Culture Shock

So in the matter of a few days I have gone from a remote corner of Northwestern Burma (see last post) to a bustling metropolis called Bangkok. I am still reeling....

My last day in Rangoon was spent with errands, packing, eating...eating...eating... then back to the incongruous sleek modern airport, where I saw my French friends again (we were on the same flight to Bangkok). My hotel in Bangkok is away from the center, in an area close to the home of friends I will be visiting. It is mostly empty, save for a few Thai businessmen, and they don't know what to make of me, or why I am there (then I realized that the hotel is directly behind an "entertainment" club, and I feel weird; I may change hotels). After the pot-holed streets and the traveling heaps that pass for taxis in Yangon (no seat belts, windows stuck open, holes in the floor or doors), everything seems sleek and modern, and well, familiar. I guess I didn't know what to expect. Something closer to Yangon, I guess.

I spent the day hitting the main central shopping center to get a cell phone and some books. I found myself in one after another huge Western-style malls. All the designers were represented (I steered clear), and there were so many mouth watering restaurants, I couldn't choose. I see that eating is going to be a problem here in Thailand too!