First, allow me to quote my Facebook post from yesterday:
I arrived in Bangkok in the middle of the night after a very long series of flights: Fairbanks, Seattle, LAX, Tokyo, Bangkok.
The Mile Map Hostel is nice, clean and quiet and in a good location. It is one block to a street market. Bought some fruit and asked a nice Thai lady what was good in her tiny restaurant and then ate a good breakfast for $1.50. Nothing wrong with going from 20 below to 80 above, either.
This shot is the corner near the hostel. Jet lagged but glad to be traveling again.
I got my body clock re-calibrated as of this morning. I walked down to the river and I teamed up with a young Danish lady trying to puzzle out the water taxis. A local fellow pointed out the right boat just in time. It was interesting seeing Bangkok from a different perspective. The boat was very full of people, mostly locals. The Dane got off at the Grand Palace and I hopped off near Khao San Road, possibly the center of backpack traveling in SE Asia. I’d been here years ago and wanted to see it for old time’s sake. I ate breakfast and people watched. It was interesting watching people get out of taxis, fresh from their home countries and looking a little bewildered. Then there those that had things more or less figured out and a few that looked as if they’d come here twenty years ago and never went home.
I took a different route back to the boat walking past one of the innumerable ornate temples in Bangkok. There were numerous boats rushing up and down the river, mostly large water taxis. The skill of the pilots quickly backing up their long boats to the pier was remarkable. I have to laugh at the below shot, like many people in today’s world, the young Thai is staring at her smart phone.
Back at the hostel I spent some time figuring out my plan for tomorrow. Bangkok is more or less just my starting point for this trip, a place to get oriented and rested before I head to Angkor Wat in Cambodia tomorrow.
This evening I walked to the market and got food from one of the street vendors. I pointed to what I wanted and she indicated I could choose pork or chicken. I chose pork and was pointed where I should sit down. It was 30 baht, (90 cents,) and delicious.
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