Thailand

Breakfast. We took about 450 pictures, at least 300 of which were of food. I know you don't want to see 300 pictures of food, but if you want to see 30 or so, head over to my other blog.

Elephants.

Chinatown, Bangkok.

Not really THEE Golden Triangle. Just a point in the triangle they decided to surround with casinos and tourist traps and opium museums.

One of my favorite Thai dishes, made with eggplant and chiles and eaten with pork skins, cabbage or cucumbers.

Never underestimate the power of a three hour long air-conditioned ride down the Chao Praya river on a boat provided by the Shangri-La hotel featuring a surprisingly good buffet (I'm generally not the biggest fan of buffets).

I'm about to eat you.

I took this picture as we were about to leave this little mountain village we visited. Our middle school aged guide took us to see where they grow what she said was opium (who knows what it really was, or maybe it was opium) and then to a dark, Texas Chainsawesque, cabin where she showed us a gallery of preserved items ranging from a monkey fetus to a two-headed snake. I kinda wanted to take a picture but Joyce advised me against it.

At the foot of the 200 or so steps to one of Thailand's most famous temples.

We hung out with, and got pretty close, with a number of elephants in Thailand. It was cool, aside from the fact that they had been kidnapped and exploited a bit. Not as cool as monkeys or Costa Rican night safaris, I guess.

Eating worms.

A large reclining Buddha.

Me eating durian. Not really enjoying it.

Some other things about Thailand:

1. The traffic in Bangkok flows a bit differently than the traffic in the USA. Whereas rush hour in the USA operates on the assumption that everybody follow the rules, traffic in Bangkok during rush hour (basically all the time) is founded on the idea of everybody simultaneously and cooperatively breaking the rules, and it seemed to always work.

2. We watched Sherlock Holmes in a plush theater with comfortable reclining chairs, drink service to your seat, assigned seats, frigid air, and a blanket to keep you warm. All for $8.

3. The flight kind of sucks. On the way home, though, we had Inglourious Basterds, Funny People, and the Informant, which made it a bit better.