Bangkok, Thailand

Geoff and I love traveling together. We have found the right groove that makes this less of a trip and more of a life excursion. But every now and then we need to be shaken out of our routine, and that is where our friend Ryan comes in. He arrived in Thailand on Thursday, and chaos has prevailed. It's been great having him here because when Geoff and I are ready to take a nap, Ryan arranges a trip out of town. When the night is about to slow down, a pitcher of Margaritas is ordered. And somehow, even when we're just walking down the street, a baby elephant is sitting at the bus stop. I'm not sure if it's Ryan's good karma or the craziness of Bangkok, but the pace of our trip just got notched up.

Bangkok started out benign enough with drinks at a local German draught house down the street, but it's impossible not to notice or mention the amount of 50 year old men and 20 year old Thai hookers walking arm in arm in the streets. And while the ladies are not as young as I thought (thank goodness), the whole thing is definitely creepier than I imagined. If only because the men are shameless for the attention. They come to Bangkok for a week and hire the women all week, a la Pretty Women, to escort them around town. They take them to museums and restaurants and spill their life stories to these young girls. I guess it's just sad. But here's where it becomes funny: I'm standing outside the Westin Hotel wearing cargo pants and running shoes, waiting for Ryan and Geoff who are using the bathroom. And a seemingly nice, older Turkish man stops and asks me if I'm a tourist. I say yes thinking maybe he needs directions. But he asks me several times if I'm a tourist and then if I live in Bangkok. Finally, he just comes out with it and asks if I'm a lady. Which I almost answer yes to until it dawns on me, I'm being propositioned! Seriously?! Should I be flattered or appalled? Should I call him a dirty old man? Well in the end I just laughed and said, No,tourist! I'm bearing down on 30 and like my friend Cary says, Still Got It!

Bangkok has really surprised us with how metropolitan it is. I was expecting something like India or China, but the city has a great subway and monorail system, beautifully restored temples and great shopping. Not to mention the best English in Asia. Also, topping our must-do list (well Geoff and Ryan's) was a Muay Thai fight. Thailand is the heart of Mixed Martial Art fighting and while Geoff wanted to take classes we settled on going to watch them fight instead(although things could change in 3 weeks) .The sport definitely caters to the Farang (foreigner) populations' love for Ultimate Fighting, so we were ushered into the stadium to front-row ring-side seats (we sat next to a Canadian and his obviously appalled Thai escort). I won't lie, I love MMA and it was really fun to watch 100 lb kids go berserk on one another. Anything goes--punches, kicks, elbows to the side, take-downs. It was entertaining, but very little blood. Maybe this is why Geoff and I are meant for each other. Unfortunately our night ended at 2 am with Ryan doing a running elbow drop on Geoff. Don't worry, he'll be fine.

From Bangkok we're heading to Chang Mai where we'll be riding elephants and chilling in the jungle, all of which Ryan will be guest blogging about.

Ahh, but I should back up a moment to Saigon and the end of our Vietnam trip. While it was raining and flooding the whole time, we still finished off Vietnam in style and I still contend it is the sleeper hit of our trip. If only because the local magazine did a taste test of the best Mojitos in Saigon. What's not to love? We decided for our half way point we would treat ourselves to a real night on the town. Geoff wearing his snazzy new suit with French cuffs and me in my brand new dress. We went to the best restaurant in town, tried several of the top Mojitos in Saigon and still spent less than a mediocre night in any American city. It was a nice change of pace and something we probably won't do again until we get a job, but a night out in Saigon was quite a treat.

And a final note on Vietnam street crossing (this is it, I promise). The above picture is of me and an official Saigon crossing guard. It looks like I'm not the only Westerner with crossing issues. Geoff tried to explain to him that he was captain of the crossing guards in fifth grade, but it didn't quite translate. This young gentleman is part of a 200 person crew who stands on all the major streets corners and will literally hold your hand while blowing a whistle to get you across the street safely. Traffic never stops in Saigon, it's more like a school of fish that instinctively knows to split around you. Whatever the method, it was appreciated and free, and we got out of Vietnam with no more scooter incidents.

Oh, and we did ride on the back of a scooter, but don't tell my mom and dad.

GO RED SOX!!

Finally, here are our photos from all of Vietnam.

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