BANGKOK!

Yo yo yo! People. Hope all is well stateside. Again, apologies on the lack of posts. I think we slightly over-estimated WiFi access here, and our Netbook kind of effed up. No worries though. We're staying at a fantastic hostel right now in Chiang Mai, Thailand, replete with internet access. On to Bangkok, Day 1.

After chilling at Ratavy's for the night, we headed out to our first Thai breakfast: the New York diner. Chill, you haters. We needed to ease our way into the local cuisine, and an omelet and pancakes does the trick. Those of you who know me well, you know I dislike Asian food...so also count this as meal 1 of 4 for Vas thus far in the trip. Ratavy cut us up some tasty local fruits, and afterwards, it was onward to check into our hostel, the Roof View Inn.

It was there we had our first run in with the Tuk Tuk driver, the local taxi man who is eager to sell you on anything and everything. We'd read about these guys in our Lonely Planet guide, but to experience their persistence was entirely different. None the less, we decided to throw him a bone and ask him to take us to our first stop: the Grand Palace. Expectedly, he was ready to take us EVERYWHERE BUT the Grand Palace, all places he could pull a commission. It was hilarious and enlightening at the same time...a good dose of reality for our first trip. No worries though, we were able to use our first Thai words of the trip: Mai Chai, which means No. Although, given his reluctance to give in, I'm wondering now if we were pronouncing it correctly. Maybe we should print it on a shirt and just wear it.

The Grand Palace was AWESOME though, a true delight. Wat Phra Kaew is a gorgeous religious center (Wat means Temple) and the adjoining Grand Palace was equally spectacular. We caught a bit of a group of pilgrims chanting in the main hall, and everywhere we saw monks from around Thailand who had come to worship. Despite the hubbub of tourists, there was a distinct yet surrea serenity about the pilgrims. The Grand Palace, a former home of the Royal Family, was also legit...if forced

We toured around here for a while, then stopped at a shop to pick up my first legit buy of the trip: an authentic Thai straw hat. Though the Thai people eyed me with certain disdain, I'd like to think I rocked it pretty well...pics to come.

We next headed to Wat Pho, home of Thailand's largest reclining Buddah. I wasn't sure what to expect, but I think the description says it all: it's literally a massive Buddah, just chillin. It was ridiculously long, I think some 46 meters in length, 15 meters tall. It was plastered in gold, and again, hundreds of pilgrims had come to visit. An awesome sight.

Khao San Road was our next stop, otherwise known as backpackers lane. Tons of backpackers and hundreds of vendors lined the street -- we stopped into a shop for a few fruit shakes and to take a load off. We were pretty exhausted but happy with our first day of travels. We headed back to the hostel to shower up before meeting up with Ratavy at a local beer garden -- which, true to its name, had hundreds of vendors surrounding a big open field, bringing miniature kegs to our table to drink. We downed two kegs before calling it a night, and her sister Nyny came along for the ride. Nearby was a night bazaar that we checked out. Thailand is notorious for its bootleg goods...I snagged a sweet "North Face" bag for 9 bones.

All in all -- a great first day. Benny and I crashed that night while Anthony and Kyle headed out on the town...I'll let them tell that story.

General Thoughts:

• It's pretty hot here.
• Things are really cheap. One meal = $2.
  
• I'm hungry.
  
• Anthony keeps eating.
  
• Kyle is still alive, surprisingly.
  
• Benny is surviving.