Bangkok

We arrived in Bangkok and settled into our hotel, which was awesome. It was called Reflections, and it's basically the hotel that a bunch of girls who grew up on Hello Kitty would design -- bright pink and each room was individually decorated. The entrance hall to my room was covered with sand and you had to walk across a dock to get to the bed. There was also a hammock. The hotel also had the best selection of cast-off books we have seen on our trip.

After lunch, we headed downtown to Wat Phra Krew, the temple of the emerald buddha. But we sort of fell for a con and ended up riding around in a tuk tuk going to different shops (and one temple). This wasn't too bad because it was a nice way to see downtown Bangkok, and our driver was honest and said he was taking us to certain shops because they give him gas coupons. It was quite a little racket. I had heard so much about how hot, dirty, and crowded Bangkok was supposed to be, and was pleasantly surprised. Yes, it was absurdly hot, but no more dirty and crowded than New York or London. (Of course, we studiously avoided the tourist area, Khao San Road.)

We finally ended up back at Wat Phra Krew, and at this point I should dazzle you with my description of its architecture, but pretty much all I remember is that it was just freaking hot. Actually, it was really beautiful, much more colorful and ornately decorated than the temples we saw in Burma, but also more sterile. Whereas the Shwedagon Pagoda seemed more a part of the city, with families eating lunch and locals bathing the buddha statues, this seemed more like a tourist attraction. Also the "emerald" buddha is actually made of jasper! 

We then stumbled to a restaurant and got ice cream, and once we had recovered, headed back to the hotel. We ended up eating dinner (sushi) at the hotel restaurant, which seemed to be quite the neighborhood hangout. It was Valentine's Day, and the restaurant was packed with people celebrating. We also got the answer to the question that had been plaguing us in Phuket -- do the Thais actually like duos singing cheesy American pop songs, or is it just what they think the tourists want to hear?  Apparently the former.

It was an early night because we had to leave at 5:30 the next morning for our flight to Siem Reap. I checked out the dvd of "Beyond Borders" from the hotel's dvd collection. It was truly bad, and did nothing to assuage my concerns about land mines.