Khao San Road, Bangkok

My last day in this part of town was pretty interesting...First: I finally found someone selling umbrellas, so now the rain aint' got nuthin' on me, literally! Under my new protective cover, I set out to tour some of the old town's Wats (temples). The tuk tuks can smell someone trying to do a self guided walking tour from kilometers away, and they were after me the entire time. I did trick one onto giving me a map of the area by pretending to be interested in a suit though! Eventually I did escape them and managed to get around to some of the lesser traveled parts of town, see several wats, and try some pretty amazing eats (have no idea what any of it was, except for the noodles). The wats are exceptional...everything is encrusted with gold and multi-colored glass. Every square inch of some of these places is decorated by hand with the tiniest and most intricate patterns imaginable. The Wat Pho, for example, was under renovation and there was a monk repainting, very slowly, an area about one inch squared. Zooming out, you see that this pattern covers a section of the wall and windows about 30 feet by at least a hundred feet long. As incredible as they were, I headed back a little early because they all do look a bit similar. I hope to find some in interesting locales in the northern part of the country. I really didn't want to be the guy snapping a hundred photos inside the temples, so I'll just put a couple up of the places I saw.

Arriving back at home base, I needed something to help me unwind from all the excitement. How does some spicy thai noodles, a big cold beer, and two hours of Thai massage sound? Sounded pretty good to me. That woman must have cracked every vertibret in my back...honestly I didn't know I had that many. I will sleep well tonight. Entire day > $20 (including umbrella)