Bangkok
Bangkok has a Chinatown like many major cities. It is the richest part of town. Why? Well the majority of the gold is sold here. Its a place with winding alleyways filled with all the trikets sold in others areas. The items are in bulk, so its like Cost Co.
The main tourist area that is not for backpackers is Sukhumvit. The Jim Thompson's House, the man responsible for the silk trade in Thailand. It is a traditional teak house. Beautiful. In this area one can find not one megamall, not two, but four.These huge malls are usually eight stories high. They are walking distance from the skytrainand each other. Food courts are one entire floor. Movie theaters on the top floor with bowling alleys, and other entertainments.
Chao Phraya river is the busiest in the world for traffic. It is a highway in the middle of bangkok. It connects all the canals that are spread throughout the city. Bangkok's nickname was the Venice of the East. The river can take you to the crocodile farm and see the snake show(?).
These are just some of the place I have visited. Most on other trips, but the river is something I seem to go back to when I am here. This time Jon and I took an hour trip on a long tail boat. A skinny boat with a chevy 454 V-8 glued to the back. We just went for a ride and didn't stop. The canals are a much cooler place than the city and you see where the thai's live. Much of what you see is where the poor people live. Shacks along the river next to some industry and empty run down buildings is the scene that is constant through the trip. Then you turn a corner and there is this huge temple or chedi among this slum. Another surprise is some of the huge mansions that you find next to these slums. I can't explain why, but this site of rich next poor is what makes Thaialnd
