I survived Bangkok!! Yesterday i visited the National Museum and the Golden Mount, which is a sacred hill with a golden temple at the top. From there you can see over the city, i wonder if there a days which show a clear sky. Its interesting to see the old traditional houses and the new skyscrapers very close together. From the hill i wanted to see another temple which should have been close, so i decided to walk... Very bad idea, i had to walk at a very small edge of a very crowded street and its not fun to inhale the exhaust of dozends of Tuktuks. And it was also very hot, my throat become sour. Many tuktuk drivers wear a face mask to avoid their own exhaust. I read in my travel book that on busy streets the air pollution is so high that it is really damaging the health of the people. This is one of the downsides of this city. A plus is the friendliness and I really liked the thai massage, tried out different ones which was really relaxing. Especially a foot massage after a sightseeing trip is vvvveeerrryy good. And of course i fold asleep and woke up snooring :-) This not only happens at the sauna of my sports club in munich!! The food is also very nice. I tried out the food from the street merchants even some strange things which was dry fish but looked like dry bat. Tasted like a very salted skin. It was grilled so i was not afraid to eat it. And i survided that without problems... They have very small oranges here and the juice is very sweet, never had such sweet orangejuice before.
In the afternoon i went to a big shopping area. This was really amazing. Inside i looked like an american mall, all the major brands have been there. The only difference are the people. The thai womens are worried about their skin. I saw cream with withener. And they use make up to look brigher. Outside are many streets with shops and the shops are sorted by the streets. I had problems getting back to the hotel, it was a little far away with heavy traffic and only the forth taxi driver took me back home. He offered me a very special flat price (300 Bath) i insisted on the meter and paid finally 60.
The bangkok airport is really huge and very new. On my way there i saw another parade for the kings birthday. Today is sunday, the birthday was 4 days ago and they still celebrate him. On the street i passed some arches which have been decorated with gold and pictures of him at young age. It is visible everywhere how the thais love their king. Big posters (very big!!!) and flags everywhere.
Thats it for so far. Byebye....