Bangkok

On the 29th we left rainy, cold, chaotic Hanoi and headed to Bangkok on a 9am flight. We arrived and were immediately enveloped by the heat as we left the plane. It was fantastic. We had 5 days of rainy, cold weather in Vietnam, and didn't really have the clothes to deal with it. It's tough to dry anything out in such a damp climate, especially when you shove it all in a bag and carry it to a new destination each morning. We've been in Bangkok for 3 1/2 days now. We were going to head north to Chang Mai, but there is a 5 day Thai holiday around the New Year, so all the Thai people are heading home to see family and the trains and buses are packed. No worries--we decided just to spend some time in Bangkok and then end our trip island hopping south.
Bangkok is a very interesting city. It's pretty sprawling, so it's taken us a few days to really get the lay of the land. We're staying near Khao San Rd, which is the infamous backpacker area. The street is closed off, and there are tons of bars and street vendors hawking goods to the tourists and backpackers. Cafe tables spill into the streets and there are people everywhere. We spent our first night enjoying the energy of it all--it's sort of like being on the old vegas strip, without the gambling. We also took a brief jaunt over to the Pat Pong Market in the red light district. Ping Pong show, anyone? They try really hard to get you in there.
You have to be careful in Bangkok, as everyone is trying to sell you something, or scam you into something. Particularly the Tuk Tuk drivers--they are horrible. You negotiate a price (which is about 3-4 times higher than what a metered taxi ride would cost, but none of the taxi drivers in the tourist areas will use their meters), and you say no stops and about 10 minutes into your ride the scams begin. "Oh, that is closed, but I know a much better place". "OK, I take you there, but first you can get information here at the government office for free. Not open tomorrow, only today". "Today is last day for no tax on the shopping here, at the export center. Very nice things, good price. Today last day." "You like discotheque? You want to go to discotheque?" Basically, these guys get a gasoline commission for bringing tourists to certain spots. One guy showed us a card that said 5 gallons of gasoline, if he brought tourists to this "information office". So it's kind of exhausting to get around because you are battling these guys alot. We figured out the trick is to walk 3 or 4 blocks out of the Khao San area and then you can find a very nice taxi driver who will use the meter to give you a fair price. Outside of the Khao San Rd area everyone is extremely friendly.
Two nights ago we ventured out of this subculture to explore the "real" Bangkok. Turns out the Thai people love Beer Gardens and outdoor concerts. We went downtown and ended up by the mall where there are 4 outdoor beer gardens packed with Thai people nightly. Live bands on 4 back to back stages--it's crazy. We've seen outdoor concert stages set up all around town. In contrast to the glamorous commercial district of downtown, yesterday we took a minibus to the floating market about an hour from Bangkok. Women sell fruit, flowers, vegetables, noodle soups, fried bananas, etc. out of wooden long boats on these river canals. It's really neat to see.
We decided to splurge on New Years Eve, and had a nice dinner on a river boat cruise. The city views at night are amazing--all the wats (temples) and the grand palace are lit up and glittering. We headed back to Khao San Road and rang in the new year with a local and international crowd on the packed streets and crowded pubs--it was a blast. Happy New Year!!
We could easily spend 3-4 more days exploring Bangkok, but today we hop on an overnight sleeper bus at 6pm and head south to the islands! What a way to start 2009!!!!