You TUK TUK me all night long, and other tales in Thailand

This is a Tuk Tuk.  You WANT and MUST ride in one of these.  It is quite an experience.  

Let me condense these next few days of my Bangkok time for you with some of my favorite things about Thailand; Coconut shakes, Thai massage (everyday), this crazy heat which makes jumping in a pool the most delightful, tuk tuk rides, shopping, amazing street food, sky train, river boat rides, Thai omelets, and of course the majestic Grand Palace.  

Thailand is magical.  The people are beautiful and my time here has been more than amazing.  Deb and I met up with another friend Emily who is also from Seattle, but was already in Thailand!  We had no idea she was here, but the magic of facebook brings us together.  We met up with Emily and had an amazing day touring the Grand Palace.  This place is gigantic, majestic beyond words, and seeing it's beauty is overwhelming.  We had a gorgeous day in the heat exploring and photographing this palace.  We ended our day with a swim and foot massages, not a bad life.  

The next morning we had the most wonderful day.  Emily joined Debbie and I again and we had a private river boat tour that included stopping in many places along the way.  (so we thought)  The thing about being in another country of course is how things get translated, or lack of translation.  This river boat did not stop once, just drove on and on.  The driver spoke no english, and our understanding was to get out of the boat at certain points to explore temples and gardens.  Oh well, this will be one of many little misunderstandings along the journey.  Regardless it was a fantastic boat ride and we had a lovely time on the water.  

Afterwards we took the Bangkok sky train to a part of town called Siam which has a very modern and strange mall.  For instance these photos were to let you know who goes in what bathroom.  

There were also movies playing in the bathroom, and profound quotes on the stalls.  

Later that evening we connected with another friend of Debbie's; Ishya who was visiting her mother.  She lives in a suburb of Bangkok.  We were able to see a real Thai home, this one was fancy.  It was pretty surreal to be there.  We had dinner at this very nice resturant on a popular street called the Sukumvitt (the crab salad was amazing!)  and then headed to one of the tallest and best views in the city.  It was a perfect way to end a perfect day.