"Certainly, travel is more than the seeing of sights; it is a change that goes on, deep and permanent, in the ideas of living."  -- Miriam Beard

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   Que the Lonely Planet intro music!  

Well, I'm in Bangkok, Thailand. I am doing a mini South East Asia tour with Karl (my older brother). It's been quite interesting thus far, but a little rushed because we have a lack of time (16 days in total... sounds like a lot, but wait until you hear the travel plans).  

First we flew to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Man, it's awesome there! It's a bit ghetto, but still cool! Everyone who we encountered was really nice and helpful, mostly they spoke English and pointed out the local sights to us. We were only there for 24 hours, because it was technically a layover. We visited the Kuala Lumpur Bird Park...which rocked! Karl and I held these huge birds and took pictures with them... wait til I upload those suckers to FB!!! We also bought a small cup of seeds in the parrot world section of the park, and these small parrots flew onto our arms, scratching at us and rushig at the seeds, occationally kicking each other in the head.  

We also went to an aqurium in "KL Sentral" which claimed to be the biggest aquarium "in the region" whatever that means. It wasn't that big... maybe they only meant the region meaning in KL Sentral. :P

I took pictures of the Patronus Towers, one-time tallest building in the world... I THINK Taipei 101 is the tallest now, but don't quote me... I'm too lazy to google that sucker.   We then took a flight to Bangkok, Thailand.

We took a cab into the city (quite a distance) and stayed at a small, sketchy looking youth hostel on Khao San Rd. This is the foreigners street, and it dripping with youth hostels, shady bars and "establishments," and restaurants, not to mention a littering of small stands selling shirts that say "Thailand Rocks!", "Hard Rock Cafe: Bangkok", and a smattering of Michael Jackson RIP themed shirts.  

Today we visted Wat Po, a complex of temples next to the former Palace in Bangkok (the king of Thailand, Rama X, lives outside Bangkok). It was quite cool. We went into the largest Buddist hall in the complex and just happened to be in time for a special Buddist mass service. During this service, everyone sits, legs folded, on the floor and listens to a monk recite some teachings of Buddha (in Thai). A large gathering of monks, dressed in bright orange robes, sit on an elevated platform, sometimes chanting, sometimes casting looks out at the sitters. At the end of the mass, some of the sitters crawl forward and give the monks what appears to be an umbrella they had purchesed in a shop outside the hall. The umbrella is in a cloth case which is the same bright orange as the monks robes. The monk lays a small (also bright orange) handkerchief on the platform and the person sets the umbrella down for them and cao-tao's three times to honor and respect the monks. I am not sure why this happened, but it was a serious thing.  

After the temple, we took a cab downtown to MBK, the huge mall area in Bangkok. It's very well air conditioned inside all the malls and stores, which is nice since it's hot and humid outside, plus sunny! There are numerous shops in MBK, some mall-like and some stands with people shouting "Madam! Good price for you here!" and "We have Thailand logos!" Everything is way overpriced though because it's a huge tourist trap. I didn't buy much. FYI, if you go to Thailand, take enough sun screen because sun screen is expensive here! I bought some in a store, and paid an arm and a leg... should have gotten a smaller container of sun screen...   Right now, we are relaxing in this (A.C.!) internet cafe.

As we sit and type and contemplate our "world domination," we have formulated plans to visit Vietnam for 3 days. We already decided to go to Cambodia. We will go to Cambodia the day after tomorrow. Number 1 on the list for Cambodia is Angkor Watt, the biggest temple complex in the world. We will spend 3 days there!   Tomorrow we will visit Lopburi, in Thailand. This has the famous Prang Sam Yot, which is known for being covered in monkeys, all running amok and terrorizing visitors. I am very excited to see monkeys that up close and (maybe too) personal.   

After Cambodia we are hitting Vietnam for three days. We will probably be in Ho Chi Minh City that whole time. I am so excited to see Vietnam! As a history major, I am quite interested in seeing Vietnam. Sometimes even just seeing the physical layout of a place will explain something of its history to you. Plus, there are many cool history museums in Ho Chi Minh City...   

Have you ever heard that song, "One Night in Bangkok"? I'vew been singing it all day... "One night in Bangkok and the world's your oyster..." That song means something when you've actually seen Bangkok. The exotic night air of Bangkok is calling me, so I will depart from you now. Next time I write, maybe I'll be in Cambodia...or Vietnam.  Sa wat dee!! (goodbye in Thai)

Yours, Ever Globetrotter,

Monika