So yesterday I followed Erik suggestion and got a Tuk-Tuk ride. Boy did I feel a little sketched doing it. These are tiny taxis that drive you around to different sites for about 80 cents. The one thing I did find reassuring was the fact that he was government liscensed (if that really means anything), and that he does have to make a living out of it. Anyway, he first took me to the lucky Budda. It was super small, I was expecting something a little different and it was about 4 feet high and had a small shrine in front. I spent all of 5 minutes here. Then he took me to standing Budda. It was a lot taller (45 feet) and had a much elaborate temple surround it. Managed to take a couple pictures here.

Now the way the Tuk Tuk drivers make their money is by taking you to shops and then they get gas coupons. He took me to a suite shop, and I was thinking about doing it anyway, so I ended up order a custom made suite. I figure for $130 for top quality fabric, I can't really go wrong. The same suite would probably cost me about $1000 back home, and I figure I'll need it for work (if I can find a job) anyway. I'll let you know how it works out.

After that Erik and I went out to dinner. For less than $8 I got the equivalent of 4 beer (they have giant 640 ml ones here, so two of those) and a great meal. I think the place we ate at was a little pricey too. After that Erik and I walked around outside. There was a big party going on on our street, one of their stations, the Hippo, had a couple bands playing (too bad there was no Loso :( )
We checked out that, bought some $5 Oakley sunglasses, and then it started to pour. The sky just opened up like that, I have a couple photos, it was actually really nice to see real rain instead of the mist we get in Van!!

That pretty much ended the concert, so we headed into a bar and just started chatting up some Thais. Just so you know, they were not the kind that offer massages or anything like that, one of girls worked for Exxon Mobil and had spent a semester going to school in Michigan. They were really nice, and we might meet up with them again when we come back to Bangkok.

After that Erik went to bed, but I figured, "hey I'm in Thailand, there's lots of people here, why not try to meet a couple of them." I ended up meeting a couple of guys from Ireland and a couple of girls from Germany in one of the bars. We ended up hanging out and drinking til early in the morning. When I woke up the next day at 10 to check out, I was still a little drunk. I had locked up all my valuables the night before anyway so I wasn't too worried and I still had everything the next day :)

So it's off to the hills of Chang Mai tonight, and then probably beaches from there. I'll write about that when I get a chance.

Until then, take care.

Cheers,
Drew