Ode to Bangkok.

Glorious Thailand! That's what it felt like the minute we stepped off our flight from Yangon. Below is an homage to Bangkok, the fun and colorful metropolis of Southeast Asia. When we left Bangkok for Myanmar, it felt like any other bustling, disorganized and polluted Asian city. When we returned, we felt like we had landed in the cleanest, most modern place in the world. Though Bangkok still has its share of open sewers, meat on a stick, and crumbling infrastructure, we welcomed it with open arms. It has one foot very firmly planted in the 21st century and it is one of the coolest cities that we have been to. Altogether, we spent close to a month in Bangkok, waiting on various visas for other countries, and taking care of business. We updated the blog, drank beers with some photographer friends, got new books, and sat in the super frigid A.C. that cools all of Bangkok's massive malls and cinemas. Bangkok, here it is:

Metros run throughout the city. Though not the cheapest form of transportation, during the city's maddening rush hours that rival L.A.'s, trains always seem to be the quickest. The system was brand new when Max visited for the first time in 2005, and he was glad to see that it was expanding and improving.

Massive crowd waiting for the bus outside of Bangkok's infamous Chatuchak Weekend Market. This market is one of the largest amalgamations of bazaars to date. We spent about 4 hours there, and Max doesn't even like to shop. Bangkok's youth are some of the most fashionable in SE Asia, if not the world. The bazaars reflect this, as they are filled with some of the funkiest, trendiest fashions that rival Williamsburg in irony and style.

River transportation is one of the more exotic and effective ways to get from one side of town to the other. It's also one of the cheapest and can be quickest, depending on the driver. Max's map was always close at hand.

Thais love their fish and meat, preferably on sticks. The streets of Bangkok are lined with various snack vendors, from fresh fruit to unidentifiable meat balls. Seen above is some scorched fish.

This stall is for all of your King worship needs. HRH King Bhumibol Adulyadej is the IX King in the current Chakri Dynasty. Though Thailand is officially a parliamentary democracy, respect for the King is widespread and compulsory. Defamation of the royal family is punishable offense, earning up to 20 years or more in jail. He is the longest ruling monarch in the world. Before every movie, a 3-5 minute video is played, honoring the King and his good-doings. Every audience member must stand in silence during this short. Also, at 6 pm daily, the nation observes a moment of silence as the King's official song is broadcasted from loudspeakers in public places, as well as on every TV and radio station. Seen above is the King hand feeding his son and the future King, Prince Vajiralongkorn. Every home, restaurant, and work establishment proudly displays a photo of the King.

Malls. In the heart of the city lies the Siam mall complex, consisting of the Siam Center, Siam Discover, and Siam Paragon. Next to it are other mega-malls including the famous MBK. Using a series of tubes, one can go from one massive A.C. shopping complex without ever touching the street. They are confusing, frustrating, and wonderful all at the same time.

Khaosan Road. If you are a tourist or backpacker in Bangkok, you will most likely wind up here at some point. We intentionally stayed 30 minutes away from this place, but found ourselves drawn here at least once daily as it is the center for shipping, Internet, and eating among other services. Though convenient, Khaosan basically sucks and is like all the worst parts of Bangkok, smooshed into one block. The only time we really spent here hanging out was for a fun night watching America vs. Brazil in the finals of the FIFA Confederations Cup. It was the first time America had ever played in a FIFA final and though we lost, we still played BRAZIL and were still up for half the game. Khaosan Road, bringing drunk foreign tourists and the Thais who cheat them together.

The sewage situation in Bangkok is bad. There is a special smell, worse than feces alone that comes from particularly disgusting sewage water. Jakarta has it, Yangon has it, and Bangkok has it.

Boiled peanuts. Can we ever go back to just roasted? No. Again, Thais of every class and creed love to snack all day long.

Hanging out with Will Baxter (right) and Carolyn O'Neill, at Raindogs, Bangkok. Raindogs is the premier hangout for all people in the photo industry in Bangkok. Will is a friend and colleague of Kara's and an excellent photographer. We had met up with both of these photo friends 8 months before at the Angkor Photo Festival in Siem Reap, Cambodia and were happy to hang with them again in Thailand.

Max's birthday! Kara went all out for the celebration of Max's 23rd year. She kept all her preparations extremely secret, which is quite a feat considering Kara and Max spend 23 1/2 hours a day together. She managed to sneak away occasionally during the week before to plan for his special day.

For Max's birthday weekend, Kara brought him to our favorite vegetarian restaurant in Bangkok, Mai Kaidee's for cooking classes. Seen above is Mai Kaidee, owner and chef, teaching us about the various ingredients for our lesson.

Here Kara stirs up some spices for Thai Green Curry. We ate throughout the whole class and could barely walk out the door 4 hours later.

Later that day, Max was whisked away to an undisclosed location 4 hours by bus from Bangkok. Even after discovering where we were headed, which was Rayong, Max still had no idea what we were doing there. The night before Max's birthday, we went to a Tesco, ate clean food, stayed in a hotel with a TV and watched live ESPN coverage of the Coney Island Hot Dog Eating Contest. Seen above is Max having fun at the Tesco, Rayong.

Max after his birthday massage. Notice the clear skin and chilled out facial musculature.

After the massage, we were picked up by a Thai man in a SUV. Once we reached the beach, Max was finally told what his present was: Paramotoring. Here Max examines the apparatus that he will soon be flying in. He was fully surprised.

Yeah!

Max flies off into the distance. Although the ride was cut short by a rainstorm, it was a fantastic experience and one he hopes to have again. For more information on paramotoring or paragliding in Thailand, we would definitely suggest contacting Nyaint at http://thaiparagliding.com. He teaches safe courses and has a good heart.

Back in Bangkok, Max is really stoked.

One major tourist destination in the city is the Royal Palace. It has some of the best examples of ancient Thai architecture and artwork in the country.

Inside the Royal Palace grounds, Kara walks around a very large gold stupa.

After being in Myanmar, it was hard to imagine wanting to see more Buddhas, especially gold reclining ones. However, the massive golden Buddha at Wat Pho in Bangkok is not something to be missed. The feet of the Buddha alone are worth the visit as they are covered in beautiful mother-of-pearl inlay work.

At the newly constructed Bangkok Art and Culture Museum, BACC. Outside were some giant installation projects. The museum is situated in between the MBK and Siam Mall Complex and is well served by the mass transit system. It is free and a nice place to spend some downtime in Bangkok. Max remembers when this site was a small park and was home to some of the best graffiti in Bangkok. We are glad that it now houses art on a larger and more accessible scale.

Inside the museum, a photography exhibit. This is a section of a photo-montage of the recent protests of both the Red and Yellow Shirts, two major political groups in Thailand. After being in Myanmar, we found this poster particularly disgusting. Thailand's Red Shirts are led by paid "activists" and funded by rogue and ex-Prime Minister Thaksin Sinawatra. Their "struggle" has nothing to do with democracy or the needs of the Thai people.

Remembering Michael Jackson.

Riding the public boats through the city. Special areas are allocated for Bangkok's large monk population.

Bangkok skyline as seen from the parking lot of the Bangkok Air India ticketing office. We needed to wait about a week for our Indian visas to process before leaving for Kolkata. Though loving the modernity and ease that Bangkok affords, we didn't want to stay another week, so we headed down south once more to catch some beach time.
See you in Koh Phangan.
K and M