The Great Escape

I'm here braving the wilds of a Bangkok internet cafe/computer game emporium to bring you what will probably be my last post for a while. I must admit that I think it is noisier in here than it is out on the street (which for Bangkok is saying a lot) because there are boys with loud speakers shouting and shooting each other via computer game behind me. Sometimes airconditioning is just worth it though. I was able to tune them out a bit by focusing on uploading a whole slew of photos to my photoblog, Fun Fotos for wHeNeVeR. They're not exactly in a sensical order, but I think you'll enjoy them just the same!

If all goes according to plan, tomorrow much too early in the morning, the three of us adventurers will be off on the required pilgrammage to Angkor Wat in Cambodia. I'm preparing myself for a crazy day tomorrow getting into Cambodia. Originally, I hadn't realized quite how difficult of a task it was going to be, but I think I'm armed (with information) and ready. You can check out the website Overland Travel Between Bangkok and Siem Reap if your curious what we're up against. Not only do we have to deal with regular every day scammers, we also get to try not to get jipped by corrupt government officials. I'll be sure to let you know how it goes.

As I suspected, Bangkok is starting to grow on me. I still think that it's a Taibei wanna be, but at least now, after really taking time to explore the royal tresures I can start to appreciate Bangkok and Thailand for what it is. The Thai royality did Thai and European fusion very well, at least with regards to architecture. The Thai royalty definitely had resources and exposure unseen by their neighboring Lao. It's also been interesting to start learning a little bit more about their culture. I hadn't realized that the Hindu influence was quite as strong here as it appears to be for example. I've also seen a lot of cool Chinese statues that were brought to Thailand as ballast in the bottom of ships that you can't find anymore in China (thank you Cultural Revolution!).

At the same time, after spending almost an entire week here (the same amount of time we spent in the entire country of Laos, which was most certainly not enough time), I'm ready to get back on the road. I'm sure Angkor Wat will be well worth the visit AND the extremely expensive $40 entrance fee (the temple is owned by a petrol company, but at least some of that money is now actually going to the upkeep and maintenance of the place, which is better than the nothing it got before!).