Bangkok (take 1 & take 2)

After spending over 2 months in South America and stopping over in the Pacific Island mentioned before, our entryway to Asia was Bangkok. And it was a surprise. Yes - we knew that Bangkok was a larger city but ... yet it appeared larger and more developed than we expected. Large highways, comfortable buses, good train syste, even extensive town ferry system - nice! But we knew that we were in the right place - the Tuk-Tuks (rickshaw motorcycles) were everywhere. Our first time in the city we only had a couple of days as we were rushing away to the flower festival (see more in Chang Mai entry). The second time we allotted more time to take the city in. Our top Bangkok highlights:

1) "our special breakfast stand" - extremely low key in a middle of a local food market in a rather non-touristy area of Thewet. We discovered it during our first morning there. Stomachs empty, for the first time we were not able to rely on any of my language skills to intelligently order a meal. Thai is quite different. This was the beginning of the traveler's "hand language" that we have been using in Asia. We basically pointed at some pots that a few nice ladies had in front of them hoping that they would be able to explain what is inside. They were able to "describe" two out of the dozen dishes they had in front of them. It was apparently fried "phishes" and brown sauce that was "no meaty". We ordered the brown sauce and another curry sauce both over rice noodles, which since then we have been having almost everywhere in Asia. While the curry was nice it was so spicy that even our spice-friendly tongues could not take it. On the other hand, the brown sauce turned out to be a sweet and tangy peanut sauce - absolutely delicious and VERY appropriate for breakfast. We had the peanut sauce breakfast a few times at the same stand - unfortunately with a bit of a language barrier I was not able to score the recipe and later we have not found the same delicacy anywhere else in Thailand

2) fruitshakes at every corner. We had them pretty much at every meal and more. Banana, papaya, strawberry, mango - you name it. Delicious, inexpensive and available at any hour almost anywhere. Add some local rum or vodka (froma protable water bottle) to it and you have a super yummy coctail (s) at night (did I say cheap!?)

3) the WATS. Buddha's temples are abundant in Bangkok. We visited a bunch. One more impressive than the other. Emerald Buddha, Golden Buddha, Reclining Buddha - magnificent figures - not to be missed. 4) The teak palace. We both loved it. James thought that it was the best royal quarters that he has ever seen. I am not sure that I agree but the less pompous wooden structure definitely had its charm without the ostentatious luxury in "traditional" palaces around the world,

5) The shopping - so many markets - so much to see - so much to buy. Unfortunately since we are on a road for a long time I had to stick mostly to the "see" part. Besides the famous knock-off stuff , Bangkok really has a lot of very nice handicrafts. Scarfs, wooden articles, lamps, etc... If I only did not mind carrying it all. Or if the shipping was easier to execute and cheaper...My favorite market was a Lumphini Night market. I got one full night to just hang out by myself at it (without James beyond-bored stare). This was only possible because there was another attraction that was a must-do for James and not-at-all-my-thing for me, namely:

6) Thai kick boxing. Bunch of short thin, yet super shapely Thai man, fighting in a boxing like ring. Here is a couple of James' pictures. Check for James' comment. The freakest part The least favorite part about Bangkok - spending way too much time on the Polish passport issues. I love being Polish but our bureaucracy has got to go!