Snakes, Street Vendors, Sky Trains...and HEAT!

First of all, thank you for the blog comments. You all had Lynae and I laughing out loud (especially Geoff and Chris, and Dana's sentiments get an honorable mention)! Just to clear the record, it is pronounced "Pa-ket", but we did partially choose that place just so we could tell our Grandmother we went to "F#ck it". (Sorry, Grandma, if you are reading this.)

We have managed to stay in one place for more than 24 hours! Bangkok is an incredible city. It's probably close to 30 degrees with the humidity. It's amazing that we're still alive since crossing the street here is probably more dangerous then walking Central Park at midnight. There are no cross walk signs. We simply follow the locals, dodge the cars, pretend we don't hear the horns, and say our prayers. I took a video while I crossed the street, focusing more on my cinematography than the scooters, motorcycles, cars, buses and tuk tuks, and Lynae swears she saved me from a pancake-like fate.

Anyway, not to bore you but here are the highlights of Bangkok, in no particular order:

1. Snakes! We managed to see poisonous snakes and got to hold one. I don't think he was poisonous, but Lynae swears he was a Boa since he was wrapped around our necks.

2. A ride to a local market in a tuk tuk, which is a charming 3 wheeled scooter that manages to dodge traffic with the adeptness of a squirrel in Sarnia.


3. Local cuisine. Pad Thai on every corner, mango sticky rice (delicious!), fresh fruit, Lychee smoothies, papaya and anchovy salad, fresh squeezed orange juice...I would take Thai cusine over Canadian food anyday! Heavenly!

4. Buddha temples and palaces. We had to take a boat to get there. All I can say is that these temples give the word "extravagant" a whole new definition. Quite the splendorous sights to be seen.


5. Local markets and bartering. Lots of cool stuff to see and buy. Let's just say our bartering skills are shameful for a couple girls who are/were in sales, but we got some neat stuff for cheap!

6. A shopping mall that seems out of place in Bangkok because it's like a palace. Gucci, Giorgio Armani, Spyker cars inside. 9 floors. Fountains and waterfalls indoors. Unbelievable. I've been to a lot of fancy malls in the US in my day, and they don't hold a candle to this one. We took an air conditioned sky train to get there. The disparity between uppity and poor is remarkable. It reminds me a little of South Africa.

We're still tired but elated to be here. We are having a total blast and can't believe how lucky we are to be in Thailand. Last night we forced ourselves to stay up as long as possible and made it until about 7:45pm. We woke up at 3:30am for the day. We did read and relax for a bit in the hostel which was needed.

Before I bore you, I should sign off. In only a few hours we take the long trek to Phuket. Yes, we are crazy, but hey, we're travelling girls, and will probably never get a chance to see Phuket again. So, "Phuk et"!