Day 1 of my Thailand trip, where I learned to get around on the river and the Sky Train, and saw the Sunday Market.

There are more pictures online.

I woke up a bit late after having gotten in quite late (like 2 AM by the time I made it to the hotel and my luggage showed up).

I was taking the hotel boat over to catch the express bus (also a boat) to get to the Grand Palace.  I met some women on the boat and they showed me how to use the Sky Train and get to the market you see  in this picture.  There were thousands (really!) of shops with everything from chickens to textiles to tourist things.  It was a bit overwhelming, especially since I was running on almost no sleep and the Thai Bhat to dollar doesn’t yet translate in my head.  I only got a few pictures since I was using my ighone with my taped-up hand, and I didn’t want to “lose” the iphone in the crowd.  I advise not breaking a finger right before an international trip!

After I returned from the market I stopped at the hotel to drop my purchases and head for the Grand Palace.  I made it all the way to the Grand Palace ten minutes before it closed, which didn’t work out too well.  So I will have to try again a different day to make that.

Tomorrow I have booked a tour through temples. It will be less chaotic, I think, to be on a tour.  It is my last day of pure tourism until Thursday (I will be at a dinner Tuesday night and speaking at a conference on government IT Wednesday).

Right now, the sky outside my hotel window is the red-brown of sunset in a city of smog.  In general, Thailand has many smells (some good, some awful; all strong) and thick air. The people are very friendly.  The river is a road; a dirty, polluted, and well-used road.  Bangkok is big and sprawly and a mix of modern and old, rich and poor.