Bangkok Week 3

July 17, 2008

More weekend day-trips.

One of the main canals in Bkk.

On the long commuter boat that travels the length of the canal.

A view out the side.

Another reptilian beast!

Wat Ratchanatda, at the western end of the canal.

The boat driver's rear view mirror. It censors some passengers!

More homes along the canal.

This is how you keep your fellow passengers from being splashed!

Our traveling companions.

Homes, old and new.

The canal eastbound took us to a mall...

... with vegetarian food!

How to dry your laundry.

A mall devoted to electronics and pirated software.

Two mango brothers. One ripe, one, well...

... not so ripe.

One of the bridges crossing the Chao Phraya River.

A market on the border of Chinatown and the Indian community.

Group shot!

Consulting our trusty map... while lost on an overpass.

Anyone seen my scissors?

"Packed" does not do justice to the density of this market.

Boo!

What color drink would you like?

Ice cream... in a hot dog bun!!

Hello, kitties!

Chinatown's main street.

A typical old apartment building.

The "most revered" temple in Chinatown.

A school!

Dried shrimp?

Dried duck?

The gate to Chinatown... is not really in Chinatown anymore.

Putt putt Pineapples.

Inside Bkk's rail terminal.

And outside Bkk's rail terminal.

More typical apartments.

Found the end of the line!

My Monday costume!

Mang kut (Mangosteen)...

... cut open.

Bangkok Week 2

July 10, 2008

Some sightseeing (not too many photos-- don't want to spoil your visit!) and other wanderings around the city.

We took a Tuk Tuk to get to the famous sights.

My first (and last?) Tuk Tuk ride!

A much more frightening experience than I'd anticipated!

A yoh-yaag at the Grand Palace.

More Grand Palace grandeur.

Bling bling.

Phra Siratana Chedi behind Phra Mondop

Something ornate.

On the count of 3...

A boy's lighting incense outside the temple.

Slightly different colors.

He *thinks* he's found a hiding spot...

Okay, which is more imposing?

The hall used to receive foreign ambassadors and honor other Heads of State, and some broccoli trees.

Our umbrella.

An iced tea break, lest we collapse in the sun.

The famed Reclining Buddha at Wat Po. You've probably seen this picture before.

The back of Buddha... still reclining.

More Wat Po architecture.

More Wat Po, with an obstruction in the foreground.

Roof tiles or snake scales?

Group shot!

Wouldn't want to land on this temple...

I wasn't the only snap-happy fool there...

Pick your poison.

A block of the flower market.

Suankularb, Ton's high school.

The tap water canal!?

Granny pants, anyone?

We found a squash court!

It squashed me.

Then we found Jess and her aunt!

And some fluffy desserts.

Tropical fish! (Some like to call them dragon fruit.)

A typical sidewalk.

Gulati's second job!

A famous restaurant to which we have yet to go.

Still more Bkk traffic.

A park in the middle of it all.

With a lake in which I wouldn't swim.

And some art students.

Have I mentioned that Mondays are yellow?

The aisle contained light bulbs...

Say what?

The holy grail of ice cream.

How to jog in 40-degree weather.

In front of the lake at Lumphini Park.

More tropical haven in the city.

This man was not fazed by the large reptilian fellow creeping by.

An elephant family in the clearing.

Resting after a lap around the park.

The famed beer garden...

... at the Suan-Lum Night Bazaar.

Riding the subway for the first time!

In the (clean!) subway.

The "proximity token" used on the subway. You tap it near a sensor.

Bangkok Week 1

July 3, 2008

Arriving in Bangkok and getting acclimated. Also, heat.

Before and after packing two 50-lb bags and a 40-lb carry-on.

In Tokyo, destination Bankoku.

Finally! With all bags in one piece!

First meal in Bkk! "Kanom Jeen"...

The Doctor and his Hood.

A scrabble tournament in a mall.

Lunch from a vegetarian stall at a mall food court.

Kanun.

The newfangled iPod touch!

Much-appreciated Thai ice cream at Chatuchak Market.

Tropical croutons?

Plaza outside the CDN embassy.

Which way?

One of the more effective motorized means of transport.

Go!

Rain outside the apartment window.

Doomsday is coming.

Note the waves on the roof.

Ngoh (?)

Don't we all?

Say, what time is it?

In what direction should the traffic be going, to the right of the yellow line?

'Cause rush hour aerobics in front of a bank is where it's at!

More (colorful) traffic!

The skytrain station outside our apartment (but that is not our apartment).

Chulalongkorn University campus (the oldest university in Thailand).

Faster than a speeding bullet!

Can anyone identify these flowers?

More Chula campus.

The irony kills me.

Tropical workout, anyone?

Some fellows on a tree.

Lam yai (?)