be cooked up on the street. There are street vendors at all hours of the day, but at night is when the streets really come alive with a mixture of diesel exhaust, fried noodles and fritters and durian (jackfruit) which while tasting resembles the stench of a rotting carcass, yummy!

Anyhow, here are a few photos of our first day at the Grand Palace and one of the temples in Bangkok. We are headed North to Chiang Mai tonight and will be trekking tomorrow to one of the villages and spending the night there before returning to our backpackers paradise in Chiang Mai.

I'll post pics soon as I get Internet. Enjoy!