Land of "one night really is enough!"

After the ultimate relaxation of our live-aboard dive boat, we went straight into the madness and chaos of Bangkok. 

An interesting thing I learned: in America, we have a fairly scientific approach to how we drive and how to be safe and avoid accidents. In Thailand, it’s all about karma.  If you’re in an accident, it was karma and there’s nothing you could’ve done to avoid it.  Likewise, if you aren’t supposed to get in an accident, you won’t, no matter how you drive.  So, you can weave and u-turn and lane-split and drive the wrong way down a one-way street all you want and if you aren’t supposed to get in an accident, it just won’t happen.  Because of this belief, it’s also true that you, the passenger, bring your karma with you into the cab you’re riding in.  So they get “insurance” in the form of flowers and other religious symbols that sit on their dash and hang from their rear-view to keep your karma at bay.

Interesting, no?

Anyway.  Our first night there, David had a riverside viewpoint in mind for sunset, so we meandered on over and killed time until blue hour.  The place was a restaurant with a bar on the top floor and wide-open windows that overlooked the Mekong River, with a temple on the opposite side that glows when it gets dark.  







Our dinner there was the most artistic Thai food I’ve ever had – my Pad Thai was wrapped up in the egg like an omelet, with a halved crayfish sitting on top.  

We kind of made up this leg of the trip as we went, which basically meant checking out lots of wats.  We stumbled upon a Buddhist temple near our hotel, and one of the locals saw us and showed us around.  She said since that night was the full moon, they had a special ceremony that day, and it was starting in 5 minutes.  She let us go in for a few minutes and take pictures, then we got to watch the monks chant from outside.  It was great – especially since there weren’t any other tourists there.

We went to the Grand Palace and Wat Po next, which was a very different story.  It was packed just like the Forbidden City had been.  Think copious amounts of gold, shiny ceramics, and Buddhas, and you're there.  Pretty impressive.  We both wore shorts that day (because it was HOT) so we had to “rent” a skirt and pants to be able to enter.  Which made it a lot hotter.  Oh, it was so hot.  And humid.  I know LA has made me soft, but seriously.  Hot.

The rest of the day was spent exploring around other less-touristy temples.

We also took a stroll down Khao San Road - and got another $4 massage. (Hey, Princess. Remember this? What were we thinking?!)

Next up: Muai Thai boxing at Rachadmnoen Stadium.

Let me tell you a little about this experience.  There are 3 tiers of seats from which you can watch kickboxing.  Level 1 is the VIP seats for 2000B (oh, and prices are double for foreigners.  Why?  Who knows.)  Most white people who come sit in this section, we noticed.  It’s right in front of the ring.  Level 2 is 1500B and “standing only” but that really means you just sit on the big concrete steps.  Not VIP but still “dignified.”  We dubbed this the “family section.”  Level 3 is where the action is.  All the local diehards sit (stand) here, and they get into it.  This section is actually fenced off from the rest.  They’re all placing bets between each other the whole time, whooping and hollering with every well-placed kick or punch, for the price of 1000B.  This was where we sat.  (Granted, after we walked in and found a space right in the middle of the crazy, we were directed to an emptier section that wasn’t so chaotic.  I guess they figured we couldn't handle it.  They were probably right.)
  

It was an audiovisual assault.  Constant cheers from the crowd, flashing lights and scores from the jumbotrons, and a steady, rhythmic “ding” happening all through each round. 

Bye-bye, Bangkok.  Thanks for the new memories.