BANGKOK, THAILAND

We arrived in Bangkok last night, so I guess by now the world is my oyster. Or so the song goes, right?

Anyway, our original plan was to visit some of the beaches and islands in southern Thailand first, but Chris sort of lost interest in that after hearing from some other travelers that Ko Phangan wasn't nearly as nice as the Perhentians. And apparently it's the rainy season on the west coast, which might not be the ideal time to visit the beaches there. I'm a little disappointed, since these are some of the main tourist destinations in Thailand, although after a week on an island, I guess I could deal with a little city life.

Actually, so far all I've seen of the city is Khao San Road, where our hostel is. The street is a messy stew of restaurants, bars, street vendors, travel agencies, shops with fake merchandise, and huge crowds of grubby Western backpackers. It's a decidedly shabby crowd with a sort of third-world Spring Break atmosphere; Khao San is kind of like Bangkok's answer to Bourbon Street. Only I suppose on Bourbon Street, you're not likely to pass a vendor cart selling deep-fried water beetles, grubs and crickets.