Bangkok, Thailand

I'm exceptionally passionate about this country, and about this city. I've been here about four days now, and since being here I've realised how much I have missed Thailand in the two and a half years since I was last in Bangkok. I'm crazy about the people, the kids, the food, even the smell and the heat and the people harrassing you when you walk the streets. I'm so comfortable here and would move in an instant, if I thought I could make a livelihood. I'm not missing much from home, except all of you guys (of course!), my dog Kaos and, tragically, the West Wing!!

We're staying in a luxury hotel (mum is with me for the first 5 days) and this part of the trip, for me, is about recovering from the last manic few weeks so that I am prepared for the next 9 weeks or so of slogging around SE Asia. So I'm using this time to get used to the heat and being unglamourous and haggling again. There's lots of time poolside and reading and eating! But we have also been doing lots of great stuff like a Thai cooking class which was fantastic, visiting Ayutthaya (the ancient capital), and visiting lots of temples. Last night we had dinner at a place called Cabbages and Condoms, where all the proceeds go to to the Population Development Authority for use in sex education, scholarships for rural kids, lunch for schools in tsunami affected areas, etc.

This morning we gave dana to the monks (at about 6am, the monks walk the streets and the people make offerings of food, which the monks then share as their one meal of the day). As the last time I offered Dana, it was one of the most spiritual experiences of my life, just incredible. Also a great way of meeting the local market stall holders, as they gave me more and more food to offer to the monks, bless them! I'm really loving talking to average thai people again, and I'm always happy when they are suprised at my few words of Thai and being able to haggle or ask for directions in Thai, etc - a few words makes all the difference to how you're perceived.

We've bought bright yellow shirts to wear as almost all the locals are, as 2006 has been the year of King Bhumipol's 60th anniversary of being King, and yellow is his lucky colour (having been born on a monday). Seriously, thailand is gripped in it's own version of yellow fevor at the moment!

Enjoying lots of Thai food too, the green chicken curries we get back in Aust are nothing like those that are offered here, they are simply incredible! In the cooking class we were taught how to make thai fish cakes, red chicken curry, pomelo spicy salad, and stirfried seafood with garlic and pepper. So good.

Had better go now, but will post again soon with pictures and more stories. Hope you're all well, much love, Sophie.