Bohemian Bangles, Bells and Buddahs

2002-10-16, Bangkok, Thailand

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Arriving in the crazy and bustling city of Bangkok, Thailand, I’m happy to see the diversity of cultures and the fun and bohemian attire. I quickly got settled into a guesthouse on a street near but off of Khoa San Road where most of the tourists stay. I went out shopping for some fun new clothes and stepped into the bohemian style. People or western tourist are running around with cool belts with dangling bells, coins, and beads colorful bangles and clothes. What a contrast with Malaysia. I found a tailor and got her started making me some custom clothes from the Indian Sari material I bought in Malaysia. Thailand is known for the good custom tailoring. I find that the prices in Indonesia were much better and I wish I had made more clothes while I was there. In any case it will be nice to have some fresh clothes for all my photos. I went to dinner in a cool outdoor cafe and a nice guy from another table started talking to me and then later joined me. His name is Kirk and he is a sculpter working currently on a commissioned project on an island in Japan. He did a lot of the sculptures used in the movie Lord of the Rings. I enjoyed talking to him… we talked about a lot of things and our conversations ran deep. In the end I chose to go and get a massage instead of going on to another bar with him for a drink. I thoroughly enjoyed my first Thai massage it involves a lot of stretching and they use their entire body including their feet to do the massage. An hour and a half only costs $5 US. They offer courses in massage here. I think I might try to take some. I went out my second day to get my get my passport photos taken so I could get my visa for Vietnam sorted out. Next I took a Tuk Tuk (motorcycle driven car) to a bunch of temples. I was lucky in that this was the one day a year when entrance to the temples is free. After a day of temple visits I went back for another massage. Weee! I’m back to getting a massage a day. The fresh fruit here is wonderful and inexpensive so I get it often. I have a fresh fruit smoothie for breakfast and lunch. The shopping is also great so I’m stocking up on Christmas presents… I’ll have to send another box home.