Bangkok ! Tourist madness

We are now off to Ko Samui, a lovely island in the Thai gulf coast. We leave in literally a few minutes to catch our bus which would explain the abnormally poor quality of the writing (among other things). Bangkok is a crazy city. It is busy as all hell and Thai people are very nice. Of course since there are always exceptions, the thai exceptions are tuk-tuk drivers (kinda like auto rickshaws in India). They invariably try to screw you, the bastards. They'll offer you a ride for 10 baht (about 25 c US) and then they whisk you off to a store where they MAKE you shop or a restaurant where you have to eat and they get a commission. The best bet is to negotiate a no stop price even if you have to pay a little extra. More on this later. The city itself is charming in a way that only an Asian metropolis can be. Clean, dirty, modern and primitive all at the same time.

We saw the Grand Palace, and the Vimanek Mansion which are both important royal buildings for thais. The Grand palace is opulent with detail which I would consider Asian baroque. It is richly detailed, exquisitely coloured and fantastic in its geometric aesthetics.

We also met some really nice people in Bangkok. At the airport we met a viking named Eric and another nice german couple, Michael and Yvonne.