Today it is a rather lazy day for me here in Kuala
Lumpur Malaysia.  I've decided to make use of my time
by catching up a bit on my travel emails.  For now
I'll update you on my first visit to Thailand from
July 4th-13th.  Over those 10 days I ran errands and
spent time with new and old friends in Bangkok, I
visited Chang Mai in the north highlands where I
learned Thai Cooking and Massage, and finally moved on
to Laos.  The details are all below.

July 4th for me was spent travelling from Seam Reap
Cambodia to Bangkok Thailand.  The minibus to Bangkok
was memorable since our driver seemed to be sleepy and
angry.  The first half he drove like a maniac, some
people thought he was falling asleep, he scowled at
us, and refused to stop to let some girls use the
toilet.  Luckily, after lunch he became a new person.

This was my first of two visits to Bangkok so I used
my time to run errands and did very little
sightseeing.  

Bangkok is a huge sprawling city choked everywhere by
traffic jams and plenty of pollution.  Most places of
the city are endless blocks of lowrise shops of little
interest.  This sprawl is broken here and there by
large ornate Buddhist temples (Wats) and huge modern
shopping malls.  A river runs along the west side of
the city going North/South and due to the traffic
congestion, can often be the quickest way to travel
North/South through the city.  There's also one
elevated train, but it is just not sufficient to be
very helpful on it's own.

Most backpackers settle in the area around Koh San
Road nearby to the Palace and National Museum.  Koh
San is a dingy crowded road lined with street stalls,
shops, guesthouses, cafes, and other backpacker
oriented businesses.  People, rickshaws, and taxis run
amok up and down this street and one can see
travellers of about any shape, size, style, and origin
here.

Within the city people visit the temples, palace,
museum, markets, and the famous area known as Patpong.
Patpong is a wild area of town known for it's adult
side as well as the night market setup right in the
middle of it all.  Just about anything happens here.

So I settled into a cheap guesthouse near Koh San Road
and wandered around the area.  My first night I found
myself having a drink in a nice pub called "Austins"
of all places.  It was packed with local Thai people
and me.  Eventually, I made friends with a local named
Wat and his girlfriend Poo.  That night we talked and
drank and then later found ourselves dancing till late
at night at a disco nearby.  During both of my stays
in Bangkok I ran into Wat and Poo often and got to be
good friends with them.  The next night I was with Wat
and Poo and met Kay and her friend Beer (Really, that
is how she pronounces her name).  They were both
really shy and left quickly, but I met up with Kay the
next day and she became a good friend for me and
showed me around when she had time.  I also managed to
run into my Kiwi friends Steve and Sally whom I met in
Hoi An Vietnam with the Australians Steve and Stella.

For the rest of my time in Bangkok I went shopping for
clothes and other things I was in need of for some
time, and went out with my friends.  I also enjoyed
all the Thai food I could.

On the 9th of July I took a bus up to the North of
Thailand to Chang Mai.  This is a growing city with
the remains of a moat and a wall enclosing a fair
portion of the city.  The North of Thailand is quite
hilly or mountainous so you can see some mountains
rising just outside the city.  Chang Mai is not so
congested or polluted as Bangkok and is often much
more favorably received.  People stop here mostly to
go trekking in the jungle where they ride elephants,
visit mountain villages, and ride bamboo rafts down
the rivers.  I opted not to go trekking.  The trekking
just seemed way overdone and to exploited.  There is
one mountain tribe that extends the necks of the women
using many metal rings placed around their necks as
you may have scene in magazines or on television
before.  From all that I heard, this practice is
continued mostly for the benefit of tourism and I had
no interest in being a part of that.

My interest in Chang Mai was to relax and learn some
Thai cooking and Thai massage.  On my first day I
found myself in a Thai cooking course with about 7
others.  We visited the market where our teacher
showed us the local foods and told us how they are
used and what to look for in them.  Afterwards, we all
prepared about 5 dishes over the day and had a great
time eating all the food we cooked in the end.  We
cooked Pad Thai, Tom Yom Koong, Thai Green Curry,
Penang Curry, Stir Fry, Spicey Glass noodle salad, and
Banana Spring Roll desert.  Most importantly, I
learned how to cook the coconut curries and with the
help of my handy dandy cookbook I should have a head
start in preparing some tasty Thai food when I return.

Afterwards, I took a day off and then signed up for a
Thai massage class over 2 days.  So I took 2 days to
learn massage from my a local woman one on one.  For
the first day she showed me over 90 different
techniques which I would repeat and afterwards write
notes in a notebook she gave me.  The notebook should
be most helpful since it came complete with photos of
each technique.  The second day, I took 5 hours to
practice what I had learned and ask any questions that
I had remaining.  So with alittle more practice I hope
to refine my skills.  I just need a few volunteers to
practice on.

The other places of interest in Chang Mai are the
night market which is endless street stalls lining a
street on the east side of the city and the few
restaurants and bars on the east side of the city near
the old city wall.  Most people shop, eat, drink, and
play pool at night.  

Before I left I managed to meet up with the
Australians Steve and Stella whom I met with Steve and
Sally in Vietnam.  They just arrived from Laos the day
before I left for Laos so we had one evening to
socialize.  During my stay I had also spoken with one
of the bar owners, Audd, from time to time.  He is a
local Thai fellow and he offered to drive me up to the
mountain Wat (temple) before I left in the morning. 
So I woke early and we met for breakfast and a trip up
the mountain.  The temple was nice and had their not
been clouds, the view of the city below would have
been great.  Afterwards Audd dropped me at the bus
station and I moved on.

After those 4 days in Chang Mai I took a half day bus
ride on to the border town of Chang Kong on the Mekong
river next to Laos.  It is a small town with a few
guesthouses and restaurants where people stop a night
before going on to Laos or coming from Laos.  I stayed
one quiet night here and headed out for Laos in the
morning.  The most interesting thing about my stay in
Chang Kong was the mexican dinner I had at a nearby
guesthouse.  

I'll save Laos for my next update.  Hope everyone is
doing well.  I'm off to Singapore tomorrow and then I
will be flying on to Sydney on August 27th.  It sure
will be strange to be in a white english speaking
country again.  I'm sad to be leaving SouthEast Asia,
but happy to see what Australia is all about.

-Chris