Sawat dii kha (Hello)

Third day in Bangkok and its still hot and still humid. Been lucky enough to thunderstorm in the evenings so it cools off at night so its not too terrible to sleep. I've been falling asleep around 7:30pm after Fritz and I eat dinner and waking up around 5:30am (like 2:30pm cali time) when the sun starts coming up and the birds all start their orchestra of alarm clock bells and whistles. Yesterday Fritz started my tour of the ways to get around Bangkok. First we took a Song Tauw (cost 5baht, 30baht is $1 so you do the math) to the subway so we could go to the bank and I could get some cash. Then from there we took the Skytrain to the MBK shopping center, which is probably the largest mall I've ever been in. Theres a whole floor that's just mobile phone kiosks. I guess in this mall many of the stores are just privately owned shops instead of just big department stores and then chains. We were in the cell phone area because I was trying to get a cheep phone I got for the trip unlocked to use it here but it didn't work so I had to get a new one, the cheapest one I could find was 600baht ($20) so the $25 bucks I spent on the other phone went down the drain. Anyone need a extra T-Mobile phone when I get home? 

Fruit after breakfast lunch and dinner. Dark ones are Mangosteen, furry ones are  Rambutan, and I cant remember what the little tan ones are called. DELICIOUS AND NUTRITIOUS!

Food court at MBK. Every kind of Asin food you can think of along with good ol american hamburgers. 

Street dogs chillin out on the sky train platform

5:30ish am when I woke up this morning outside my window.

Today Fritz and I went to get food at his local vegetarian shop to give to his nun monk friend. Monks do not cook or get food for themselves unless in a famine situation and they only eat one meal a day. She was visiting from her monastery in Chang Mai at her sisters and we went there and gave her food. Since they only eat one meal a day she ate the equivalent of 3 meals in one. Which must take a while to get used too. After we served her and she did her chant that was to remind herself and us that food is for keeping the body healthy and not for pleasure or for beauty (she speaks fluent English). She ate by herself out of her large metal bowl to contemplate her food as we all got to eat and chat. I think because I was thinking about only being able to eat once a day I ate to much and had the worst food comma ever. If the timing works out right I'm going to stay at her temple (which is for women only) out side of Chang Mai for a bit to get some hands on experience with Thai Buddhism maybe do some soul searching. Why not?

 From there Frtiz, Ousie (fritz's friend) and I continued the tour of how to get around Bangkok and took the Skytrain again then went to the canal boat. Got off and went into a museum that had a free exhibition of the royal inauguration of the King. Which happened in 1950, the king is still around and there are pictures of him everywhere. They were playing a video of it and Fritz says "Oh hey look its MemMem!" MemMem is my great grandma who I just found out was married at one point to an american ambassador and stayed here in Thailand for sometime and studied Thai Buddhism. It was a strange feeling to see someone I'm related to in a museum movie. Kind of surreal.

From there we took a tuk-tuk to a cafe and I got some well needed caffeine. Then we took the river taxi up the river and then another regular taxi home. Last form of transportation I have to try is a motorcycle taxi. Which is the more entertaining way to get around because they weave threw traffic with a death wish. I saw a lady on the back of one today holding what looked like a newborn in her arms looking perfectly comfortable while the driver speed threw gaps between buses and tuk-tuks Here are some pictures of interesting spots and situations I've seen so far.

He must of went on a vacation to Cali and came back broke because he didn't realize he couldn't live on  $10 a day. 

Old white guy with "working girl" in front of the Sheraton hotel. So cute :)

Wouldn't you just  $@*!&?# LOVE to be purposed to over Skype? The epitome of romance if I even saw it.

Graff life all over the world. This building burned down in a riot last year.

On the path back home. Which is a mix of beautiful and disgusting becuase you walk through a slum area and the klong (water canal we walk over) is full of trash and can smell like steamy sewage and sometimes its smells good because of some tropical flower blooming in the middle of it all. 

Bangkok traffic.