Yesterday I slid sweatily out of my hotel room and spilled onto the sprawling Khao San Road. After a cheap buffet breakfast, eggs, rice, curry... I began to wander the street. My 1999edition of the LP Thailand was out and i had chosen a walking tour nearby.

The street almost never sleeps, though it gets pretty quiet after about 2 (I think they stop serving alcohol around 1). The activity picks up pretty early, though, and most shops are up and running by 9 or 10. I began heading towards the supposed location the the grande palace and the famous reclining buddha - wat pho as it is called here. somehow i became urgently lost, and my map was of little value. I hailed a taxi and asked to go to "wat pho" but ended up somewhere completely different not too far away. somehow i figured out wher e i was, i think it was a guest house i had found on my map. I was very far from where i thought i was, and from where i should be... I walked a ways and found the National Museum, which I entered for only 40baht (1$US). I was surprised by the content; initially there were murals and descriptions of how the thais migrated from western asia, and the supposed theories of colonisation. I forget that the thais religion is VERY different than the Christian religions of the west. They happily acknowledge their history. And what a long history! many kings, thousands of years worth of battles, different empires... pretty neat.
I left the museum after about an hour and wandered towards the palace, which i had located on my map, and some foreigners helped me out. the whole walk i was pestered my thai 'business men' trying to help me out. most of them work for the tuk-tuk companies in some capacity, or are trying to sell something. the streets are loaded with people, some lying on the street, most others peddling something - cold beverages, noodles, stir fry, bbq'ed fish or squid, teryaki skewers, etc. many people sell things on blankets - buddha charms, old shoes, pirated cds and software, other random items...
I found the palace and entered. to present yourself to images of buddha you must be well clothed, and most tourists are not. I paid a deposit and borrowed some loose fitting thai pants to cover my lower legs. most other tourists had to rent shirts, socks, shoes,pants, etc.
I paid 200baht (divide by 30 to get CAD$) togo in. What a spectacle! All the buildings were magnificently styled with mosaic motifs, and they were so tall. the thai architectural style is truly unique, with intricately tiled roofs, tall spires and images of buddha and elephants and warriors poking out everywhere. the palace was built many hundred of years ago and is remarkably well kept. there are military men everywhere to guard it. I saw the famed emerald buddha, perhaps one of the most famous in thailand, though quite small and insignificant compared to many other temples. I visited the outside of the royal palace, and wandered the grounds before leaving. Nearby is the Reclining buddha, Wat Pho. Entrance here was only 20 baht, and the spectacle of this golden buddha, 46m long, is phenomenal. Every buddha has been scupted in a particular pose, and each pose is significant to a particular period in his life. The reclining position is significant towards enlightenment, i believe. Unfortunately this amazing sight was housed in a very small building, so that you cannot see the whole buddha in its glory, without pillars in the way.
After I wandered this magnificent temple and found myself at the primary training centre for thai massage. Not wanting to miss the opportunity, I took a number and waited about 20 minutes for a magnificent 30minute massage. I was uneasy visiting any other place because I am unsure whether the shops on the steet advertising massage are indeed in the massage industry... perhaps no i worry. That's why i happily accepted at the temple.
Thai women are fairly small, but the girl who was assigned to me assaulted my body with tremendous strength. Thai massage isn't so much relaxing as it is painful,as they use elbows, fingers, knckles, toes, etc to stimulate your pressure points ranging from your toes to your scalp. What a great job she did, though. I left feeling sore but refreshed. Today i feel great!
After Wat Pho I headed back to Khao San, and surprisingly found it very easily. when I returned I met up with andrew and we went out to the street, where they were setting up a street festival concert. IT was quite the production and before the rain came it was great. they had a fashion shopw with a parade of dozens of girls wearing interesting styles of clothes walking the length of the street, perhaps several city blocks long. There were a few live shows before the first few drops of rain fell. then the sky opened up and it was torrential. all the street venders brought out their tarps and covered their tables and carts. the power was cut to the sound systems and lighting and tarps were erected over the stage. everyone of the several thousand people (many thais) huddled under shelter. pretty magnificent sight! the rain lasted a good half hour and by this time the street was flooded and the electrical cords were too wet to resume the show. People lingered in the street for some time, and the bars filled up. Drew and I found ourselves at Buddy Beer, a chain style restaurant, where he met some thais and we all sat down speaking english. The girls at the table had been on exchange in the US, and so knew english very well. Had a great time talking with them. Became very jovial from the thai beer, then I headed home to sleep. Somehow andrew managed to stay up VERY late... he met some neat people it seems.

I am looking to invest in some fake braces, i think it is a pretty hot fad here.

Please check the WARNING entry for photos of japan - sorry for the delay. its pretty tough to upload the images almost everywhere i go.

Until Chiang Mai...