first day

I'm up and waiting for Dimitri to rise from his room. He makes fun of Americans for our love of the internet but c'mon, its right here in my hotel! Yesterday was pretty crazy. All alone I managed to meet a British guy who works for MINI! and who bought me a beer and told me how to get on the sky train. Thanks for the beer and I was off to shopping at MBK = giant shopping complex similar to that of Japan. Now before you make fun of me for my immediate shopping satiation, please know that I was trying to just do it and be done with it before the guys arrived to meet me. Besides, it was still an adventure and I couldn't believe I made it there and back without getting lost. Bangkok is total chaos and so much like inland China except with farangs everywhere and people trying to indulge in the sexual culture. Sort of strange if you ask me. Its very dirty, populated and the streets are absolute madness with motorbikes, taxis, cars, tuk tuks (again, much like China).

Anyway, I sat for some yummy Pad Thai and gyoza and then after realizing tomorrow is election day and therefore no alcohol can be sold, I decided to pick up some bottles of wine for later. Dimitri arrived and we started chatting and getting to know each other. Tim had done a good job of filling us both in so that was easy. Dimitri is Tim's cousin from Greece whose trip to Bangkok stopped both in Dubai and Calcutta. He speaks pretty darn good english and knows so much of American culture and politics I'm a bit embarrassed I know nothing really of his. We made our way out for some dinner = curry. SO HOT! I mean, seriously almost inedible hot. But yum. Ummm...and then we saw an elephant on the street! A man was using the elephant to try and make money from foreigners by selling food to feed him. Totally crazy. I took some video.

Okay..well I'm off to find coffee. Today we get massages! (and NO "happy ending")