Bangkok is a very weird word, don't you think? Who ever came up with it must have had a very nasty sense of humour. How they get Bangkok from "Krung Thep" which is the thai nickname for the place? I say nick name because apparently very few people have the patience to say its whole name - Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahinthara Ayuthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom Udomratchaniwet Mahasathan Amon Piman Awatan Sathit Sakkathattiya Witsanukam Prasit. Those who do, sing it.
Enough about the name.

I loved the place. It was hotter than hot even though it rained a bit. I saw a lot of animals because my 18 month old neice is crazy about elephants. Everything was aanai this and aanai that. She was adorable, except when she screamed. Which she did very often, whenever animal planet was not on, or we were not including her in the conversation, or she didn't want to eat, or if she felt like it. Yay.

The view from my cousin's place is brilliant. Especially at night. And they have pink taxis. And blue and red ones. And the tuk tuks were very cute.

We went to a croc park and zoo on my second day there. They had a corocodile wrestling show there where 2 men would do all sorts of things - the usual, put their heads into the crocs mouths, pull the crocs by their tails, ride on the crocs back, and so on and so forth. The crocs seemed very embarrassed. They looked like they were just humouring those nutty humans. I wonder what they would have said to each other after it was over. "Atleast we got some fish out of this embarrasment" or "Anything to avoid being in a burger" or "I think they make me do this because I have skin problems and so won't make a good purse" or "Now can I go to sleep?". ON they way out we saw a fast food joint serving exclusively croc meant and right across that was a place which had croc leather stuff - belts, shoes, bags, the works. Poor them, they have to work even when dead.

The next day, my cousin, her friend and I went to Chathuchak market. It went on forever. We were there for 5 hours and we covered about 5% of the place. It was shoppers' paradise. We went up, we went down, we went sideways and then we went back. And at the end of it, all I had to show for it was 2 T shirts and a wooden frog.

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Going out now.. rest later.

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It has been a while.I have done so much in the past two days. MOre on that later.
Now back to Siam.
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Speaking of Siam, there is apprently a move to change Thailand's name back to either Siam or Krung Thep. They are going the INdia way. Sadly.

Anyway, I just sat at home the next day and saw a bunch of bad movies that they had. Catwoman, Agent COdy Banks and Daddy Day Care. YIkes. Sharon Stone was unrecognisable in Catwoman and why does Benjamin Bratt always get these wooden roles? I have no respect whatsoever for Halle Berry. Her ass went from 9 o' clock to 3 o' clock for every step. And they matched lip prints! What a movie!

Went to Safari Park the next day. Saw a lot of animals. They had kept the lions and the tigers in the same place. They were all fat and sleepy. Nice.

We went out for dinner that night to a place called Cabbages and Condoms. Apparently they were advocating family planning and safe sex and HIV/AIDS awareness. The whole place was decorated in wood and condoms; they had mannequins dressed in condoms, condoms blown up like balloons and condom lampshades. Brilliantly done. We were 5 people, and they brought 5 condoms with the bill. The food was great too.

I'll gripe about the poroblems of getting good vegetarian food there some other time.
The next day too was spent lying around in the house and either playing with my elephant obsessed neice or talking to her mother. Good stuff. That evening, I went to a department store with my cousin and we went by the shoes area. There was no even one pair that fit me. Not one. They were all too narrow and too small. It's a fact now. There are no large size people in Thailand. If I ever lived there, I'd have to send to India for everything from clothes to shoes. ANd rice apparently. They only have that weird sticky rice. My coiusin takes back 10 kgs of rics everytime she visits.

I left the day after. And here I am.