Bangkok. Pictures/banners/billboards/statues of the King of Thailand are everywhere.

Like, everywhere. I mean, you really can’t walk more than a few minutes without seeing a likeness of the King. I asked one of my Uber drivers why, and he said it’s because everyone loves the King. Why? Because he does everything for the people. Okay, that’s cool. I don’t know, so I won’t speculate. I do know that I see a lot of really poor people here, doing what they can to survive – sex workers, their kids begging for money on the sidewalk, etc., and I guess the King is one of the richest people in the world. Dunno.

Here are just a few pictures I took, when I happened to have my camera out…

king

king

king

king

king

I guess they do a festival / parade called ‘Bike for Dad’ every year, to celebrate his birthday. His birthday was a month ago, and these banners are still up everywhere.

I used my first international Uber! My driver’s name? Kanut. Aaaahhhhh, I LOVE UBER! I was so excited to try it, and everything is exactly the same as in the states (including the driver may or may not know english). The cost is about the same as a taxi, which are cheap here. I’ve used Uber five times in Bangkok☺️

My FIRST INTERNATIONAL UBER😃

This trip cost 59 baht, which is about $1.68. I also love using it because I can just pay with my credit card, not having to use cash.

Bangkok is a really cool city. The Chao Phraya River runs through it, which means that part of their relatively reliable, cheap public transportation includes boats that shuttle people north-south through the city and beyond.

ferry boat

loading onto the express boat

old & new

chao phraya river

cool building

boat

I’ve done some sightseeing, but not much. I’ve more just hung out, drank coffee, talked with people. Bangkok is cool. I could see myself coming back here.

I toured Wat Arun and Wat Pho, both Buddhist temples. And I saw the Grand Palace, which is where the royal families in the past have lived, and the current King still has some official events. I didn’t go in because 1. I didn’t want to pay and 2. It was sooooooooo crowded! These hoards of people at the popular places to see are really exhausting! I didn’t think this one was worth it:)

wat

wat arun

wat arun

dragon

wat arun

garden:)

grand palace

I went shopping… and went to H&M… and I found a new bra! To replace this one:

secondary bra falling apart

AND I GOT A NEW SHIRT. They were $11 each. It’s a good bra! Wow, life is good😆

new clothes!

One must-do in Bangkok I totally agree with: Mango Tango dessert shop. It didn’t disappoint. Mango sticky rice (which I guess I like??) to die for:

mango tango!

Next up: Overnight sleeper train to Chiang Mai 😁