Bangkok

I am barely started on this journey and I can already tell I will need to adjust my blogging strategy.  There is so much that happens in a single day of traveling, I can't imagine readers tuning in to hear all the details of a three week trip.  So for today, at least, I will keep it to a couple of my favorite stories.

Bangkok was unlike anywhere I have been before- a very old, huge city in the tropics, with millions of people living on seemingly just a few pennies a day.  The culture of the place is unmistakable.  There are Buddhist temples and open air markets every few blocks, with thousands of vendors selling everything from dried fish to chicken satay to knickknacks, cassette tapes and used clothing. Dad and I took a few scenic routes and ended up in some very poor areas... But people were friendly everywhere we went, even if they might have been surprised to see us in their neighborhood.

My favorite part of the day was at the end- our feet were getting sore and we decided to take a 'taxi' back to the sky train.  Think of a rickshaw crossed with a 3-wheeled golf cart - with a two-cycle engine - and you'll get the idea.  I meant to take a picture of our chariot but was too busy holding on for dear life...

Anyway, traffic is crazy there.  Half the vehicles are scooters and small motorcycles, and at every traffic light the bikes squirt between vehicles to get to the front. They dodge and weave and it seems impossible that they don't collide. 

Except they actually do, as we found out when our driver tried to make a power move and change lanes, pulling right into the path of a scooter flying up behind us. The scooter smacked into our back bumper, exchanged some choice words in Thai with our driver... And then off he went back into the chaos!

It was also clear that many of these scooter drivers don't have another vehicle... we saw some amazing examples of just how much awkward weight a scooter can carry. (Hint: it's much more than you might think!) Dad took a great picture that I will add here once I'm re-connected to technology.

Anyway, this driver carried us for about 30 minutes, and we arrived safely at our train. For his time and the fuel used to move us, he charged us 20 Baht- or about 65 cents! We didn't have any small Thai change for a tip... So we offered him a single American dollar.  He tried to refuse but we insisted, and as we walked away we saw him staring at it in disbelief as though it could have been a nugget of gold.  A few people around him made comments in Thai as we walked away... And I wondered where that dollar would end up that night.  Would he find a place to exchange it?  Or keep it?  Would he share his good fortune with friends over bowls of fish curry? I guess we will never know.