Bangkok

My first experience with Bangkok was the sweltering heat and incredible amounts of haze and smog. From the 21st floor of the hotel where I was staying with my dad, visibility was very limited, though the conditions made for some very colorful sunsets.
My first day was spend walking about the Grand Palace of Thailand. There were many structures placed upon this 60 acre compound. I was absolutely blown away by the elaborate architecture and design of the buildings. Nearly everything was covered with gold or tiny mirrors. There were also an infinite amount of depictions of ancient characters such as elephants, monkey warriors and demons. The real highlight of the compound was the Jade Buddha. Carved out of a solid piece of jade, this idol is placed atop a great mound of gold and jewels in a vast chamber. The statue has three different dressings (one for each season) which are changed only by the King of Siam. The current king was inaugurated at the age of 20 in 1947 (maintaining the longest serving king in history at 61 years). Each structure was amazing.
My next endeavor in Bangkok was to explore the worlds largest crocodile farm. The farm was a full zoo (with tigers, lions, orangutans, gibbons, bears, zebras, elephants, many types of birds, and oh 15,000 crocodiles! As I got there I had to run to an area to catch the croc show. There were two men in the middle of a man-made pond. There was a small island in the middle where the two men were dragging crocs around, sticking their heads in their mouths, surfing on the crocs backs, picking them up, and grabbing money out of their snouts. If I understood Thai, I'm sure it would have been laughing more. The guys were cracking jokes the whole time while the tune from Hawaii-Five-O was playing in the background. Though the men clearly had a great understanding of crocodiles, they definitely were a little off their rockers.
I managed to see just about all the animals at the facility. I shook hands with some gibbons (I think they were pretty disappointed with me when they realized that I had no food for them), and had an elephant pat me on the head with its, trunk. However the most amazing part of the farm was the huge ponds for the adult crocodiles. I purchased some type of animal bones to feed these 3-5 meter long crocs. They are incredibly powerful creatures. It was really interesting to see them just lying totally still next to one another, that is until the meat fell into the pond or on the ground.
Now I am not a racist, but you know how somtimes you can't tell the difference between peopel of oriental discent? Well, I often have wondered whether Asians are the same way with us cocasians. In the past few years, I have had a number of people tell me that I resemble the actor Robert Pattinson (Twilight and Harry Potter). And while I was at the croc compound, I had three separate groups of school kids run up to me yelling, "Twilight, twilight!" and crowding around me while they get their picture taken by their teachers. I tried to explain that I wasn't him, but the language barrier was so great that all they would do was shake my hand, and then usher the kids away. But the whole time I was trying so hard no to laugh while the little Thai kids would do the classic smile and give the peace sign. It was really, really funny!
On the way back to the hotel from the farm, I stopped to buy some street meet. I now completely understand how people say you can easily eat for $1 per day in Thailand. For 20 bat (about 6 cents) I was able to get 7 delicious and spicy dumplings, some fried sausages, and a bottle of water! I haven't got sick yet, so I might be in the clear...
A little aside: I always thought that I was able to handle my fair share of spicy food, and I definitely found my limit here. While at lunch on my first day with my dad and some people from the conference, I was asked if I enjoy spicy foods. I obliged and was brought what looked like a fresh and sweet papaya salad. After my first bite, I realized my mistake. I mistook some small green beans for the hottest chili peppers I have ever tasted. So holding back tears and sweat, I said it was delicious (hoping to lure my dad into the same trap!). He jumped in for a big spoonful, and I waited for his reaction. I waited, and waited, and waited some more, and then asked him whether he though it was spicy. As it turns out, the lucky guy somehow missed all of the peppers and was able to enjoy the flavor of the papaya. When he figured it out, he just started laughing at me.
My last night in Bangkok was spent with my dad and one of the corporate speakers (Dr. Sudhichai Chokekaijchai - Clinical Head of Novartis in Thailand) from the conference who works in Bangkok for a pharmaceutical company. Sudhichai took us to his favorite activity in the world, Thai kick boxing! We made out way to this stadium which was jam packed with almost 3 thousand people. We saw 5 matches between some very tiny competitors. The heaviest fighter we saw weighed 130lbs, but they all had lightning quick strikes. Sudhichai was the owner of a club of 25 fighters (none of whom fought that night), and explained that there are roughly 10,000 professional fighters in Thailand! I was amazed that the spirituality which engulfed every fighter. While they are kicking the crap out of each other, there is an immense amount of respect. The honor system runs deep in Thailand, and I realized this most through having Sudijan explain how the betting works. There's no house betting, to place a bet, you simply stand up in the stadium, look for someone to bet with, and use basic hand signals to set out the amounts and odds of the bets. At the end of the night, you find your betting parter and pay the appropriate sums! Everything is done through the honor system, that would never fly in North America.
The connections my dad made at the conference have been more helpful than I ever thought possible. One of the women had their friend, who works for a travel agency, set up our whole trip to the south of Thailand, for ridiculously low prices. Even for the airport hotel for my dad's last night (an incredible 5 star hotel), this woman was able to negotiate the rate from 7000bat per night, to 2800 (about $80 for a 5 star hotel)!
So I am now sitting at an internet cafe in the Bangkok airport waiting to fly to the beautiful white sand beaches of Krabi and Phi Phi Island.
I can't wait!