vedana.net

In Bankok

Hello Asia, good-bye toilet paper. It's really hot here, hot and humid. Jarrod met me downtown after my plane arrived and we're staying at a guesthouse ($2/night) near Khao San road. The food is out of this world... You've probably had Thai food at restaurants, and it's usually amazing stuff, but the stuff straight from the street vendors is just divine. I'm munching on roasted banana right now, $0.25 for a whole bag of them.

There's a great vibe here as well, it's the first 3rd-world country I've visited where I haven't felt like I'm from another planet. The people are wonderful and happy-go-lucky, like the Hawaiians were. They don't stare at you when you walk down the streets and through markets like they've never seen white skin before. Perhaps it's because Bangkok is a fairly popular travel destination, I dunno, it could change when we go elsewhere. I'd like to believe it's because Thailand is a Buddhist nation and it's never been conquered by a foreign power, and its people are tolerant and compassionate in general.

We saw The Two Towers last night, my second time seeing it (awesome film). Interestingly, after the previews and before the movie started, the whole crowd stood up and a short (one minute or so) film about Thailand's king, Bhumipol Adulyadej, played on the screen. Afterward, everybody sat down and the movie started. Cultural idiosnycracies, yippee!

One final note, we're flying to Burma tomorrow and I'm not anticipating finding any Internet access. Unless I do, see you again in a month...