-Bangkok, Thailand-

After leaving Cambodia, I went to an Island off the northern coast called Ko Samet. It is one of the more quite islands that sees tourists in Thailand I am sure. I stayed in a guesthouse, with the waves lapping underneath my room, for 4 nights on the more isolated part of the island. The east side of the small island had the fancy hotels, restaurants, and waves. It was nice being away from the music and noise, because I know that when I get to the islands down south, it is going to loud and crazy the whole time.

I decided to come back to Bangkok after leaving Ko Samet. There was still some shopping to do for me and others, and some more graffiti to take photos of, and some more areas to explore. It started out a little rough, having to sit in rush hour traffic for a couple hours on the local bus once I arrived in the city. Having not eaten a meal for almost 24 hours I was obviously slightly fatigued. I decided before I even got to Bangkok where I would be eating. I checked into my cheap guesthouse, took a shower, brushed my teeth, and went straight to Burger King and ordered a double-bacon cheeseburger value meal. It was great. And I have no regrets about eating there. Although I ate upstairs where no pedestrians could walk by and judge me. I have wondered why I see so many westerners eating at McDonald's or Pizza Hut in the past and silently scorned them as I passed by. But, I won't be so judgemental in the future. Maybe.

Today I hunted down some graffiti in an old parking structure off of one of the main roads. There were some aggressive dogs that scared me, one very large mutt in particular. I was as surprised to see him as he was surprised to see me, I think. But I didn't get arrested or bitten or mugged, and found a really awesome piece on the fourth level, so it was worth the risk. I went in and out of the mega shopping malls and explored some of the side streets in the middle of Bangkok during the afternoon. There is an area in Bangkok that has at least 10-15 large malls, all of which put Horton Plaza and Mall of America to shame. It is amazing how much stuff is for sale here in Bangkok, whether it is on the street or in a mall. Most of it is the same stuff everywhere you go: t-shirts, sandals, shoes, bags, and other assorted clothing items. With so many people selling the same thing, I don't understand how all these merchants make a living. And the suit guys...I don't see any Thai men wearing suits, but there are thousands of suit sellers in this town (over half of which are Sikhs).

I really like Bangkok a lot, and I think that if I had to pick a city to live in that has been along my trip, I would choose Bangkok. But I cannot spend too much longer here. I need to get down south, to the islands and have some fun there.