Thailand - November 2003

Our rooms were located in little antique teak houses. There were a little shabby and musty but very cute and full of character. At the equivalent of $15 per day, including air-conditioning and breakfast for two, we were very pleased.

There is a two-story roofed but open-air dining/living building in the center of the little complex. They offer a vegetarian buffet several nights of the week. In the evenings, the courtyard is softly lit by white Christmas lights and relaxing music for diners and guests. The managers are happy to arrange cooking courses, tours, and transportation. They offer reasonably priced, on-site motor scooter rentals and also run a trekking company.

Gap's House
1 block west of Tha Pae Gate, on the left

This hotel caters to a mostly Asian crowd. We were offered the use of a timeshare there, which is the only reason we stayed at this particular hotel.

We returned to the guesthouse just in time for the "family dinner" in the second-story, open-air dining area. Most of the people at the hotel came up and ate dinner together. It was a great time. The food was great. We got to swap stories and laugh about our similar experiences. There was a Scottish couple (or brother and sister we think, but we really couldn’t tell) who had rented out their house and set off on a 7-month journey through Asia. This was week two. There was an Italian-turned-German who was very talkative and a bit odd. There was a German or Belgian guy that was listening and laughing, but he didn’t say much. There was an American-sounding girl with black spiky hair and a nose ring who told stories about being in India recently.

The buffet has enough variety that you are likely to find plenty that you like. The price is quite reasonable by US standards but more on the pricy side by Thai standards. We ate there out of convenience. It was nice but nothing to go out of your way for.

The food was nothing special. It was reasonably priced, costing about $4 to $5 for the two if us. The ambience was enjoyable due to the profusion of foliage, fountains, and very interesting rustic folk-art chairs with very tall (over 5 feet) backs. We still like The Zest better.

All those tales about raw meat, fighting cocks, clothes, fried pig skin, baskets, and anything else you can imagine are correct. The smell was pretty overpowering at times, but it was a fabulous experience and would be great fun for a shopper, particularly someone who likes to go to flea markets and other places where you never know what you will find. About 1 hour after getting there, I had to take a taxi home. I was feeling dizzy, with my stomach was hurting. I have read from other travelers that this is not uncommon on the first day or two. The rest of the family stayed on, bargaining for souvenirs.

It is hard to believe that this place is just out in the middle of a field. There are no silken ropes keeping you out and no admission fees or gift shops. I guess that’s because there is only one temple here.

Next, we briefly stopped by a neglected-looking temple and "Buddha foot," set in the middle of a small lake. We quickly moved on to the Big Buddha, also free but with a gift stand. The Buddha is enclosed in a high wall and can be seen through a large narrow doorway. It was quiet, cool, and peaceful, except for the flutter of birds resting on the statue. I really wanted to go sit in the big open hand, but that is considered extremely rude. Pat found a passageway into the wall that was less than 5 by 2 feet. He walked in a few feet, turned the corner, and then got creeped and ran back out. I don’t blame him! There was also a mini temple next to it that was almost a tiny version of the other. A tour bus arrived and we were quickly on our way.

Next stop, the historical park. This contains a dense concentration of ruined wats and old structures from the original Sukhothai. We had a great time running about. We got there around sunset, and it quickly was getting dark and cool.

As we headed home, our driver said, "Accident, no light." The lights on the tuk-tuk had stopped working (they were working before), so we hugged the edge of the road and hoped people saw us. It was well lit most of the way, and we arrived safe and sound back at Guest House #4.

The day started at 7:50am. We jumped (well, not that enthusiastically) out of bed, showered, and ordered breakfast. The trek van came before we could eat it, so I had to settle for two pieces of dry, cold toast on the go. We were joined by two other couples, one from Belgium and one from Italy.

The first stop was a 30-minute walk up to a Hmong mountain village. I thought, 30 minutes, no problem. They didn't mention 30 minutes at about a 30- to 35-degree incline. I haven't had that much strenuous exercise in a long time. The village was nothing special, some huts you would never want to live in and some old ladies selling stuff, all of which you can get at any given night market. The walk and the scenery were great, though.

Next, we took an elephant ride. That was really cool. They were huge, full grown and bigger than the ones at the elephant school. One of them had a baby with her that was 3 years old. You have to be careful. The little one isn't trained yet and has lots of youthful energy. (S)He will knock you over or step on you because he doesn't know not to yet. Words of warning - The elephants snort liquid and gook out of their trunk to cool themselves down, so you pretty much get sneezed on every few minutes. Yuck! But, otherwise, they are amazing to ride on. They are very strong and very tall. I am glad we saw the ones at the school first, because I ever would have seen their real intelligence from our hour-long ride. We got off, fed them bananas, and were off again.

See Trekking in Chiang Mai - Part 2 for the rest of the day

Lastly, we took a bamboo raft ride down the Wang (I think) River. It was quite the experience. It is kind of like riding in a gondola in Italy, but you get wet. There is a guy in the front with a pole, seats for two (two bamboo sticks strapped on with rubber, I think, made from bicycle tires), and a tour group member gets to stand up and guide the boat from the back (Pat and Ed did this). I didn't see it because my boat was up the river, but Ed lost his footing and ended up completely underwater. He must have fallen in the only deep part of the river, as most of the time it was only 2 feet deep.

We arrived at the hotel about 2 hours later (roughly 5:30pm), all in various degrees of wetness. I took a "hot" shower and headed to dinner. Have I mention that the hot water is really water just warm enough not to be freezing in the shower? You don't even mix cold water in. Just turn the hot water knob to full blast.

Dinner was only okay, except this place (3 N's is the name, or something like that) has really good spring rolls. I don't even like them usually, but they were good. Pat and Ed have been raving about them since they ate lunch there a few days ago.

Did I tell you Pat lost his wallet? It fell out of his pocket in the tour van. Mom saw it but thought Pat put it there on purpose (I’m not sure what she was thinking). We called the tour company, and they looked and came back with the bus but no wallet. It is very possible that they took it and lied. There's no way to know.

It was gaudy and beautiful at the same time. I got some good photos, but the reality is that the place is swarming with tourists. It was worth seeing anyway. There is much to be learned about the Thai culture and history surrounding the palace if you are into that. The buildings are decadent and unlike anything I have ever seen here in the US. There is a beautiful, long mural that depicts ancient scenes that you definitely don’t want to miss. It is also the home of the Emerald Buddha. To be honest, I wasn’t overly impressed with it, but it is a big deal in Thailand and on the list of national treasures that are worth the effort to go see.

In the morning, I decided to skip breakfast and stay in bed. That afternoon we went to the weekend market (Chatuchak). Trying to find places is a bit challenging. The front desk people aren’t exactly helpful. We got on bus no. 44 but had to jump off because we were going the wrong way. We crossed the highway and got on bus no. 44 going the other direction. The bus experience is crazy. They have no doors and start moving as you are getting on. They don't even always come to a complete stop! The West could learn something from it. It’s much faster that way. All those tales about raw meat, fighting cocks, clothes, fried pig skin, baskets, and anything else you can imagine are correct. The smell was pretty overpowering at times. About 1 hour after getting there, I had to take a taxi home. I was feeling dizzy with my stomach was hurting. I have read from other travelers that this is not uncommon on the first day or two. I didn’t want to ruin the experience for everyone else, so I took a taxi home. The taxi driver tried to have a conversation in English, but his accent was so bad, I could hardly understand him. We resorted to a lot of "sign language." Long story short, I have spent most of my time so far in the hotel bed.

Food is hit or miss, with some really great stuff and some things that make you sick just to look at them. At dinner Pat ordered fried noodles in gravy; we called it sludge. It had the consistency of slim or snot, and the "noodles" were squares of stuff that Pat reported tasted like soggy toast. Ed's soup was quite good but looked like someone threw up on the plate. Mom's coconut soup was excellent and looked like something from the Thai diner at home. Not feeling good, I ordered chicken fried rice. To my delight, it was quite good and not very greasy.

We woke up in the middle of the night to my mom laughing hysterically. I guess that the malaria medication she is taking gives you vivid, epic dreams. (Pat had them in Haiti). In the dream, Ed walked up in a suit jacket, boxers, and her French fishnet stockings. She woke up laughing for a solid 5 to 10 minutes, long full-belly laughing. Pat and I were trying to figure out what could be so funny.

We started at the airport around 6:15am on Friday morning and got to the hotel at 2pm Saturday (Atlanta time). The first leg was Atlanta to Chicago. We had a layover of a couple hours. Then we took a Korean Air flight to Korea, a 14-hour flight, plus 1 hour waiting on the runway for take-off. We had a great experience with Korean Air. But be prepared for (in m mind, not very tasty)Asian airplane food. We flew across Canada and over Alaska and the Artic Ocean (Who ever thought I'd see the Artic? I definitely can’t take that kind of cold!). Next we were over Siberia, with lots of snow and ice. Then we curved south into Korea. The sunset was spectacular. At the speed and direction we were going, there was a sunset for about 5 hours. The Incheon airport (outside of Seoul) was very nice. They had "Western" and "Asian" food courts. I had a few bites of mom's noodle soup (quite good) and some coffee ice cream from the "Western" section. We had to watch the people sitting around us to figure out how you are supposed to eat soup with chopsticks. I couldn’t get the noodle swirling down and had to improvise. I also saw signs for hotel rooms in the airport that could be used to grab a quick nap and shower between flights.

Next was the 5-hour flight to Bangkok. The airport was a crazy mess of activity. People were shouting, waving signs, etc. They will clammor around you, trying to get you to come to their particular hotel, ride in their vehicle, etc. We did a quick money exchange at one of the many convenient locations in the airport.

They went off in search of the Grand Palace but got lost. The front desk staff told them to get on a particular bus. (Again the wrong way. We found out the next day, the Front Desk staff gave us the right bus number but told us the wrong direction.). **Try to get people giving directions to actually point the direction. We notice that even if they speak English, the words left and right are not reliably used.** They asked the bus attendant if the bus went to the Grand Palace. She acted like she had no idea what they were talking about. It's the biggest tourist attraction in the city and they get a blank look. They tried showing her a map, but it was in English. **We learned that it is best to get the address, in Thai, of both the place you want to go, and more importantly the address of your hotel. It makes getting back much easier. We have had several occasions where the taxi/tuk-tuk/etc drivr has stopped to ask other drivers where our hotel was.** Eventually, she pushes them off the bus, pointing at a multistory building. Well, it wasnt the Grand Palace. It was a huge mall. But it seems they had a good time anyway, people-watching. And this was no ordinary mall. It had a water park in the top, and movies, arcades, and I think they even said roller coasters, plus four floors of stores.

We were supposed to go a few different places with the tuk-tuk, including one stop at a suit factory, which is one of the many places you can get custom-tailored clothes (it’s very cheap but still more than any of us intended to spend on clothes this trip) The reason for the stop is that the tuk-tuk driver gets free gas for bringing tourists to the store. We knew this and were okay with it because he was driving us for 3 hours for roughly $1 (40bhat). But then he tried to stop at all these other places. We got a little annoyed and had him bring us back to Wat Po. We were hungry and mom wanted to see the river, so we didn't even go in (sigh, the joys of family travel). I think mom would have lost it if we didn't find the river right away. She had been trying to get there for 2 days and bad directions and enterprising Thai's had kept her from it. We walked to the dock for the water taxi and spent 15 minutes debating which boats of the many boats we saw are the water taxis and how we get on one. Per usual, there was a Thai woman telling us "25 minutes, long time" about the taxi, "only 500 baht," and that she would take us on her boat. We would really like to be left alone. It seems like we are swarmed with people telling us what we want and why we need to give them money. Nothing new in the world, but they are more overtly pushy. It is very hard to do things for yourself when you can’t even communicate or read the signs.

After watching and consulting with a few other foreigners, we all figured it out. Once on it, the water taxi was quite nice. We took the cheap one that staps ate every station. It’s crowded and slow, but the river (while it doesn't smell great) has much cleaner smelling air than the fumes of the street. We were literally choking the whole way in the tuk-tuk. The boats are 8 to 10 baht/person ($0.25). They use whistles to communicate between the driver and the guy tying up the boat at each stop. The boat slams against the dock and people start jumping on and off. Often the dock is a foot or two above the deck of the boat. And once again, they barely give the last few people time to grab on before they're off. We got off at the pier nearest the Grand Palace and had lunch at the restaurant right there on the water. It seems to be a place frequented by travelers and tourists since about half the people there looked to be Caucasian.

We decided that we were all pretty tired, so we took the water taxi up a few more stops up the river to do a little sightseeing before hailing a taxi back to the hotel. It is very interesting to see how the neighborhoods work. You will find slums next to expensive-looking residences. Pat expressed a little concern about where we got off the boat. It did look pretty rough, and yet, they were building ornate riverfront condos there. There are sad-looking dogs everywhere. They are skinny, wandering around with sores and missing fur. They don't have the happy puppy attitude of our dogs. They are more like you would imagine them if their wolfish ancestors had to adapt to city life and domination by humans. Some people must take care of their dogs because there were many stalls of pet products at the weekend market.

We had one crazy event you should be on the floor laughing about - crazy taxi. The scene: very dense rush hour traffic (always traffic here). We get in and move about 2 feet in 5 minutes. He decides to do a u-turn, completely blocking all or part of four lanes while he does a multi-point turn! He almost hits a few people. About 10 minutes later, I wasn't paying much attention until mom says, "Do you see what he is doing." We were driving down the wrong side of the road (not uncommon here, but this wasn't simply passing a car or two), past all the cars locked in gridlock. There is a policeman directing traffic at the light (they do this when there is high traffic) who sees us and tells the driver to pull over. The taxi driver has no intention of doing this. He almost runs into traffic that is crossing at the intersection (without even an inch to spare). The policeman runs at us, and the taxi driver tries to run as the policeman is pounding on the windows, cracks the windshield glass, and starts to pull out his gun. The taxi darts through crossing traffic and starts to speed down the road. Another policeman on a motorcycle comes up beside us and then in front of us to force the taxi to stop. The taxi driver looks at us and giggles in a guilty, ironic kind of way. We pay the fare and hop out of the car as he is explaining to an annoyed policeman. The policeman gets in the car, and the taxi driver almost hits another car as the police direct him to wherever he is going. Very funny! Amazingly enough, we were only 2 blocks from the hotel, so we could walk back from there.

Mom’s epic dreams go on. She didn't wake up laughing, but last night Ed got a pedicure by several lovely ladies. Mom got a bit jealous.

We went to the Grand Palace. It was gaudy and beautiful at the same time. I got some good photos, but the reality is that the place is swarming with tourists. It was worth seeing anyway. We rested back at the hotel for a few hours and later caught the 11:20pm train to Chiang Mai in the north.

We were not sure what to expect because we had a second-class, fan-cooled sleeper accommodations. It was really a great way to travel. It was cool enough that not having air-conditioning wasn't a big deal. I slept relatively well, waking every hour or two to pop my head out the window and see what there was to see. I learned something cool - wats sparkle at night! Much of their decoration is made from glass and mirror, which reflects sparkly light at night. We took a samlor (covered truck with benches in the back) to Gap's House.

This is a really cute place we are staying at. You walk in through a beautiful courtyard full of plants and statues. Our room is very quaint but also a little musty. The doors are locked with little padlocks. The managers are very nice and speak English well. As soon as we got here, we decided that it was MUCH better than Bangkok. It is a tourist town but very pleasant. Internet cafés, cute little restaurants, and other travelers abound. We had delicious chicken soup with coconut milk and curry at The Zest. (See the photo of me outside at a table.) Very good!

We have to sleep under a net because there are definitely mosquitoes. Mom sprayed Off! in the room, which was not good. I guess I'm allergic to it. My skin started itching/burning and my airways swelled up. I promptly set up a fan to air out the room, but it didn't work very fast. And the fan! It makes a racket. It's like a little jackhammer rattling around the room.

I didn't sleep too well, between the adverse reaction to the OFF! spray, the chattering fan, and my back hurting from activities the day before... I came close to a emotional break-down. Mom decided we should definitely go to the hospital, so off we went. I saw an orthopedic specialist who says I'm fine. Numbing and swelling are probably side effects of severe muscle strain. We had x-rays done just in case. He says everything is fine from a skeletal point of view. He gave me anti-inflammatory drugs and some Tylenol with codine, just in case. All that took less than an hour, probably 30 minutes. Grand total = less than $25. I had heard that healthcare was cheap and efficient here. I can now second that statement.

Mom and I wandered around the town and got lunch at The Rose House restaurant. We had fried rice with chicken (my staple food over here--they make it less greasy than at home). It was enjoyable. They have pretty plants, a fountain, and cool folk-art chairs. We still like The Zest better.

Tonight we went to Chiang Mai's night market. There is lots to see, and it is packed with people. I am not much of a shopper and didn't find many unpassable deals. But the experience and the chance to get out among so many people was great.

Of course, the driver tried to get us to stop at a tailor or something on the way to the elephant camp. We flatly refused. No more of that! We bought some sugarcane, pineapple, and string bean chips outside, and then headed in to see the elephants. We bought some bananas and sugarcane to feed them with. And boy will they chase you around and insist in getting snacks! Pat put one in his pocket and let the elephant get it out. They are quite cleaver and adept with those trunks. First, they all climbed into the river for a bath, and then they paraded to the arena for the show. They are so cute, like big dogs but maybe smarter. They bowed and danced while playing the harmonica. They played some soccer with oversized balls. They can pick up the ball with their trunk and drop-kick the ball. And kicking from the ground, they were pretty good at getting the ball in the goal, although the "goalie" blocked a few. They also demonstrated their abilities at teamwork by hauling and maneuvering big logs, which is what they have been used for in the past, until there was a ban on logging due to deforestation. But the best part was when they painted. I had heard of this before, but it really was amazing. The one nearest us painted a tree with flowers. Ed and Mom actually bought that painting. Low on cash, I got a less skilled and cheaper picture. I think it may be my prize souvenir.

After buying paintings, we all ran out of money and had to hit up the ATM. We stopped for lunch at a Thai restaurant, as in no English menu and very cheap. It was quite good. Last, we went to a silk factory. Of course, it isn't the real thing, but they do demonstrate how silk is made and woven before ushering us into a giant showroom of cloth and clothing.

We came back to a huge Sunday market at the hotel. The streets were blocked off and hundreds of vendors filled every inch of the sidewalks. Thousands of people filled the streets. There was everything from clothes to fried bugs to wood carvings and street-side massages. It really was spectacular, and this happens every Sunday! I had delicious fried chicken on a stick for 5 Baht (about $0.13).

The day started at 7:50am. We jumped (well, not that enthusiastically) out of bed, showered, and ordered breakfast. The trek van came before we could eat it, so I had to settle for two pieces of dry, cold toast on the go. We were joined by two other couples, one from Belgium and one from Italy. The first stop was a 30-minute walk up to a Hmong mountain village. I thought 30 minutes, no problem. They didn't mention 30 minutes at about a 30- to 35-degree incline. I haven't had that much strenuous exercise in a long time. The village was nothing special, some huts you would never want to live in and some old ladies selling stuff, all of which you can get at any given night market. The walk and the scenery were great, though.

Next, we took an elephant ride. That was really cool. They were huge, full grown and bigger than the ones at the elephant school. One of them had a baby with her that was 3 years old. You have to be careful. The little one isn't trained yet and has lots of youthful energy. (S)He will knock you over or step on you because he doesn't know not to yet. Words of warning - The elephants snort liquid and gook out of their trunk to cool themselves down, so you pretty much get sneezed on every few minutes. Yuck! But otherwise they are amazing to ride on. They are very strong and very tall. I am glad we saw the ones at the school first, because I ever would have seen their real intelligence from our hour-long ride. We got off, fed them bananas, and were off again.

See Day 11 - Part 2 for the rest of the day...

Lastly, we took a bamboo raft ride down the Wang (I think) River. It was quite the experience. It is kind of like riding in a gondola in Italy, but you get wet. There is a guy in the front with a pole, there are seats for two (two bamboo sticks strapped on with rubber, I think, made from bicycle tires), and a tour group member gets to stand up and guide the boat from the back (Pat and Ed did this). I didn't see it because my boat was up the river, but Ed lost his footing and ended up completely under water. He must have fallen in the only deep part of the river, as most of the time it was only 2 feet deep.

We arrived at the hotel about 2 hour later (roughly 5:30pm), all in various degrees of wetness. I took a "hot" shower and headed to dinner. Have I mention that the hot water is really water just warm enough not to be freezing in the shower? You don't even mix cold water in. Just turn the hot water knob to full blast.

Dinner was only okay, except this place (3 N's is the name, or something like it) has really good spring rolls. I don't even like them usually, but they were good. Pat and Ed have been raving about them since they ate lunch there a few days ago.

Did I tell you Pat lost his wallet? It fell out of his pocket in the tour van. Mom saw it but thought Pat put it there on purpose (not sure what she was thinking). We called the tour company, and they looked and came back with the bus but no wallet. It is very possible that they took it and lied. There's no way to know.

While we were eating, mom and Ed ran around town on a rented scooter making travel arrangements. We are taking a bus to Sukhothai in the morning (5 to 6 hours), staying the night, and returning Friday, just long enough to pick up our bags (leaving the bulk of our stuff in the hotel storeroom) and catch a plane to Bangkok. Eight more hours added to the already scheduled 36 hours of travel. Yikes! But we do get to go see the ruins, which Pat and I really wanted to see. I think mom may try to get standby seats on an earlier flight from Chicago to Atlanta, but I wouldn’t count on it.

After lunch, we all met up and got Thai massages. We took off our shoes and were shown upstairs. They had a relatively see-through privacy screen with big baggy cotton shirts and pants to change into. (Ed was too big for the shirt; he had to keep his own T-shirt on). Next, you walk into a cool, dim room with dark wood floors and a row of hard mattresses on the floor. Wow, did it feel good! And cheap (with a small exception). It is similar to a Western massage. Well, maybe not. It is a very familiar style. They crawl around you and use their hands, arms, elbows, and feet to massage and stretch you, which was very interesting, with some stuff I hope to remember and experiment with later. Something we all really liked was when they held our foot while using their feet to massage our inner thighs. I never would have thought to do it, but it feels great! Two whole hours, and at 100 baht an hour, it only cost about $5. The exception is that Ed left his pants in the changing room, where someone took about 2,500 baht from his wallet (about $75). Of course, everyone is surprised and no one knows how this happened. It could have been the people working there. It could have been the two tourist girls who came in for half-hour massages. Who knows? We are pretty annoyed. Not that $75 dollars really hurts us, but that many people here seem to have no problem stealing, lying, or misleading us. Ed probably should have known better. I kept my little backpack in sight at all times.

From there, we headed off to the night market for some last-minute shopping, stopping for some chicken on a stick from a sidewalk vendor. I have to admit, we are growing tired of Thai food. It all tastes great, but we are getting too much of a good thing, so we ate at Pizza Hut tonight.

Back at the hotel, we have been trying to fit all our accumulated stuff in our bags. Mom bought a large duffle bag to put extra stuff in. We still barely get everything to fit. It feels like all my stuff got bigger. I can’t seem to fit it all together as well as when I packed to come here. I have a few extra things, but most of that is in the extra bag.

We finally let one guy show us his guesthouse. It was adequate, but we wanted to see the highly recommended Guest House #4. We stayed there. It is so cute! A bit primitive, it’s like camping under a roof in a beautiful setting. See my listing under lodgings for photos.

A really cute, nice old man took us in his 'reverse tuk-tuk'. It had to covered bench seats in the front and he drove from a modified scooter attached in the back. I am sure it is quite unsafe by U.S. and can hardly imagine how he can see where he is going. We, on the other hand, had a great view. We wound around a little back road that followed a canal and ran through the little semi-rural neighborhoods of Sukhothai. We ended up at a very pretty ruin that looked like a chedi with stone elephants in a circle around the base. Many have been broken and defaced with time. We Ooooohhh'd and Aaaahhh'd for about 15 minutes taking numerous photos and then moved on. It is hard to believe that the this place is just out in the middle of a field. No silken ropes keeping you out. No admission fees or gift shops. I guess that’s because there is only one temple here. Next we briefly stopped by a neglected looking temple and "Buddha foot" set in the middle of a small lake. We quickly moved on to the "Big Buddha", also free, but with a gift stand. The Buddha is enclosed in a high wall and can be seen through a large, narrow doorway. It was quiet, cool, peaceful except for the flutter of birds resting on the statue. I really wanted to go sit in the bog open hand, but that is considered extremely rude. Pat found a passageway into the wall that was less than 5'x2'. He walked in a few feet, turned the corner and then got creeped and ran back out. I don’t blame him! There was also a mini temple next to it that was almost a tiny version of the other. A tour bus arrived and we were quickly on our way. Next stop, the historical park. (They always say things are historical, not historic.) This contains a dense concentration of ruined wats and old structures from the original Sukhothai. We had a great time running about. We got there around sunset and it quickly was getting dark and cool.

As we headed home, our driver said "Accident, no light". His lights on the tuk-tuk had stopped working (were working before) so we hugged the edge of the road and hoped people saw us. Its was well lit most of the way and we arrived safe and sound back at Guest House #4. We were just in time for the 'family dinner'. Most of the people at the hotel came up and ate dinner together. It was a great time. We got to swap stories and laugh about our similar experiences. There was a Scottish couple (or brother and sister, really couldn’t tell) who rented out their house and set off on a 7 month journey through Asia. This was week two. There was an Italian turned German who was very talkative and a bit odd. He ordered 5 suits while in Bangkok including a full suit in tiger print and a matrix style leather jacket. He wanted them to surprise and impress people back home at the 'disco'. There was a German or Belgian guy that was listening and laughing, but didn’t say much. There was an American sounding girl with black spiky hair and a nose ring. She was loud and outspoken but nice enough. She told stories about being in India recently.

As our room was very open, you could hear all the night sounds and other guests clearly. Dogs howled much of the night. Before dawn, a man’s voice was broadcast all over the city. It made Pat and I think about something you would find in a nightmare communist China story. It was loud. I put in earplugs and could hear it plainly. It went on for what seemed like forever, at least 20 to 30 minutes. We asked about it at breakfast. They said that it happens once a month and that it’s a reminder to those in debt (to government, I think) that they need to remember to pay. I cant imagine having to go through that once a month. At least wait till daylight! So we didn't a good night’s sleep to start our return journey with.

- free flush toilets with paper
- coffee yogurt
- fresh bread that isn’t hard or dry
- cleaner air
- being able to communicate effectively with 95% of the people
- hot showers

Things I'll miss:

- fried chicken on a stick from street vendors
- beautiful potted plants and greenery everywhere
- sparkling wats at night
- outdoor and open-air dining and living spaces
- not having everything safe and sanitary for fear of lawsuits
- cheap travel: overnight train for $15 and a 6-hour bus for $8
- emphasis on functionality and simplicity, though not the messy way of living (trash, sewage, etc.)
- reasonably priced, efficient medical services
- pharmacists being able to diagnose and dispense medication for simple ailments, such as earaches, etc.

After watching and consulting with a few other foreigners, we all figured it out. We took the cheap one that stops at every station. It’s crowded and slow, but the river (while it doesn't smell great) has much cleaner-smelling air than the fumes of the street. We were literally choking the whole way in the tuk-tuk. The boats are 8 to 10 baht/person ($0.25). They use whistles to communicate between the driver and the guy tying up the boat at each stop. The boat slams against the dock and people start jumping on and off. Often the dock is a foot or two above the deck of the boat. And once again, they barely give the last few people time to grab on before they're off. We got off at the pier nearest the Grand Palace and had lunch at the restaurant right there on the water.

There are several different boats. You can also take a "tourist" boat that stops only at the stops where there are tourist attractions. If I remember correctly, it costs about double the regular water-taxi rate. In our experience, they are newer, faster, almost completely populated by foreigners, and much less crowded.