If it hasn’t been clear already, the whole of Southeast Asia seems to be washed over in a massive trade of tourists, coming both from its nearby neighbors and the Western countries, driving up costs along the way and at times souring an experience. If there is a midpoint for all of this, it is Bangkok, the region’s largest city (perhaps…not sure how big Jakarta is) and its most accessible. However our journey there was anything but easy, involving several bumpy hours along the road in Cambodia, a long wait on the Thai side of the border, and a bus that conveniently ‘broke down’ to the point that we ended up taking a cab over 200 kilometers with a pair of British women before finally getting into our Bangkok hotel long after dark.

We stayed near the Khoi San area, the central tourist zone. Normally this is something I would attempt to avoid, however as we had only a pair of days in which to enjoy the city, it was a compromise for being close to the major sites. Our first full day we spent time exploring our neighborhood, which is at least half Western if not more, to judge by faces alone. We were near the Chao Praya river and ended up doing an hour long tour of the canals by longtail boat. Lining the banks are homes of various repair and value, making for an engaging architectural tour as well as a pleasant window into local life away from the hustle and bustle of the busier streets. As chance would have it, neither Katy or I had our cameras with us, or I would share pictures.

During our second day we took a water bus down the river to visit one of the larger stupas (Buddhist temples/monasteries). The place was packed to the gills with visitors, most of whom were doing the long circle around the central attraction of the stupa: a massive reclining Buddha bathed in gold. Despite being shoulder to shoulder, the Buddha itself was quite a sight to behold. The rest of the area offered a pleasant and less-crowded area to walk around, taking in numerous spires and hallways filled with Buddha statues.

From there, we went toward the Royal Palace area, which included within it a second temple paved in gold and other shiny materials. On our way a man attempted to waylay us on our journey, telling us the Palace was closed and offering to help us with a trip to a rarely opened sight and a cutthroat price on a tuk-tuk. Needless to say, this read exactly like a ploy listed in the guidebook, and we found that the Palace was indeed open. We went in (with the crowds) and looked through the various buildings getting a look at everything above people’s heads.

All in all, the city was massive, and for the time available, we saw a decent amount of what we could, as well as eating to satisfaction.  One of my favorite aspects was the availability of good Western food, a luxury I indulged.  From Bangkok, we left on a midday flight south to Krabi, our launching point to get to Ko Phi Phi, an idyllic island set off the Thai coast on warm Indian Ocean waters.