Bangkok

Well we survived our 17 hour flight. It went really well primarily for one reason. Bert was able to upgrade us to premium economy which gave us a little extra room and a bulkhead seat. Now we are really spoiled. Thai Air is great however the only thing I did not understand was why they gave us about 10 heavy metal utensils to eat with at each of the 3 meals they served. I am sure it added a couple of hundred pounds to the flight. So interesting to see the route taken, over the north pole, Russia , Uzbekistan, Afghanistan- a little nervous, the Himalayas, India, Burma and Thailand. We are staying in the Chinatown section of the city. Bangkok has about 10 million people. It is a mix of the ultra modern and the ancient and the dilapidated- all coexisting sometimes on the same block. The traffic is incredible with few traffic lights. Crossing a street involves a mixture of bravado and prayer-fervent prayer. We have a room on the 15th floor affording a view over much of the city. We were on our own for the first day or so before our fellow tour members arrived. We took the ferry boat downriver to the skytrain. Jim Thompson's house was very interesting. He was an exGI who came here in the 50s and reestablished the silk trade for Thailand. He was a major figure here and built a beautiful compound consisting of 6 teak houses either very old or rebuilt in the Thai fashion. One day he disappeared while on vacation in Malaysia and to this day no one really knows what happened to him. His home, open for tours, is an oasis in the heart of this noisy, crowded city. As you walk or ride around the city you see many gorgeous golden temples with flowers and incense offerings and Buddhas. We walked several miles in the 90 degree heat- don't ask- to see the golden buddha at Wat Tramit- a wat is a temple. Along the way we were frequently stopped by Thai citizens who wanted to talk to us about their city or ask about us. They are truly the most friendly people I have ever met. You are always greeted with a smile and the gesture in which they put their hands together as in prayer. Anyway the golden buddha was 12 feet tall and apparently solid gold. They did not even know this until about 20 years ago when they were moving him-he was covered in ceramic- and cracked off a piece. There he was all shiny gold. Can you imagine!
Today we met our fellow 11travelers-ranging from 30s to mid 80s. More on them later.My time is up.