Bangkok

Hello world! Im checking in from Khaosan Road in the heart of the new city in Bangkok. My friend Mike H had told me prior to getting here that I should stay/see khaosan, and woah is it crazy. We got into the area late wednesday night with a new friend we met in the airport. After checking in we walked through khaosan's craze of night life and drunken people. The streets are lit by neon signs and are shaking of drum and base. 7/11 is huge and you can pretty much find one on every corner. While wondering the streets we decide to grab a beer and discuss our future plans of travel. Our new friend is heading to chiang mai and our plaans are to head south for the islands. We found out the next day that northern thailand has had a ridiculous amount of rain and the train will not go that far. Pictures in the paper show cars under water. The locals say to not even go north right now because the waters are slowly making there way south. Good thing were going south. After finishing the beer we thought what better way to start our trip than to get a 1/2 hour foot massage. So we all lay down in these comfortable lounge chairs with our feet propped up (btw we are right in the middle of the street with beers in our hands) and get the best foot massage of our lives. The massage was amazing but i have no comparison since i have never had one before. I start thinking of how they feel massaging random feet and if they hate their lives. But they seem to have no hate for what they do and instead are filled with smiles and laughter. The massage was the end of our night and went back to the hotel and took an ambien to help me go to sleep. The next morning we wake up to get breakfast and bid farewell to our new friend. Afterwards we hire a tuk-tuk ( which is a 3 wheeled motorcycle that has a canopy and bench seat in the back, btw they pimp these things oout with rims, system, and neon flashing lights) to take us around and see some sights. We found out like the rest of the NewB's that they will take you around from place to place and on the way take you to taylor shops, jewerly stores, and travel agency. They do this to get gasoline vouchers. So during our tuk-tuk day we went to a few temples as well as all the shops. It cost us 2 american dollars for hours of driving. Its kind of a scam but also a great way to see the city. I caught a cold first thing when getting on the flight from den-sfo so we cut our day short and headed back to the hotel for pool and wondering. While wondering the streets the locals pester you into buying clothing and gifts. They have called me numerous amounts of names such as "alibaba", "hangover", and "hollyman" to get my attention. For those who dont know I have a 3month old beard and long hair so i stand out like a sore thumb. We fell asleep by 6pm and woke up at 1;30am to go get a snack from a street vendor. And let me tell this snack was a tasty one, it was a banana wrap topped off with nutella and i beieve honey, but not positive about the honey. The next day we woke early to go to the golden palace and the emerald buddah. The place was filled with school children singing/praying in the temple/wat. And that takes me to where i am now writing to you all. Im waiting to catch my over night train for 6;30pm to surat thani and than off to ko samui. I will let you all know how it goes in a few days.