City Sightseekers

Location: Sukhumvit area, Bangkok (Sukhumvit On Nut Guesthouse)
Day one is now coming to a close. We went into central Bangkok today, taking the Skytrain into Siam, then walking all over town. Today we thought it would be good to orient ourselves to Bangkok. Siam is the shopping center it seems for Bangkok. Once off the skytrain malls were everywhere. The city definitely had a western feel to it, downtown New York style. Deke and I pondered the evident westernization of Thailand and wondered the effects its had on Thai culture. I should say it still held a distinct Asian feel still yet. There are quite a few foreigners that visit Bangkok. That in-and-of-itself is an interesting dynamic. I guess its supply and demand that speaks to other cultures more than the Thai culture. The Thai culture seems to be assimilating more and more to foreign cultures. None-the-less we wanted to get outside of the shopping frenzy and walk into more cultural areas, we started walking north until we found a cannel and then followed it for a ways, often in what seemed like the back walkway behind houses. It was better than following the main roads because of the pollution. You could just feel your lungs crapping up, developing a nice layer of smog over them as you breathed. Many people wore masks to filter the air. I think that could be a good investment. I should have grabbed a couple from work! After a while, we decided to trek down to the East part of Bangkok, where the Central Palace, temples, and government buildings are. Our goal is to leave Sukhumvit tomorrow morning for a place to stay just outside of the temple area. I think it might become our way to get out of Bangkok soon and visit either Ayuthaya, the ancient capital or travel to the coast for some scuba diving. I can't handle the smog! Thais are, however, very nice, and very quick to offer their help should they catch you with a lost look on your face holding a map. Being two weary travelers, we thought it best to rest... so we got a 30min. Thai massage to encourage relaxation. I must say that goal was met. By this time it had gotten dark outside, so we started making our way back. We wanted to take a water taxi south to a Skytrain stop, but didn't see any boats. We opted for a tuktuk (motorcycle with a passenger cab) to drive us back to Siam where we started. Its been a long day, and so many experiences. I'm realizing the difficulty in trying to write about it all. There is just so much! and to reflect on it all would take an entire day itself. All is well, though, and we are gearing up for a new day. We hope to settle a little more downtown, closer to the central palace for some time, and begin trying to meet people there. It is crazy to go each day not really knowing where your head will rest when the sun goes down. I'm taken back to thinking of Paul's journeys, and the life of Christ. The Son of Man had no place to rest his head, yet he had faith, as did Paul. And I'm reminded of the birds of the air and flowers of the fields and how they are cared for. Put in perspective, there is an incredible support to have faith in being led, if you will follow. It is our continued prayer that we are open to following where Christ would have us go.

Currency exchange rate: 38 Thai baht = 1 US dollar
purchased today: Thai massage(100baht), 2 waters(15baht,6baht), reverse osmosis water refill (1baht), coke(20baht), Pad Thai(20baht), mango and sticky rice(20baht), pineapple(20baht), BTS tickets (35bahtx2), Tuktuk taxi (100baht/2), 1 night stay dormatory (400baht/2)