Portraits of Bangkok

12/31 New Year's Eve, drinking beer and wandering the streets, (no open container laws exist in Bangkok, at least not for foreigners) we stumbled upon the greatest bar. Chor, an amicable, honest Thai man had converted the back of his small Toyota truck into a bar, from which he served a limited supply of local specialties; Singha beer, and 100 proof Thai whiskey. Small stools encircled the truck bar, and we sat street-side talking to an Australian couple as cars whizzed past an arm's length away.With nervous smiles we felt every rushing breeze of each vehicle, while Chor assured us that in four years of operation he'd never had an accident. This helped assuage our fears, and with each passing beer our security blanket grew as the new year came upon us. Here we ushered in the new year until the cool pre-dawn hours of a chaotic Bangkok morning.


12/30 With crack-tooth smiles street vendors sip moonshine out of plastic soda bottle tops, while hot pepper spices mix with diesel fumes. Three-wheeled tuk-tuks spin taxi rides for foreigners. They always offer gringos rides, tagging along for a half block or checking back five minutes later to see if you've changed your mind. This is not annoying, as the oppressive heat in Bangkok can quickly change even the most stubborn and cheap tourist. In the morning I ate spiked fruit that looked like a sea anemone as a river taxi shuttled us along the Chao Praya to Wat Po. At Wat Po I watched faithful Buddhists bow and pray to their god while saffron-robed monks chanted strange intonations.