Bangkok

We have now been to Bangkok for three days but the most exciting thing for me has been going to the Burmese embassy and trying to get my Visa. I am so excited about flying to Burma on Wednesday, I don't even mind the fact that what was supposed to be a completely overland trip has now been broken by a return flight from Bangkok to Yangon. I have heard nothing but beautiful things about Burma and though the politics weigh on my conscious I am sure I've made the right decision to go. There have to be ways in which I can spend my tourist dollar there and help the locals instead of lining the pockets of the military. I guess I will have to wait till I get there to find out.
In Bangkok we have seen some of the major sights, one of them being the majestic and magnificent complex of the Royal Palace. Every inch of it is covered in beautiful and detailed patterns. It was just so stunning, I didn't even know how to capture the beauty and grandeur of the place in my photos. And then we have been to the big golden stupa at the top of the hill and got amazing 360 degree views of the city. Yesterday the Thai people all over celebrated the festival of 'Loy Krathong' ...there were people all day, all over the city preparing small candle floats that they would later that evening take to the river. These were made all from natural materials, the base -a slice of the trunk of the banana tree surrounded with banana leaf shaped in triangles and then decorated with orchids and marigolds and candles in the middle. Everyone dressed up and in the evening with floats in hand went near the riverside where the local firemen had volunteered to lower the floats into the river for the locals. And then like stupid tourists we just expected and waited for a fireworks display but we were very pleasantly surprised when we saw instead of fireworks lighting the sky, huge boats beautifully decorated floated by. It was something completely different and looked so beautiful.
The rest of our time here so far has been spent hanging out around our cacooned tourist area of Khaosan Road. Some of the guest houses here play the movie, 'the beach' continuously and apart from restaurants, bars, guesthouses, dodgy massage parlours and people trying to sell us ping pong shows! and white smoke, there isn't that much here. All the tourists in Bangkok are in this area and I don't really like that whole atmosphere. If I wanted to sit in a 'Traditional British Pub' I wouldn't have bothered leaving Britain. I'd much rather find a local place which served local beers and food. We have spent three days here but thankfully now we are moving around outside of Bangkok. We're going to see the famous floating markets tomorrow and I think I'll just be glad to see something different. I pick up my Visa for Burma on Tuesday so until then we're stuck in Bangkok. The people here are nice, I have good company and there is plenty of good food and a huge variety of it..so it's not all so bad.