Thailand: the beginning of an endless bus ride

Yes, Bangkok was the first stop on our tour. This was a time of cultural shocks, grand displays of golden temples, running from rain storms, and the pungent aroma of street food EVERYWHERE. To top it all off, it was really incredible just joking around with Tyler and Glen.

 
 

That night we took a train south. It was really great because they let us pretty much climb outside the train as we drove, so we watched the sun rise over Thailand's southern peninsula...pretty stunning. We were then shuffled around on several buses, trucks, and tuk tuks to finally end up in Ao Nang...rock climbing paradise. Imagine rock climbing on mother of pearl limestone cliffs jutting out of an azure ocean. Or you can just look at the picture of it. 

 

 This innocent looking band of thugs stole fruit from Tyler and me on separate occasions. And I'M the bad guy in this story for punching a monkey?! They know what they did...

The food was so amazing...I especially loved the mango shakes, but the pad thai and curry weren't bad either.

Coming soon: Les Aventures de TinTin au Cambodge

All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain.

I arrived in Bangkok about 5 hours before Tyler and Glen would. After checking in at the hostel, I went out to get a bite to eat (I had, after all, been travelling for about 19 hours). As I wandered around the streets next to my hostel, a scene from Blade Runner unfolded. Street vendors and hookers lined the road, all but blocking the various shops that were lit in gaudy neon lights as high as I could strain my neck. About three stories up, the metro roared by, temporarily drowning out the constant hustling on ground level. A consistent wave of "hello friend, you need belt?" or "i give you good bargain" was almost too cliche for me. One very ambitious lady of the night was so bold as to even attack me when I rejected her offer to go into a club (surprisingly, that's the first time I've ever been slapped by a prostitute). Here's a pretty close depiction to what happened (I'm, of course, Harrison Ford, and the prostitute may or may not have been a man, I really don't know...)

After that, I ate some tasty street soup, and went back to the hostel to wait for Tyler and Glen to get there/cry in the shower.