So go back to your bars, your temples, your massage parlors

Another line from "One Night in Bangkok." Sorry, can't help myself.

So we have had a packed couple of days so far, including all of the above-mentioned destinations and more. On our first night in, we didn't have much energy, so we walked to a local restaurant our hotel recommended, Chote Chitr. It was just a little hole in the wall, and when we arrived the proprietress came out and handed us the menu, then proceeded to tell us what we should order. We agreed with all her choices except one, going for a yellow curry instead of coconut soup. The other dishes were rice cakes with a coconut, sausage and shimp dipping sauce, salad made with a variety of mushrooms and chicken, and a sweet-salty crispy noodle dish. Everything was amazing. Simply the best Thai food I have ever had.

Yesterday we did the whole temple tour, starting with the Grand Palace, then Wat Pho, and finally Wat Arun. We took a long walk back through the Flower Market in chinatown, the Amulet market, and Khao San Road, the backpacker area. We stopped for a 30 minute foot massage to ease our aching feet, which was heaven.

In the evening we went downtown and ate at a restaurant called Crepes and Co. It was just a treat to eat out in a nice, sophisticated restaurant again, even though the food wasn't particularly memorable. It was different, and that was enough.

To finish off the day, we went to a nightclub. Yes, somehow I was able to stay up that late, even at the ripe old age of 30. So it was salsa night, and Jorge and I are thinking, hey we're in Asia, we can show these guys a thing or two about salsa. And then we get in there and it's like that movie with Vanessa Willians and Chayanne, with the professional salsa dancers...Anyway, imagine tiny little Thai women in miniscule outfits spinning all over the floor. And then me and Jorge in our sensible walking shoes, and a style of dancing where we hardly move (apparently in Barranquilla there's never enough room on the dance floor, so they've had to adapt.) Yeah, we felt a little out of place. But it was cool to see the nightlife here.

Today we got a late start, owing to our wild and crazy party lifestyle. Breakfasts here are great, and something to savor. We get about 8 different types of fruit each morning, along with a variety of pastries, juice, tea, and eggs. So after eating our fill, the Inn owner's son gave us tons of recommendations and helped us catch a canal ferry going into town. The ferry was neat, as we got to see the back sides of all the houses, and a bit more of the real everyday life here.

Today we went to two Thai style homes - Jim Thompson's house, which was owned by a wealthy American silk trader, and filled with beautiful Thai antiques, and the Suan Pakkard museum.

We had a late lunch at the mall. OK, sounds weird, eating at the mall, but high-concept food courts are really in here. You got a plastic card, and could go around to about 20 different restaurants, order whatever you wanted, and then they just put it on the card for you to pay when you leave. We had a pan-Asian tapas extravaganza, and it only set us back 15 dollars.

Then the big activity of the day - seeing Harry Potter and the Order of the Pheonix. which I really liked. We don't have movies in Malawi, so it was a treat. During the previews, all of a sudden everyone stod up and across the screen rolls: "Please pay your respects to the king" or something to that effect. As the national anthem played, we saw dozens of photos of the king doing various do-gooder activites. A bit surreal.

We finished off the night with a trip to the Lullaby Spa, also recommended by our hotel, which was beautiful. We both got one-hour Thai massages, and I was streched and kneaded until I felt like taffy. I can't wait to go back.

So tomorrow we're off to Chiang Mai!

Here are some more pics from the trip so far:

The Reclining Buddha, at Wat Pho. It's BIG.

Wat Arun, which we really liked.

The Suan Pakkad Museum

Orchids at the Jim Thompson House

The food court!