Check out below!

So, I finally figured out how to post photos in batches in a semi-quick way. I just posted some below from Bangkok. I still plan on uploading all to Photobucket (I am switching from Kodak), but this now means I can post photos while on travel!

Look for a flurry of activity here. I have some movie reviews to post up. 

Photos!

Bangkok Left

Well...awful to be back in Whitesboro. Bitterly cold with snow on the ground. Luckily a two-week stint in Australia is on the horizon. Until then, I have a cold to get over, and some work to catch up on.

Today is my recovery day, back with more later.

Bangkok Day 8: A finale

So this was it.....the final day in what has been a magnificent stay in Bangkok. I am already out of the hotel we had been staying in-we are now in a place 15 minutes from the airport, a good thing given our 7:10 am flight tomorrow morning.

Dad still had some work to attend to after breakfast, so I used the last few hours before heading towards to airport (we left around 3:00) to take in some more of the city. I set out for the market around Victory Monument, hoping to catch a glimpse of it during the day. I thought it might be bustling on a Friday but, while people were still out in numbers, it wasn't as busy as when I visited during the later hours. There were probably more people traversing the bridge-ways above and passing through the Sky Train station than there were in the market.

Quickly finished with that, I ambled in the direction of the hotel, when I crossed the train tracks, the same ones that pass behind our hotel. I took a look down and saw that a platform ran alongside, and along the platform were squatter-type homes. Ever the intrepid traveler, I walked along platform, which often-times groaned at my steps, passing by the endless row of informal dwellings. Now, if  I were in Argentina or something, I would have never done something like this. I think for Cape Town it goes without saying. Despite its size though, Bangkok is incredibly safe, and I never felt threatened walking through what was obviously a downtrodden area. Instead people didn't really seem to mind my presence, and, in the way only Thais can, still managed a bright smile despite obvious economic hardship. I have really come admire the Thai people. For many, even while having to deal with difficult lives (for instance, standing on your feet all day cooking food in a stall in the blinding heat), they find a way to put on a friendly face. It ain't called the Land of Smiles for nothing.

I took the tracks all the way down to where they again intersected with another major road. I walked back and stopped into a slightly-larger shanty that housed a boxing ring and weight-lifting equipment, obviously a place for Muay Thai training. A sign (in English) offered lessons to foreigners, but I had to indicate to the proprietor that I wouldn't be taking any lessons today. I appreciated him letting me snap some photos though.

Pretty soon our agreed upon time to skedaddle from the hotel, 3 o'clock, drew near, and we linked up in the hotel lobby and hopped into a cab for the ride to the airport hotel. The drive on the highway towards the airport got kind of interesting. You know how, in the United States, we have that space between the guardrail and the lanes, something called the breakdown lane? Yeah, well, here in Thailand, they just turn that into another driving lane. Thought I would share that for those of you who always make sure to obey the traffic laws.

Which is where I sit, right now. Its a massive hotel, and, for a Best Western, has a real feel of luxury to it. I think they might have gone a bit overboard though. Anyway, the hotel is located along what is obviously a major highway feeding into Bangkok, so traffic is quite heavy. In the immediate area, alongside the road, there are a handful of medium-sized covered markets and some shops. To break up the evening a bit, we walked through, also appreciating the cooling, breezy air. There appears to be some industry along the road as well, such as steel production, so my thought is that markets and shops serve workers getting off of shifts. There are also some housing units set farther back from the road, and quite a few kids in school uniform were out, so maybe a school is in the area as well. Either way, it was buzzing with activity, just like so much of Bangkok.

I am sad to be leaving Krung Thep. I always have a special feeling while in Asian cities. I am not sure what it is or how to describe it, but its a good one. I feel it might be a product of that fact that, outside of North America, Asia is where I have spent the most amount of time (OK, OK, I am sure having a thing for Asian women has SOMETHING to do with it). Either way, I quickly fell in love with Bangkok. John Burdett, the author I gave mention to here yesterday, described the city as "organized chaos". I think that is about right. First impressions are that chaos reigns here in the city, but there does seem to be some purpose to it-everyone knows what they are doing, what they will be doing, and where they will be going. From a vistor's perspective, at least mine, Bangkok doesn't really offer all that much in terms of sites and touristy things (It may seem that way, but aside from the Grand Palace, Wat Arun, and Wat Pho, there aren't all that many must sees). This, of course, is just fine with me. Bangkok, where 8 million officially live but probably many more in reality, offers up something even more important, something that most interests me: something I like to call the Human Element. The people of Bangkok, and of Thailand, are wonderful people with a fascinating culture, a quirky-sounding, sing-song language, delightful food, lovely dispositions, and admirable work ethics. The efficiency, cleanliness, and user-friendliness (for foreigners in particular) of the Metro and Sky Trains deserves mention as well...still blows my mind a bit when I think about it. It doesn't hurt either that, to me at least, many of their women are drop-dead gorgeous. The one's that aren't are usually cuter than (insert which-ever cliche you like, cause it will work). Despite covering so much of the city and knocking off the sites that interested me, this is certainly a city I will be coming back to. I would actually describe Bangkok as a place that does not need any touristy sights at all to be an attractive destination. Watching the ways and means that the people in Bangkok go about their days and live their lives makes for spectacular viewing. Just step out into the sweltering heat, merge into the teeming crowds, and walk around with no particular direction, or squeeze into the Sky Train or Metro and go along for the ride just for the sake of it, just to see the mass movement of people, and what the daily grind is like for a Thai worker or student, both on their way to work/school or as they head home. Revel in the city's organized chaos. Welcome to Bangkok, welcome to the Human Element.

So tomorrow I have to a catch a really early flight, meaning its going to be a really early morning from me. Next report will be from home base, in Whitesboro, New York, provided it hasn't been buried in snow yet.

This is Adam Kwiat, The Four Corners, Bangkok, Thailand. 

Bangkok Day 7

My second-to-last full day in the City of Angels. A bit sad really, I have grown to like it quite a lot in the organized chaos known to us as Bangkok. Anyway, before I allow myself to get too choked up, here's the business:

Dad was again pulled away to work, so I was flying solo today. Looking at a map (there isn't really any decent map of Bangkok, its sprawl is so great; most just have the main streets and the locations of sites-best you can hope for I guess) reveals that I have covered pretty much every major sector of Bangkok. Contemplating what to do after breakfast, I figured that Chinatown should be given more due, so I hopped on the Sky Train to the train station (my fourth trip down that way now), the station nearest to Chinatown.

Before crossing the divide into Chinatown I stopped in on yet another temple, this one accidentally over-looked. Wat Traimit holds The Golden Buddha, a large statue of the Buddha that is made out of solid gold. Its actually something of a major tourist site. There were quite a few tourists checking the place out, and I joined in for a brief few moments. The statue really isn't all that spectacular, its just the Buddha in a sitting position. Well, we can check that off the list of things to do at least.

I found my way to Yaowarat Road, but instead of hanging out there again, I crossed to the street and headed down an alleyway, which gave out onto a long, narrow alley (parallel to Yaowarat) that was jam packed with stalls and pedestrians. The guide had mentioned this place as a popular venue in Chinatown for shopping, and it certainly seemed so. It was shoulder-to-shoulder, and every now and then everyone had to make way for a motorbike to squeeze through. I made my way through the sea of people, covering a lot of ground. If I had to guess, I would say that particular alley terminates somewhere near Mongolia. So it seemed at least. After having my fill, I made my way back to the train station/metro stop.

Before heading back to the room, I had one more destination in mind. I took the Sky Train (changing from the metro) to Siam Center, a gargantuan shopping complex, not far from the Lumphinee boxing stadium (as a geographical reference, I guess). I was hoping to find an English-language bookstore that might, by some miracle, be carrying a copy of John Burdett's newest book. John Burdett is an English author who writes a mystery series set in Bangkok. I was hoping I could keep the Bangkok experience alive, even on the flight home. There was one such store, and another that had a small English section, but no luck to be had. It was still kinda cool walking around Siam though. Having seen so much of how average/more humbler Thais do their shopping (at outdoor markets), this was a slice of how your more upper-crust Bangkok folks go about their leisure shopping.

After resting for a while back at the room, I linked up with Dad and we headed out into the late afternoon. We noticed while at the Jim Thompson house that something resembling a river-walk ran behind the house. The river in this instance though is a canal that feeds into the Chao Praya.  Dad had the idea that we should stroll this walk, and we walked by an entrance into it the other day. So that is where we found ourselves. The walk is really just a concrete pad that runs in front of ad hoc homes built along the edges of the canal. Wood and corrugated metal appeared to be the most common building materials. It was obviously residential, the walk obviously isn't meant for leisure purposes like the famous river walk in San Antonio. However, the residents, all to their credit, didn't mind us brushing past their front doors or stepping over cooking materials left outside.

We walked up to what we thought would be a good point to turn around, and made for where we entered. Back at street level, not far from our hotel, we came across a lot strewn with overgrown vegetation and garbage. In the middle was a court with a volleyball net set up, and 6 Thai guys all playing something called sepak takraw. I had read about it in the guide book, so knew what was going on. It is played like volleyball, expect you cannot use your hands or arms, and the feet and head are the main methods of striking the ball. The ball is about the size of a softball, but made out of wicker. So obviously there are two teams, in this instance with 3 per team. Let me tell you, these guys were good. I figured we should stop and watch for a few minutes, but it turned into half an hour. It made for fascinating viewing, and the agility, stamina, and downright skill that these dudes demonstrated kind of blew my mind. I have never before been so impressed by an athletic performance. The interesting thing was how ragtag they looked. They obviously weren't part of any team, some played without shirts and just gym shorts, one guy had a Toronto Maple Leafs shirt on. Incredible stuff though, a tip of the hat to those boys. Eventually the growing darkness made it harder to watch, and the mosquitoes decided to join the festivities as well. With that, we brought Day 7 to a close.

Tomorrow marks the last full day in Bangkok. Hope to see you here. 

Bangkok Day 6: Nakhon Pathom

With Dad having to attend to work duties, I once again set out to explore. All of my time has thus far been spent in the city center, so it was time to venture out a bit. I decided on a place called Nakhon Pathom, about an hour west of central Bangkok. I am not entirely sure of this place's political status. From what I read, it is actually still part of Bangkok proper, which gives you an idea of just how massive the city is.

The main reason, well, only reason really, to visit NK is because it is home to the Phra Pathom Chedi, a massive golden stupa that is the tallest Buddhist site in the world. It is also considered the most sacred, as it holds a relic of the Buddha himself (would this trip bring me closer to Nirvana?).You might remember from yesterday's post that a train out to NK wasn't the most convenient, so I settled on taking a bus. I could have gone all in for a taxi, but wanted to experience how locals get to destinations outside of the city.

I took a taxi to the proper bus terminal, which is way the hell away from the city center, on the other side of the Chao Praya. This particular cabbie spoke the best English I have heard all trip. I understand that English can be extremely difficult for Thais, and I don't begrudge them a single bit if they struggle or can't pronounce things properly....hell, I'm in their country, not the other way around. But my driver today, while still with a noticeable accent, could understand several points and could also explain himself quite well. I enjoyed not having to ride in a taxi in total or near silence for once. After a relatively lengthy drive,  we swung into the bus terminal, and my man pointed me to the bus I needed. I quickly grabbed a ticket, with a little help from a girl who spoke some English (another cutie.....man, what do they put in the water here!?). Moments after climbing on the bus we pulled out for the drive towards my destination.

The bus looked like a product of the seventies, the interior was beat to all hell, and I'm pretty sure the shocks no longer existed-it got pretty bumpy at times. The ride was still quite comfortable, there were only a handful of other occupants, and the AC worked alright. It was a slow drive, and given the relative close proximity of NK to Bangkok central, I didn't get to see much countryside. There was still some interesting viewing to be had out my window, including a handful of traditional homes (built up on stilts) and the odd temple here and there. The drive out also afforded a look into some of the contrasts that exist in developing countries: A pristine looking, highway-style McDonald's next store to a decrepit machine shop selling scrap, or a random rice paddy nestled between car dealerships selling Mazdas and Nissans, amongst others. After an hour or so though, the bus rumbled up to its final stop, just across the street from the stupa.

First off, NK had the feel of a small city. There were no high rises (the stupa is probably the tallest thing there), but the sidewalks still buzzed with activity and the traffic was just as busy. I spent a good chunk of time walking about the stupa. I made sure to make a complete circuit around the base of the structure, which in itself isn't all that spectacular....its just gigantic. At the base of it though are little shrines that you can walk into and pay homage to statues of the Buddha, and one of the shrines had beautiful murals on the wall. No photos were allowed, but they did have a book on hand that had all the images from the shrine's walls, so I picked up a copy.

Outside the stupa hawkers had set up their stalls (selling all kinds of wares) around the perimeter of the stupa, so I took some time to wander those as well. As it began to approach 3 o'clock, I explored the town a bit. Despite the lack of other foreign faces, no one really seemed to pay me much mind. Soon I grabbed a ticket for the bus back to the City of Angels.

After chilling out in the room for a short while I decided I still had it left in me to do something before calling it a night. I set out for Patpong, the most notorious street in Bangkok's red light district. I had to see the spectacle...sometimes you just gots to know. I had heard though that it is much tamer than before, and that a large market is spread all around the area, made up of cooked-food stalls and hawkers selling goods. I took the Sky Train down and made the short walk from the station to my destination, but it was immediately obvious that this was a place made for foreigners. Most of the other faces in the crowd were white. I ran the gauntlet down Patpong: The center is congested by stalls selling fake goods, while along the edges of the street there are your strip clubs, massage parlors, etc. Being a young, single, white male amongst the bedlam wasn't really ideal. Pretty much every Thai guy I passed asked "what I was looking for" and insisted on showing me either photos of Thai girls in various acts of sexual congress or a list of "shows" that I could see in strip clubs. I won't even get into that...I have heard about what goes on down there, and it isn't fit for even my filthy mouth. Interestingly enough, I saw a number of families with small children walking along the street. I must say though, they all looked kind of shocked.

After emerging unscathed, I walked about the immediate area for a while longer, which was much tamer, and I am glad that I did. I came across some stalls that Thai people seemed to be eating at, and grabbed some fantastic grilled, braised chicken on a stick. I had my fair share of street food while in China, but this chicken really blew me away. I had to go back for seconds. With a full belly and a sullied mind from my walk along Patpong, I caught the Sky Train back to from whence I came.

Good night from Krung Thep, should have more action tomorrow. 

Bangkok Day 5

Today proved to be a bit slower for your humble correspondent, despite the lateness of this post.....not surprising, given how much ground I have covered already.

With Dad busy with the whole work thing, I decided that maybe I should take the tour of Jim Thompson's house, so I started the day by doing just that. The tour lasted only about half-an-hour, but, our man Jim had some pretty nice digs. The interior designing was quite simple really, but the teak paneling was sharp. JT was also an avid collector of local art, so his home now serves as an ad hoc museum of sorts. Our guide was cute-as a button and had an accent on her English that warmed your cockles. All-in-all, a good time.

After a quick pit-stop at the room I headed back into the north of the city to see something called the Marble Temple. I will let your imagine tell you what that might have been constructed out of. It wasn't very large, but had an array of interesting Buddha statues, and the interior was eye-catching as well.

That pretty much rounded off our early afternoon. After a breather I ventured out to the train station, again. I went to inquire about tickets to an area called Nakhon Pathom, about an hour west of the city center. NP is home to the largest stupa in the world, an one of the most important Buddhist religious sites. It was an informative venture, but I found out that taking a train isn't the most convenient means, at least time-wise. Now I am looking at taking a bus. Look here for more on that later.

After hanging out in the room for longer than expected (got caught up in conversation with Dad, back from his work), I decided to spent at least part of the evening in the City of Angels, so I headed towards Sukhumvit. Sukhumvit is the heart of the city's business district, but also contains elements of the red-light district. I stumbled upon the infamous Soi Cowboy, an alleyway jammed with bars, strip clubs, and venues offering "special services". Apparently the Soi is named after a former American Army officer who opened up a bar there. He was known for always wearing a cowboy hat. Not being able to avoid temptation, I walked through the gauntlet of women in short skirts standing outside every establishment beckoning passerby to come in. It was really pretty surreal. Since it was relatively early, there weren't that many people out, and most of those that were were awkward-looking old white men. The bar girls didn't look anything special, and quite a few looked like...well...men. After turning off Cowboy Iwalked along another street that was apparently an endless row of massage parlors. You know, I am sure they ONLY offer massages. Women sitting outside shouted to me from across the street the whole time....I guess I am kinda of a big thing here in Bangkok.

With the night getting older, I wanted to make one more stop. Tonight was fight night, so I made for Lumphinee Stadium again, hoping to catch some of the action. Emerging from the nearby subway stop, I heard it before I made it there. The action was already underway. Quite the difference from yesterday. Now food vendors were set up by the main entrance, and people were milling all about. I inquired about making just a quick stop in, but I would have had to pay over 1000 baht (over 30 bucks) and even then probably would have had to wait. I was mainly hoping to catch a glimpse of the atmosphere, which I did, by looking up at the top rafters (visible from the outside) and taking a quick peak through an entrance way. I even found a little space from the outside that gave a (narrow) view of the ring. I watched for a couple minutes two guys grapple with each-other, and take the occasional kidney shot with the knee. It was not the greatest view though, and pretty soon I decided to call it in.

Late in the evening after riding the Sky Train back, on the main street running near the hotel, I picked up some pineapple for a quick dinner, and ate as I walked back. When I reached the entrance I hadn't finished eating, so stood in the driveway to polish it off. The hotel security guard sitting behind a desk in front of the hotel waved me over and offered me a seat. I finished my meal there and then continued to sit for a few moments in silence (no English on that guy, and my Thai isn't conversant). A nice evening breeze was blowing through, and the street was beginning to quiet down. I don't know what my partner was thinking about, but I used to time to clear my thoughts and have a shake of the head at the chaos of Bangkok. I went up to bed shortly after.

And now here I am, it ended up being a late evening after-all, and definitely not disappointing. See you all here tomorrow. 

Bangkok Day 4

My fourth day in the Thai capital is nearing its end. Having already covered much of the touristy stuff, today was a little bit off the beaten path. I had to make some snap decisions on what to do today, but everything worked out just fine. Let's get started, shall we?

I settled on an area in the south of the city and along the banks of the Chao Praya River known as the Farang (foreign) Quarter. The area is home to a mish-mash of things, primarily embassies, old colonial-style buildings, some churches, and a mosque. The guide book recommended taking a walk through, so I did just that.

I took the same route as last night to get down there (combination of Sky Train and Metro to the train station. Last night we walked northwards from the station towards Chinatown, this time I walked south), but before making it to the train station I got off a couple stops away in an area known as Lumphini. There is a large park there, which is apparently where Bangkok residents go to get away for a while. I strolled around there for a bit, and it was nice to be removed from the hustle-and-bustle. It was a very well kept green space, and had a neat Chinese-style clock tower in one corner. What made the occasion interesting, however, was the presence of what appeared to be Komodo Dragons in the park. I spotted a handful of the buggers (they are not much smaller than a crocodile) swimming through some of the small waterways or just sunbathing. I asked a passer-by what the hell the creatures were exactly, and they said that they were Monitor Lizards. You see, that is a bit disappointing, because Komodos are supposed to be really dangerous, and I would have felt I was living on the wild side getting so close. Wikipedia tells me that Komodos belong to the same family, but these guys looked tame. I guess that explained the lack of any signage saying "Beware! Komodos kill!" or something to that effect.

After leaving the park I wanted to make one more stop before moving on to the Foreign Quarter. A couple of football pitches up the street from the park is the Lumphini Muay Thai Boxing Stadium. The stadium, which is the most popular in Bangkok, featured in Rain Storm, the third installment of the John Rain set of novels, a favorite of mine, so I thought it would be worth a look-see. I got there but almost walked by the place-it doesn't have the look of the primary Muay Thai stadium. Its small, and set back from the road a bit and the exterior is nondescript, to say the least. I walked around to the side and found an entrance. There was a worker nearby and I motioned if I could go in for a look-around, and he pointed me in. Yeah, not at all what I expected. The interior was small, with the ring in the center surrounded by 4 or 5 rows of chairs-those are the most expensive seats. Further back were stadium-style benches cobbled out of wood slates. The roof was corrugated sheet-metal. The place stunk of.....whatever. I can't imagine the number of smells that could take home in a place where two men beat the bejesus out of each other surrounded by a packed crowd where only some decrepit-looking ceiling fans offered reprieve from the sweltering heat. Cat shit was amongst the smells though, a family of feral cats was lounging about on the seats. Again, this is the city's main venue for the country's national sport. Preparations for a fight (tomorrow) were underway though, as my only other company was a handful of workers getting everything ready. One of them handed me a couple brochures. One part showed some celebrities who had stopped in for fights in the past. Who were those celebs? Nic Cage and Steven Seagal. Doesn't get any bigger than that. Either way, I thought the stadium was awesome.

I finally caught the metro down to the train station, where we set out for the Foreign Quarter. It was a bit of a hike, but it was another part of the city that I can now check off. I meandered about, passing by points recommended by the guide book, including a large catholic church, a mosque, the city's main post office, and the former Customs House, which, though it looked gutted, is now used by the Bangkok Fire Department. The walk left me pretty winded, so I caught a meter-taxi back for a rest.

After letting the dogs rest a bit I set out again, not wanting to just stay in the hotel room. I wasn't quite sure what to do, but decided on first taking the Sky Train up to the Victory Monument, another mammoth monument directly north of us, like the Democracy Monument, situated in a huge traffic circle. It ended up being a great idea. I packed into the Sky Train (I had to dash from car to car, struggling to find a little space to squeeze into) and got off at the right station. You can't actually walk up to the monument, but that didn't matter. I was quickly distracted by the ad hoc market place that ringed the entire area. I proceeded to explore as much of the area as possible, which was brimming with locals out for some evening shopping/eating. Some sections offered food, others clothing and other items. It made for absolutely fantastic people watching. The even better thing? I was essentially the only white face in the crowd. This was a Thai thing. There were no pushers/hawkers, people trying to scam tourists, tuk-tuk drivers looking for a fare, or some guy offering prostitutes. Why bother, when there are no tourists to be had. I am really glad I stopped by there, sometimes you bound about something that a guide book doesn't offer, and that the tourists don't crowd into.

And that, as they say, was that. Hopefully Day 5 will bring new adventure. Come back to hear what went down. 

Bangkok Day 3: Three days in, still alive.

Another fine day in the Krung Thep. By fine, I mean sweltering hot and smoggy. Ah, the Asian Mega City. Anyway, after filling up at the hotel breakfast buffet (yesterday we had an extremely cute attendant on staff at breakfast. She wasn't there today though; bad start to the day) we set out to take in more of the city. First Dad wanted to take a peak behind our hotel, where we knew train tracks ran (which explained his curiosity). We headed down the back alleyway, only to reach a gated-off area. A man at an adjacent construction site made a "go around" motion around the corning of the building. So we did as we were told and basically walked into a slum area. We could see the tracks, so we ducked through a chain-link fence and walked past a couple of hovels, and were quickly standing on the train tracks. There weren't any trains running, so a bit disappointing for Dad, but the place was rank with the smell of human feces. Bear in mind this is maybe 100 yards from our hotel, so we got an interesting dichotomy of Thai life this morning. Oddly enough, the few people we saw didn't pay us any mind. Other foreign train fans had maybe passed through before? We will never know. I told dad to make it quick, or my puke was going to be added to the smell of the area.

Moving on from there, we walked down one of the main roads, Phaya Thai, headed for Jim Thompson's house. That sounds like a bit of an odd place to look for, like, who the hell is Jim Thompson? and why should I see his house? but let me explain. Thompson was a former CIA agent working in Indochina during the 50s and 60s who apparently also moonlighted as an architect. On top of that, Mr. Jack-of-all-trades helped revive Thailand's silk industry when he wasn't busy being a spook. His former residence is supposed to be pretty neat, comprised of 7 teak sections put together. We got there only to find out you had to pay admission. It wasn't overly expensive, but I was mainly interested in the outside anyway. After a few photos, it was time to move on.

We caught a cab too the next spot, the Golden Mount. A temple in the heart of the city, the spiral-shaped Mount used to be one of the highest points in the city. You can walk the 320 steps up to the top to get a pretty decent view of the city, all for free. On the way up you can walk down a line of bells, ringing each one (a monk thing? Haven't found out yet) and then slam a gong (that makes such a cool sound). We hung out at the top a bit, luckily it wasn't too smoggy, so we got some alright photos of the city skyline. From there we walked about a bit, making our way to the Democracy Monument, a pretty kitsch monument (I hope the designer didn't last very long in the business) set in the middle of a massive, chaotic travel circle. From there we eventually ended up on Khao San Road, one of the city's more famous spots. Khao San is a short street, but it is laden with back-packer friendly hotels, and it crammed with stalls selling food, souvenirs and shirts. It was pretty neat to stroll around there, you can catch a glimpse of some interesting characters. Its obvious that Khao San caters to tourists, most of the pedestrian traffic was comprised of white faces. We did make one purchase on Khao San, a book for me (my kindle shit the bed, big time) from a nice you Burmese man. I don't know how common English books are in the city, but I wasn't taking my chances.

We wanted to make one more stop before heading back for a break, so we caught a tuk-tuk to an area of the city called Dusit. Dusit holds a number of government buildings, including where the Royal Family usually hangs its hat. We didn't spend long there, a number of the buildings were closed already. Our tickets to the Grand Palace got us into a couple venues for free, so we spent a few moments in something called the Throne Hall, which held several pieces of art. We were more interested in the beautiful murals painted onto the ceilings.

After a much-needed rest in the room we took a combination of Sky Train and Metro (still impressed by the efficiency, usability, comfort and cleanliness of those things) to the city's main train station. We hung out there for a bit, I have to admit, I get a kick out of train stations as well, but I let Dad to the photo-taking. Better he get arrested and tossed in Thai prison than me (some people are touchy about foreigners taking photos of infrastructure...with good reason, I think). After that we set out for nearby China Town. By now it was dark, and we had to get directions from a couple of security officers in halting English. Our destination was Yaowarat Road, the main drag in China Town. Upon reaching the street it looked like a ghost town, though we heard that the place was supposed to be hopping at night. Disappointed, we headed up any way, and luckily we did, because the action soon picked up. Yaowarat was crammed with food vendors and pedestrians. We walked all the way down, taking in the sites and smells, and grabbing a freshly-made pomegranate juice along the way. Upon reaching the head of Yaowarat we decided to call it a night, and hailed a taxi to bring us back.

So that was Day 3, in a nutshell. I have to shower and look forward to a glorious sleep. Come back tomorrow for all the deets. 

Bangkok Day 1 continued and Day 2

Alright, so where were we? Right, so we hop in this tuk-tuk wondering when exactly the other shoe is going to drop....20 baht for four stops just can't be true. Well, we made it to the first destination, the Standing Buddha. I will let you imagine what that might be, but it is just a really tall (100 feet) golden Buddha. After checking that out for a few moments we hopped back on the waiting tuk-tuk. The catch soon followed. Instead of moving onto the next destination, I don't even remember what it was supposed to be, we stopped outside of a tailor shop, and the driver told us to take a quick look. Ah, here in lies the rub. Our assumption is that the driver gets some kind of commission just by bringing people into these shops. So we went in and tried our best to ignore one of the proprietors, who wasn't even Thai. Might have been Lebanese. He was pretty pushy, but after a few moments we ducked out. The driver gave a sheepish grin at our coming out empty handed. It wasn't finished there though. Next stop was a jewelry store. A woman working there immediately came to our side, looking to make a sale. I am not sure if any readers remember, but what I have used as a trick before is this: when asked where I am from, I say South Africa, in hopes that it might dampen expectations (lots of people associate the US with money). So this lady asks dad where we hail from, and he replied South Africa, to which she went "oooohhh, lots of diamonds there"! Whoops. We extracted ourselves after a few moments anyway.

Deciding that enough was enough, we told the driver to take us to our preferred stop, Wat Pho, and just leave it there. He got his 20 baht and whatever commission, and we put an end to the bullshit. Now, Wat Pho is known for its Reclining Buddha, a massive statue set in a temple of Buddha reclining on one hand. Its pretty impressive actually. A nice touch was the soles of the feet (you walk a 360 around the statue), upon which there were several paintings. After checking out the Buddha we spent a couple hours strolling around the rest of the Temple Complex, which offered more ornate stupas and temples.

After getting our fill of Wat Pho we stepped out and walked for a brief while along the Chao Praya River, eventually coming to a small outdoor market which smelled of sea food and cooking meat. By then it began to sprinkle, and we decided to call it a day. We haggled with a few tuk-tuk drivers (Dad just won't settle sometimes) until we eventually got a guy who would drive us the (rather lengthy) trip back to the hotel for 200 baht. The price went up to to traffic conditions which, I have to admit, were pretty bad. After a somewhat harrowing drive back (that isn't the safest method of transport-no seat-belt, and you are exposed. Oh, and the driver is suicidal too). After resting shortly I went out for a quick bite to eat (Dad just snacks on stuff he cops off the airplane, not sure how he survives), and settled on some pork buns off the street from a very cute girl (lots of girls are cute here-one point to Thailand). I ate in the room and called it a wrap.

Which brings us to today. So first Dad wanted to get in his train museum (obligatory). Word was that there was a free-admission one just north of our hotel. So before leaving this morning he gave the front desk the places phone number (which he got from the internet) to call ahead and make sure it was open. They didn't even get an answering machine or anything. So that was encouraging. We set out anyway, for Dad just has to have his Train Porn. We took the Sky Train; a station is just a 10 minute walk up the road. Very impressed with that. Very clean, easy-to-use, tourist friendly, fast, and efficient. Our destination was the last stop on the line.

Earlier research told us this museum sat in the north-east corner of a large park (Chatuchuk Park) just outside the Sky Train Station. We cut through the park, which offered a nice, large green space, and seemed to be a place Bangkok residents like to come to escape the hustle and bustle. We eventually came to where we thought it might be and, low and behold, there it was, apparently open for business. Dad's luck held out. He was happy with that, so I left him to his own devices and we agreed to meet in two hours at the entrance to the park, leaving me to explore the Chatuchuk Market.

The Chatuchuk Market is a massive outdoor market, adjacent to the park, that operates on the weekends. When I say massive, I mean precisely that. I don't think I have ever been in such a big market place, save Istanbul's Grand Bazaar. This place was just brimming with people, Thai and tourist, coming to check the wares. And by that I mean everything. Whatever you wanted, this place had it. Clothes, food, souvenirs, purses, all kinds of this-and-that, even puppies and kittens, which I found a bit weird. So, there are stalls outside, but there are also huge covered portions, that are divided into mazes of passageways. I just did my thing, wandered about, taking in the scene. I wasn't really looking to buy anything, though the thought of buying a bandanna to wear over my face during a tuk tuk ride (did I mention that? Yeah, hope you enjoy exhaust fumes, dirt, sand, and any other kind of shit flying in your face), did cross my mind. The two hours went quick, but I explored much of the market. I was ready to take a breather anyway, walking in the beating sun was taking it out of me.

Met up with Dad, who seemed satisfied with his train museum, and we took the Sky Train back for a quick rest. After catching our breath, we hailed down a tuk-tuk driver to take us to the river front. After another bob-and-weave type drive through traffic, we found ourselves at the boat dock to cross the river, exactly where we wanted. Just across from that dock is Wat Arun, another famous temple complex recognized by its tall prang (a tower-like structure). It is the highest of its kind in Thailand. For a paltry six baht we, along with a few dozen others, piled onto a creaking craft for the short ride across.

And then we did our thing in Wat Arun. We spent the bulk of the time checking out the prang, which proved kind of exhausting actually. You can walk two levels up it, but the steps are incredibly steep, making walking up and down a bit nervy. Of course though, like much of the Buddhist architecture in the city, the prang was beautifully done, very ornate with amazing attention to detail. After that we looked around the rest of the complex, which didn't take too long. The prang is the main game in town in Wat Arun. With that we took the boat back across the river. After exiting a Thai gentleman said hello and just starting chatting us, recommending things to do and see around the city, as well as outside the city. Incredibly friendly guy (older, fifties maybe?), but we were both wondering what the hell he really wanted. Turns out nothing. Thai people are known for their friendliness, and it really shows sometimes. You can't let your guard down, but don't be surprised if someone is overly helpful, but then doesn't want a hand out. After thanking him and walking on, we hopped in a taxi, a real one this time, for the drive back to the room. I liked the driver, he helped me expand my Thai vocabulary from "hello" and "thank you" to include "sorry" and "English". But, as it were, here I am, tired, sun-beat, sweaty, probably smelly, and hungry. Great feeling. Gotta take care of the hunger bit though.

Hope this wasn't too much. Look here for more tomorrow. 

Bangkok Day 1: Bangkok has us now

After a short night of jet-lag inspired dreams, we rolled out of bed for our first day in the Thai capital. Following the breakfast buffet offered by the hotel, I left Dad to his work and stepped out into nearly palpable heat.......before 10 in the morning. Yeah, its pretty steamy, but I rather this than not being able to feel my fingers back home, where apparently there is a snow storm right now.

I first just got an idea of our surroundings. Our hotel is situated in east Bangkok, away from the major tourist zones but still in a bustling shopping area. The two major streets in the area are Phetchuburi and Phaya Thai, our hotel being located at the end of a soi (alleyway in Thai) off of Phetchuburi. The city's (somewhat) iconic sky-train rails run above the intersection of the two streets, not too far away from our digs. Anyway, it feels just like an Asian city should: endless drone of motor-bikes, non-stop traffic, oppressive heat, a nice dose of smog, and, of course, people everywhere. After moseying down Phetchuburi for a while, every-now-and-then having to dodge sidewalk riding-motorbikes and feral dogs (and what they leave behind occasionally), I eventually flagged down a taxi to take me to Bangkok's most famous tourist site: the Grand Palace, located west of our hotel along the banks of the Chao Praya River, which cuts through the city.

Taxis, like much else in the city, are cheap. This one was 150 baht (30 baht to 1 dollar, so just about 5 bucks). My cabbie was a pretty young guy, but his English was miserable. Now, in Beijing, the taxi driver's just don't speak English at all, so if you don't speak Chinese, its going to be a quiet ride. My guy was pretty keen on talking, but I couldn't really get a grasp on what the hell he wanted to say. He seemed to like saying "same-same", while putting his index fingers next to each-other while giving a "whatever" type of look on his face. Sure man, whatever you say.

At that hour, still before noon, traffic wasn't too bad, but from the cab I could tell its not a very pedestrian-friendly city. Wide streets and crazy drivers make crossing the street something of a game of Russian Roulette. The cab dropped me off at the entrance to the Grand Palace. From there we let the site-seeing begin.

I don't know if I should even bother trying to describe the place. I probably wouldn't do it much justice. The Palace is packed with ornate, finely-detailed stupas, gorgeous temples, and murals with so much going on in them you just want to give up. It is of course also packed with tourists from every corner of the globe, but it is something else. After 4 months in China, I thought I was templed-out, but the level of detail within the Palace was pretty impressive, and there was some pretty unique  stuff. I was a fan of the Emerald Buddha, located in the main temple of the complex. When you go into the temple (or any of them, in fact), you first have to remove your shoes, and DON'T point your feet towards the Buddha. To Thais, the feet are the worst part of the body, so when you sit down on the temple rug, as we did, you have to sit mermaid-style. I could make a mile-long blog post about the Grand Palace, but will refrain from doing so, and let you make a quick Google search to give you an idea until I put up photos. As it were, I ended up spending nearly four hours exploring the grounds.

Next I wanted to see Wat Pho, another nearby temple complex known for its massive "leaning Buddha" statue. But first  I needed to make a swing by the hotel and pick up Dad, done with his work for the day. We asked a guy loitering near the hotel to point us in the right direction. Instead of doing that, he insisted that his buddy, a tuk-tuk (three-wheeled motorbike with a covered seat for two or three in the back, they are all over the city) that was parked nearby, would take us to four different sites, including Wat Pho, for just 20 baht. Yep, 20 baht, for driving us to four different tourist sites and waiting for us at each one. Yeah buddy, and I have some land on the San Andreas Fault I would love to sell you. Dad, looking to save at every corner, was all for it. I insisted that it was some sort of scam and could only end in tears, but he insisted back, and with the shake of a head I joined him the back.......

How's that for a teaser? Its getting late here (for me at least), and I need my rest at the moment to catch up and get on a good schedule. I will finish off the story tomorrow.....

Bangkok, Krung Thep, The City of Angels

Ah....so here we are (I have Dad in tow, don't know if I mentioned that). It is almost 2 in the morning local time and we are just settling into the hotel. Rather uneventful getting in, the cabbie (public transport from the airport already closed down, we didn't arrive till midnight) had some difficulty finding our hotel. I didn't expect a Best Western to be located in a maze of cramped alley-ways with feral dogs running about, but there you have it.

Right now looking to shower and sleep. Look here for more soon.

Next Stop: Bangkok

Alright folks, as I write this, I am waiting in brilliant Syracuse International Airport, where at leas the wi-fi is free.

In about 24 hours I should be arriving in Bangkok, capital of Thailand also known as Krung Thep in the local lingo. I'll be there until the 21st. Hopefully you will all be along for the journey.

Cheers. 

Our man in Instanbul: Day 5

Day five, the group met in the lobby to walk to the tram for a ride over the Galata Bride to the "New District" of Istanbul.  After taking the tram over the bridge, we got on an underground train called the funicular, which took us to Taksim Square.  Taksim Square is on one end of Istiklal Street, the main commercial street of the New District.  It was a chilly and windy day that was occasionally rainy, and we spent a few minutes standing in this weather before the Republic Monument, which has a statue of Ataturk, the "father of modern Turkey," flanked by figures representing the people who supported him  in proclaiming Turkey's existence as a country.  After paying our respects to Ataturk, we proceeded down Istiklal Street, which still has very old architecture but is chock full of modern shops and restaurants.  After walking for a while, we took a side street off Istiklal to wade through many outdoor restaurants, food stalls, and pubs.  We were there an hour or so before lunch, so we didn't have to fight any crowds, except for a few delivery people.  At one point, we stopped before a food stall owner who was frying small fish.  He offered a sample to our group.  As the fish was battered and deep fried, I figured I better refrain, but Elena tried one and said it was very good.  We continued on and ended back on Istiklal Street. 

We walked along the street until we reached a huge and grand gate, which was the entrance to the Galatasaray High School.  At this point, Taylan said we were free to wander around the area and shop, for a grand total of…one hour.  This brought a collective groan from the women in the group, who craved more shopping time.  Taylan defended himself, saying that there would be free time later in the tour for members to return to this area to do more shopping.  After an hour we would meet back at the high school gate.

So Elena and I walked around a bit, stopping first in a silk tie and scarf shop, and then continuing on until we found a fancy shop that sold nice t-shirts, which we wanted for souvenirs.  Elena browsed t-shirts in the women's department, and soon we were joined by a beautiful young saleswoman who didn't speak much English.  Elena tried on a few shirts, and she liked one but it was a bit snug.  When Elena asked (mimed) that she wanted to try a larger size, the saleswoman basically refused; she said the size Elena had was perfect.  (Yet again, confronted by assertive service people.)  Elena purchased a shirt she liked, and I went up to the men's department and did the same.  We then strolled some more down the street until we found a promising dessert shop, and we stopped in for Elena to have profiteroles (for the uninitiated, round pastries filled with vanilla cream or ice cream and topped with dark chocolate sauce).  We walked a bit further and stopped in a café for some tea until it was time to rejoin the group.

The group continued walking, passing by more trendy shops and an area that had lots of musical instrument shops, and we eventually came to the Galata Tower.  Taylan stopped at the base of the tower and said that we would take a half hour or so for anyone who wanted to ascend the tower and get a great view of the city.  He didn't sound too enthused by the tower views, and since we had incredible views of the city right in our hotel, Elena and I decided to do some more shopping instead.  First, we stopped for some pomegranate juice.  One thing we noticed in our wandering around Istanbul was that there were many food places and stands providing fresh squeezed fruit juices, mainly orange and pomegranate.  Elena loves pomegranates, so she couldn't resist getting a generous glass of fresh squeezed pomegranate juice, just for 2 Turkish lire (about a buck and thirty cents).  I got one too and felt full of antioxidants and vitamins, so we walked on.  We stopped in a souvenir/art shop that had many nice original paintings and prints, but these were a bit out of our price range, so we focused on post cards and some other small items.  We met up with the group, most of which had gone up in the Galata Tower, and they said it was well worth it.  This was because a few minutes after they reached the top, there was a call to prayer, and they said from their location they could hear calls from all over the city, and it was an amazing experience.  Elena and I felt bad about missing out (she blamed me, of course).  Well, something to plan for our next visit to Istanbul!  (Elena later read on the Ricky Steves web site that a number of participants in different Istanbul tours recommended going up, not necessarily in the Galata Tower, but somewhere high, and to time it to coincide with a call to prayer, agreeing that hearing the various calls from throughout the city is an experience not to be missed.)

We continued on, stopping briefly in a small synagogue, until we made it back to the Galata Bridge.  (Some of our members decided to visit the Museum of Turkish Jews and left us at this point.)  We first went under the bridge for a bit, where there are a number of restaurants.  Taylan pointed out that if we went further along the water, there were a couple of notable shops, one that he claimed served the best breakfast in Istanbul, another that was famous for its baklava (apparently even folks in Greece would purchase their baklava from this shop).  Sadly, we never got to visit these places.  (Next time!)  But we finally made it to the surface of the bridge and walked across.  It was very blustery, damp, and overcast at this point, but there were still many men fishing from the top of the bridge.  After walking over the Galata Bridge, we picked up a tram back to near our hotel area and walked back to the hotel.  After resting a bit, we shared a salad and a shish kabob at Buhara 93 and called it a day.

Uncle Paul in Istanbul, Day 4

The next morning, we headed to Istanbul’s underground cistern.  This was also about a ten-minute walk from our hotel.  The underground cistern really is pretty cool.  It’s a huge underground cavern with Roman columns supporting the ceiling and sitting in a shallow pond/lake that used to provide water for the city.  Apparently when the Ottomans took over in the 15^th century, they didn’t allow the cistern’s water to be used since they believed only flowing water was healthy for human consumption.  The cistern is pretty dark, which makes it seem a bit mysterious, but the Roman columns and the huge space are very impressive.  Some of the huge columns also have the head of Medusa at their base.  The Medusa’s head was used to ward off evil spirits, but apparently some of the city residents found the image too frightening, so the columns that had a Medusa head on them were used in the cistern, and then they were inverted, so the head could cause as little trouble as possible.  Before we left, I noticed that the cistern also had a stage next to a snack area, and Taylan said that they occasionally have music performances here.  He said the acoustics of the cistern were extremely good for classical music. 

After our brief walk through the underground cistern, the group walked just across the street to the Hagia Sofia (pronounced “aya” or “eye-yuh”).  The Hagia Sofia was an Orthodox Christian church until the Ottomans took over the city.  It was apparently the seat of Christian Orthodoxy for many years, so it was a very important church.  But then the Ottomans took over, and they turned the church into a mosque.  At some point, the city decided to turn the Hagia Sofia into a museum, with most of its Christian decoration intact.  It’s somewhat strange to see the combination of Christian and Muslim decoration: there are archangel mosaics and images of Jesus everywhere, but there is also a Muslim mihrab (focal point for prayer which points toward Mecca) and mimber (staircase from which the imam could deliver sermons).  There are also four huge medallions or rondles with Arabic writing on them from the Quran.  But the decoration in the Hagia Sofia is predominantly Christian, and it’s spectacular.  (Ricky calls it “the crowning achievement of the Byzantine Empire” in his guidebook.)  Elena and I spent a lot of time in, and a lot of digital camera space on, the interior of the Hagia Sofia (though it should be noted that the outside of the church is not particularly impressive).  For sheer beauty, the Hagia Sofia museum is probably the best place to visit in Istanbul.

We took a little break again and Elena and I went to a different “point and shoot” restaurant for lunch.  Then we met up with the group again, walked to a bus (chartered especially for our group; thanks, Ricky), and we rode to the Chora Church.  We took a ride thorough a very commercial area, which appeared to be popular with the locals.  One noteworthy aspect of this area was the number of bridal shops on it.  We passed more than a dozen of these shops interspersed along this street.  After fifteen minutes or so, we arrived at the Chora Church. 

The Chora Church is tiny by comparison to the Hagia Sofia, but its decorations, though on a smaller scale, are beautiful; mosaic after mosaic of Christian imagery.  After a brief talk from Taylan and a walk around the church at our leisure, the group met at a café across the street from the church.  I have to say, this was a really nice café with a lot of outdoor seating.  I would have been happy to hang out at this place for a while.  (Right next to the café there was also a very good souvenir store, where Elena and I picked up a few items.)  But Taylan cracked his metaphorical whip, and we were walking again.  After walking five minutes from the Chora Church, we were in a poor but interesting neighborhood.  Taylan took us to an area where we could see a lot of the old city wall.  These were impressive ruins; Elena especially enjoyed seeing them considering their age and historical significance.  Part of the wall surrounded a bus lot, where a few old buses were parked.  Soon, during Taylan’s talk about the wall, a young entrepreneur (maybe in his late teens) said that on the other side of the wall where we were there were the ruins of an old palace.  All we had to do was climb up his ladder to take a look at the old palace--for a small fee, of course.  Well, our ever-intrepid tour guide decided to climb up and take a look, as well as a couple of the guys in our group.  They reported that there really was nothing to see of the old palace, just an empty space, so we decided to pass on the entrepreneur’s offer.  (Taylan later laughed that the young man thought he owned the palace because he owned the ladder to view it.) 

We continued our walk through the neighborhood, seeing some of the locals walking around and many neighborhood houses, most of which were in pretty bad shape, but some of which were restored and looking quite good.  We got the sense that this area could be gentrified in a few years and would provide a very different tourist experience.  (I’m glad we were able to see it in its current scruffy but authentic state.)  We also stopped at a small neighborhood church, where some of us lit candles, Taylan talked a bit about Orthodox Christianity in Istanbul, and we were able to sit and rest our bones for a while. 

After a brief rest, it was back to hoofing it again.  We came upon a huge open air market, like a farmers’ market, with tables and tables of massive and colorful vegetables, fruits, and fish, and some merchants were also selling other items, like clothing and trinkets.  Elena bought a couple of persimmons and Taylan bought some tangerines that he passed out among the group.  We continued our walk through the neighborhood, where the buildings got a bit larger and more impressive, though still pretty old and scruffy.  We also took a brief look at the headquarters of the Istanbul Greek Orthodox Patriarchy.  The compound, with some offices and a church attached, was not very impressive looking, but apparently the Istanbul Patriarchy is very important to the present day Greek Orthodox world, and it is sometimes used to settle disagreements among the other patriarchies. 

We finally finished our very long walk through winding and hilly streets.  After collapsing for an hour or so, the group reconvened to walk to a restaurant not far from the underground cistern, the appropriately named Medusa Restaurant.  We had some very good, authentic Turkish cuisine, and Elena and I were finally sitting across from the couple we’d been separated from in the fish restaurant, and we had a good long conversation.  Then back to the hotel to collapse from exhaustion.

UP's Istanbul Recap Day 3

Third Installment:

For the first full day of our tour, we were supposed to meet in the hotel lobby at 9:00 AM.  Elena and I went up to the top floor again for breakfast and found that the Obelisk breakfast was even better than the Sphendon’s.  In one area was a row of hot trays with some hot Turkish breakfast pastries, “sausage” (which was really just cut up hot dogs), fried potatoes, scrambled eggs, and fresh fried eggs (these went fast; you had to pounce when a new tray was brought out).  There was also an area with fresh fruits and vegetables (apparently it’s ok in Turkey to have a tossed salad for breakfast), cold cuts, and cheeses.  Another area had a few fresh whole loaves of bread (white and whole wheat) with a cutting board and knife, as well as four kinds of cookies and a coffee cake.  Finally, there was an area with fresh squeezed orange juice, coffee, and tea. 

After having our fill of breakfast and showering, Elena and I met with the rest of the group in the lobby.  We all took a walk (about 10 minutes) to the Topkapi Palace.  The palace was already crowded, and Taylan took us to a quieter area of the palace’s main courtyard and gave us a little history lesson about Turkey.  We then walked over to the harem area of the palace.  Apparently the sultan in the palace had five wives, many concubines available to him, and a group of “favorites” who usually were chosen from to sleep with the sultan.  According to Taylan, this set up wasn’t for the pleasure of the sultan, but rather was a way of carrying on the lineage of the sultan, to guarantee that there would be a male heir to take over when the sultan died.  The harem area was simple but attractively decorated.  We then went to the treasury of the palace and saw a lot of decorated objects and jewels.  One of these was the famous Topkapi Dagger, which was the target of the thieves in the movie “Topkapi” (which I really need to see again now that I’ve been to Istanbul and have seen what they wanted to steal).  We also went into the Hall of Holy Relics, which had a number of relics of religious figures and an imam reading verses from the Quran.  Apparently an imam is reading like this 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

After visiting the Topkapi Palace, the group broke up for lunch.  Elena and I went to what Taylan called a “point and shoot” restaurant, which was really just a cafeteria where you point to the tray of food you want and they put a portion of it on your tray.  I had lamb stew and I think Elena had a salad with chicken.  It was pretty good food and not too expensive. 

After lunch, the group reformed and we took a tram to the Burned Column, which is near the Grand Bazaar.  The Grand Bazaar is a huge shopping area with lots of small shops offering all types of goods.  Taylan took us through the bazaar pretty briskly, but he focused a bit on some shops with an amazing array of solid gold objects and jewelry and some others selling objects of solid silver.  Taylan said that Armenians are superb silversmiths, while Turks are natural salesmen who sell the Armenians’ goods.  We also took a look at a number of men who were trading currency, a more modest version of Wall Street.  These are the guys who affect the rate of exchange of the Turkish lire.  We took a break for some tea in a nice little open café right in the heart of the bazaar.  It was good to rest at this point, since we had already done a lot of brisk walking and our senses were a bit overwhelmed by the sights of the bazaar. 

After tea, we continued our walk through the Grand Bazaar, and then made our way through very winding and hilly streets to the Mosque of Suleyman the Magnificent.  Once again we saw evidence of the welcoming attitude of Istanbul residents toward cats: in a row of arched stone structures with bars, someone had put food for cats, and in each opening there was a cat enjoying the food.  Again we removed shoes and donned scarves (in the case of the women) when we entered the mosque.  Though the Blue Mosque is more beautiful from the outside (nothing much compares to it), Elena and I found the Mosque of Suleyman the Magnificent to be prettier on the inside.  After a brief viewing, we put on our shoes and continued our walk.

Our final stop of the day was the Egyptian Spice Market.  Here Taylan left us to shop, though he said that in an hour and a half, if anyone wanted help with getting back to the hotel, he would meet with them in front of the market’s entrance and get them back to the hotel.  Elena and I, being severely directionally challenged, decided to take him up on his offer.  But we took the time to stroll through almost all of the Spice Market, which specializes in souvenirs, spices, and sweets.  This apparently is the best place to buy the famous confection, Turkish Delight (kind of like a chewy, solidified jelly, with different flavors and nuts added), and Elena and I sampled a number of different kinds before purchasing some.  After browsing through the Spice Market, Elena and I met up with Taylan and about six other members of our group, and we made our way to the tram and back to the hotel.

After resting briefly, Elena and I walked to a recommended fish restaurant, just a five-minute walk from the hotel.  One thing about eating fish in Istanbul: it seems that they really like to serve the whole fish, head, tail, eyes and all.  So we specifically requested our fish to be filleted when we ordered our meals.  The food was good, though maybe not quite worth the price.  (Keep in mind Elena and I have spent a lot of time in Baton Rouge, LA, where food generally and seafood especially are taken very seriously.)  One interesting experience we had in the restaurant occurred when a couple of colleagues from our tour spotted us and started to join us at our table.  For some reason, the waiters wouldn’t let this couple sit right next to us.  No matter how much the couple indicated they wanted to sit next to us and we indicated that this was fine, the waiter kept repeating,“Please, please,” and moved the couple over one table.  Eventually, the couple capitulated, and we occasionally conversed across a couple of empty seats.  I asked Taylan about this later, but he had no explanation for the waiter’s behavior.  (I think maybe he thought a young to middle aged couple should be encouraged to spend quality time with just each other.  Or maybe he just wanted to cause some mischief.)

UP's Istanbul Recap Day 2

Here's his first full day in the City on the Bosphorus. Enjoy:

The next morning, after a restful night’s sleep (no jet lag!), Elena and I made our way down to the Sphendon’s restaurant area, really just a fairly large room adjacent to the courtyard, where breakfast was laid out.  Apparently in Turkey, as in Russia, breakfast is a very important meal, and hotels pride themselves on their breakfast spreads.  Even at the small Sphendon, there were two kinds of scrambled eggs, rolls and bread, vegetables, fruit, cheese, yogurt, cereal, cookies, and an orange breakfast drink.  One of the desk clerks served us coffee (Elena) and tea (me).  After we were fortified by the big breakfast, we showered, packed up, and walked over to the Obelisk. 

We thought we might have to leave our luggage with the Obelisk’s desk staff for a while, but they told us our room was ready, so we decided to drop off our luggage in the room.  Again, our room key activated the electricity.  The room was very nice, a bit old-fashioned, but larger than the one at the Sphendon, including a small table and a couple of chairs, in case we wanted to have some tea and a chat. After dropping off our luggage in the room, Elena and I decided to check out the Hippodrome, which is a large pedestrian area just outside the Blue Mosque.  It was just a 5 or 10 minute walk from the hotel.  (Ricky picks hotels largely to make the touring more convenient, and the Obelisk was no exception.)  Within a couple of minutes of finding the Hippodrome, a well-dressed, pleasant looking gentleman, probably in his late 30’s or early 40’s, came up to us, asked where we were from, and began to converse with us.  He started to give us a good deal of information about the historical significance of the Hippodrome and he even took a couple of pictures of Elena and me.  I thought he was just a local who was proud of his city and happy to share his knowledge with a couple of tourists.  Silly me.  It turned out this fellow owned a carpet store and a jewelry store and was slowly leading us to do some shopping there.  His stores were located near a street of shops called the Arasta Bazaar, and that’s where we ended up.  While I found the Istanbul residents to be very friendly and pleasant, many of them are also mildly aggressive salespeople.  Anyway, gleaning that we weren’t interested in buying a carpet, our new friend led us to his jewelry store, which was staffed by 3 or 4 burly guys dressed like Mafiosi.  Elena and I looked at the jewelry, mostly gold, and made appreciative sounds, but the merchandise was way out of our price range ($2000 American and up).  So after viewing all the wares, we nodded and quietly made our exit. 

After window shopping for a while longer at the Arasta Bazaar, we had lunch at another place recommended by Ricky, Buhara 93, which specializes in kabobs.  Then it was back to the hotel to rest up before our 3:00 PM meeting with the whole Rick Steves “Istanbul in 7 days” tour group. The meeting was on the top floor of the Obelisk, which turned out to be the hotel’s restaurant/breakfast area as well.  The area was surrounded by big windows and a class ceiling, and the view of Istanbul was spectacular.  You could also go through a glass door to some outdoor tables and a viewing area.  Our guide, whose name was Taylan (pronounced tie-lahn) was sitting in front of the tour participants, 19 people, mostly in their 50’s and 60’s, with a few in their 30’s and 40s.  There was tea, coffee, and cookies for the participants.  Taylan had everyone give a brief introduction.  It turned out that many of the tour participants had been on one previous Rick Steves tour, including Elena and me (Paris, for us).  One woman, though, had already been on eight of Ricky’s tours!  Taylan gave us a brief rundown of our itinerary for the rest of the tour.  By the time he was finished, an hour had passed, and he said we would meet in the lobby in 30 minutes to go on a brief tour of the Blue Mosque.

In the lobby, Taylan handed out listening devices (a little bigger than an Ipod) with an earpiece attached so we could easily hear him talk.  Then we were off to the Blue Mosque.  To enter the Blue Mosque, we had to remove our shoes and the women put on scarves to cover their hair.  Plastic bags are provided for shoes, and scarves can be borrowed if a woman didn’t bring one.  Women were also not supposed to wear short skirts.  The Blue Mosque is modestly decorated in its interior.  It mostly seemed to me like a big, functional room for prayer, and some people were praying near the front of the mosque, though apparently tourists are not allowed to enter during the main times for prayer.  There is a barrier between the observation area and the area for praying.  Taylan provided some history of the mosque, and after a half hour or so, we left the Blue Mosque. 

We then proceeded to a restaurant for a group meal.  It was located roughly between the Blue Mosque and our hotel, so it was very conveniently located.  (There are lots of restaurants as well as hotels in this area of the old town, also called Sultanahmet.)  Taylan conferred with the wait staff to make sure the food wouldn’t cause me any problems due to my lactose intolerance, and the food was very good.  (The price of dinner was included in the tour, but any additional soft drinks, wine, or beer we had to pay for ourselves.  Most of our companions did drink wine.  For a country that was “officially” non-alcoholic, there was never a problem getting wine or beer.) 

After dinner, Taylan said we should all be sure to go to the back of the restaurant, because after passing under an arched entrance, one could walk through a number of rooms of ancient ruins.  It appeared that archaeological work was still being done in these rooms, and they were pretty dusty and dirty, but it was remarkable to move from a modern restaurant to ancient ruins in just a few steps.  We all then returned to the hotel to call it a night.

Correspondent Uncle Paul's Istanbul Recap: Part One

Finally! After the hectic holidays and ringing in the New Year, I am finally posting up my Uncle Paul's fantastic description of he and my Aunt Elena's trip to Istanbul, Turkey, a favorite here at the Four Corners. Bear in mind, Paul has, like, a PhD in English, so he kinda has the whole writing bit nailed down. Anyway, I will be putting it up in installments, and here is the first one. The whole thing will be up before I depart for Thailand, which is just a week from today! A special treat for FC readers, and a great opening to 2012. Enjoy:

Elena and I landed in Istanbul at Attaturk Airport at around 10 AM, a day before beginning our RickSteves “Istanbul in 7 days” tour. The lines for passport control and a visa ($20) were surprisingly quick. We headed to an ATM to get Turkish lire, and then we got some change for our big bills so we could givetips. (Breaking bills to get tip money was always an issue; we learned that you should always have a good supply of one lire coins for tips.)

We grabbed a cab to our first hotel, the Hotel Sphendon. It was our first because we planned to get in a day before our tour started, and we found a hotel that was much cheaper than our tour hotel for an extra night. The Sphendon was one of three less expensive hotels recommended by our tour hosts, the Rick Steves company. (We reserved the Sphendon for a night after our tour as well.) The cab ride to the hotel was along the Bosphorus, which gave us a beautiful view of the water. I’d never seen so many big freighters so clearly visible from the heart of the city. Our cab driver asked our pardon and stopped at a gas station on the way. Though we gave him a piece of paper with our hotel’s address, we’re pretty sure he stopped for directions. Apparently, the streets of Istanbul are so small, numerous, and convoluted that even cab drivers need to get directions.

The Hotel Sphendon turned out to be a fairly small hotel, about four stories. Our room was comfortable and facing the small courtyard of the hotel, which held about four tables with chairs and was surrounded by rock-formation walls. The courtyard rooms are probably less well-lighted than those that face the street, but probably much quieter, too. I also liked the quiet and dark feel of the room; kind of like it was our own little Istanbul cocoon. The room had a feature that apparently is common in Istanbul hotels, but it was the first time I had seen it: the room key needed to be put into a slot to activate the electricity in the room. When you removed the key, after a brief time, the electricity went off. Interesting set up.

After dropping off our stuff, Elena and I went out for lunch. We went to a restaurant recommended by the Sphendon’s desk worker, the Doy Doy Restaurant. We went in to the restaurant, and one of the waiters pointed to the ceiling and said that we should go to the terrace to eat. Apparently, restaurant terraces are a big draw for tourists, or at least restaurant owners in Istanbul are convinced of this; many restaurants in our area advertised terraces. Though it was breezy and we were occasionally annoyed by greedy birds, the terrace had a beautiful view of the top of the Blue Mosque, one of the two great mosques in Istanbul. While we were eating, a call to prayer was made from the Blue Mosque, the first we’d heard since arriving. It was loud and very impressive, lasting about five minutes. There are five calls to prayer a day, at dawn, midday, mid-afternoon, just after sunset, and about two hours after sunset. I came to find these calls to be quite pleasant and reassuring. When they occurred, it was like, “Everything is ok and on track.” (Sort of like the flashing of the lights at night on the Eiffel Tower.)

After lunch, Elena and I rested until around dinner time. Then we ventured out onto the winding streets near our hotel to try to find our tour hotel and some dinner. We walked down a deserted, fairly scary alley to another busy street, a half dozen hotels on each side of the street right next to each other, and then saw our hotel just up the street a block, the Hotel Obelisk, about a five-minute walk from the Sphendon. We briefly looked in at the Obelisk and said hello to the desk staff, noting that we would be checking in with them the following day as part of the Rick Steves tour group. Rick Steves, of course, is the head of the company hosting our tour and a star of travel videos often shown on PBS; Elena and I affectionately refer to him as “Ricky.” We asked for directions to a restaurant recommended in Ricky’s Istanbul guidebook, called the Yildiz Restaurant. The desk clerk gave us some directions and off we went. Along our walk, again through hilly and winding streets, we came across a lot of stray cats; apparently the city is chock full of them. We also noted that many of them were eating food put out by nearby residents. So the stray cats and the local people seem to have a good and peaceful relationship.

The Yildiz was a twisty 15-minute walk from the Obellisk. The seating area was all enclosed in glass, including some doors that were pretty much open to the cool evening. A waiter seated us and turned on an outdoor heater to warm us up (though the evening really wasn’t that cold, maybe in the low 60’s). This place appeared to be a local favorite—a group of people were playing backgammon in one corner, and another fellow was at a table smoking a hookah. I had a shish kabob and Elena had a “sauté,” made with chicken and vegetables. Both dishes were very good, and not too expensive. Good call, Ricky!