Photos from Thailand, Bangkok... Part 1.

Eight days in Thailand is quite an experience.  Thailand is hot, humid, and a welcome reprieve from the biting bitter winds of South Korean winter.
The group touched down in Bangkok International Airport early in the morning, which was a relief as we were able to get into the heart of the city easily by bus.  We greatly enjoyed seeing the sprawl of the city as Bangkok seems to stretch out over a massive area, littered with skyscrapers and large buildings.  Not what I was anticipating from a city which sports such famous palaces and temples.  Those came later.  The ride to our hotel was rather amusing, as the driver insisted on playing music videos on his little dashboard television.  For some reason he decided to play music from the 70's, a sort of funky pop music from the era.  Though to be perfectly honest, it was quite catchy and had us all bouncing in a good mood all the way to Kosan Road.

We arrived on Kosan Road near 4 in the morning.  In all honesty nothing could have prepared me for it, nothing ever will.  Dark and dirty, the street was loaded with food vendors carting little stands of pad thai, or kebab, or... various local arachnids and insects.  Drunken tourists from all over the world were stumbling about or slumped in lawn chairs that littered the road side.  Shops were wrapped up tight, but the bars were still open and serving.  We gathered our belongings and shuffled through the crowd, several of us exchanging glances that screamed "My god, what did we just get ourselves into!?"
Kosan Road is at the heart of Bangkok, it's an infamous area where tourists drop into shop, drink, sleep, drink some more... you get the idea.  Of all the places I have been in the world, Kosan Road is perhaps the dirtiest, grimiest, and most ridiculous place I've ever been.  Yet, in spite of all its seediness and grime... I had a great time there.
We arrived early in the morning, checking into Kosan Palace Hotel near the center of the street.  Kosan Palace is quite nice considering its neighboring establishments, clean and cut back from the bustle of the street.  There is also a guard posted consistently by the entrance, helping add to the air of quiet security in a sea of shifting clamor.  The hour was well past late when we carried our bags up to our rooms, but that didn't stop us from going across the street to an open pub for a couple beers and a few rounds of pool.  I rather enjoyed tasting the local Thai beers (which are infinitely better than Korean beers, my god!  EVERYTHING tastes better after having to drink Korean beer for so long!) and chit chatting with the inebriated foreigners who were still out and about when we arrived.  Though good times were had, dawn crept up on us sooner than we expected.  Shopkeepers began opening their stalls and setting out racks to hawk cheap t-shirts and other bits of junk.  Before the sun hit the horizon I retired with my companion Dennis who I shared a room with during our stay in Bangkok.
The new day came soon enough and we were back on the street, seeing it under the scorching Thai sun:

Paul and Dennis on Kosan Road

Pad Thai, on the street... amazing

Kosan Road is full of street vendors who will sell you all kinds of food for as little as 60 Baht (~$2).  Needless to say, I lived on cheap Pad Thai and egg rolls for a little over a week, this made me insanely happy in a poor foodie kind of way....

No tour of Thailand is complete without riding around in a tuk tuk.  Tuk tuks are little motorbikes with carts attached to them.  You can negotiate with the driver to take you anywhere for as little as 30 Baht!  Though you must be careful, as tuk tuk drivers are notorious for taking tourists to shops and sites they don't want to go.  These drivers get coupons and rewards for dropping tourists off at various shops and establishments, sometimes they take people around for hours!  Only to never get to the site the passenger asked for to begin with!

Our experiences with tuk tuks were actually quite good.  We managed to negotiate good prices before getting in and were only led astray a couple times in our few days in Bangkok.

Tuk tuks, classy no?

If this looks incredibly dangerous, IT IS!  Tuk tuk drivers are notorious for weaving through traffic and speeding down narrow streets to quickly get places.  Taking a ride in a tuk tuk is not necessarily a wide life decision, but it certainly is fun! 

Bangkok is loaded with temples, shrines, and monasteries.  Driving down the road one can see dozens of little statutes erected to various Hindu deities, and many more dedicated to Buddha.

This is a snapshot of a Ganesh shrine.  Ganesh is a common site in Thailand and is a well known Hindu deity.  Ganesh is the son of Shiva in the Hindu pantheon and is often portrayed as a child with an elephant's head.  Ganesh is often seen as a god of good fortune and is often prayed to when beginning a new venture or business.

(This I find ironic given the story of how Ganesh got his elephant head is one that seems profoundly unlucky to me)

 One of our first temples was the one of the big buddha in Bangkok (though not quite as big as the one in Hong Kong, still impressive though)

Another big Buddha!

One of many temples around the city

Lighting incense at the shrine near Bangkok's big Buddha.

 This was an active shrine, as you can see people are meditating here before the enormous statue of Buddha.  The shrine made it very clear the importance of taking off one's shoes and being respectful.  I had no problem with that, it's part of the experience.  Of course the searing hot pavement was also part of the temple experience and led me to enjoy the company of shaded shrines throughout the temple complex!

This is actually a shrine to the King of Thailand, who is much beloved by all Thai people.

Well, that's part 1 for Bangkok, more to come!

On another Asian aside, HAPPY NEW YEAR!  Today is New Year's according to the Chinese/Lunar calendar.  Koreans consider this the more important new year (rather than the boring old regular new year that comes on January 1st).  If my knowledge of Chinese astrology is correct (and it rarely is, but we'll say it is for this instance) the year of the Dragon is over and now begins the year of the snake.  I certainly hope that bodes well for all (especially those who are afraid of snakes!)
In any case, happy new year!