Six nights in Bangkok

Arrived in Bangkok after a pleasant three night stay with Michael's family in London. The stopover provided a chance to get a little used to the time difference - 5 hours instead of the full on 12 hours in Thailand. The biggest casuality of the trip so far seems to be my feet. First, majorly swollen ankles from the 13 hour flight to Bangkok. The cankles remained for about 24 hours. As I was counting on my delicate and slender ankles helping me blend in with the Thai people, this was a disturbing development. The other, somewhat expected, dilemma has been some minor blisters from new flip flops I bought. I'm looking forward to a full recovery. Bangkok is pretty much what I imagined it would be: hot, sweaty, crowded, loud (very loud), and full of new and not always so welcome smells. We're staying in a cute guest house called the Shanti Lodge. There seem to be a lot of backpackers here along with some families and long-term travelers. What's nice about this place is that it's not on Khoa San Road, which is where the majority of hostels in Bangkok are located. We wandered over there last night - to Khoa San Road. It's like Vegas without the gambling but with all the glitz, neon, and crowds. The people watching was fantastic. There was a vendor right next to our table at dinner who was wildly popular with with locals. He was selling t-shirts with english words such as "her," "self," "reflection," (in reverse so when you look in a mirror...you get the idea) and so on. Another popular shirt read "toget" - I have no idea what this is. Visited my first "wat" (temple) yesterday, which is about 1 block from the guest house, complete with multiple buddhas and a flurry of monks in saffron robes. The detail of the wats are amazing and pictures hardly do them justice. I forsee many more wats in my future. While at the local wat, I met these children who were hanging around outside. They loved having their picture taken and especilly liked being able to instantly see themselves on the digital camera. Ok - on to important things - the bathroom situation. Here is a picture (well not quite yet) of our current bathroom. While I have not yet seen another bathroom, I was pleasantly suprised by how cute and clean this one is. And it's private - an unexpected delight. I have a sinking feeling that this may be the best I see until I cash in my christmas present coupon for a hotel upgrade. It appears that we'll be in Bangkok for a total of six nights. We have to secure a visa for entry into Vietnam and this takes a few days. The plan right now is to leave on Wednesday morning to start the trek north for about a week before heading into Laos. Other than the feet problems and the jet lag, things are great. The jet lag is a pain - I've been awake from 3 to 6 am every night and it's getting a bit tiring. I've also been awake late into the night - till 1 am some nights which, for those who know me well, is highly irregular. I'll check in next in northern country.