I'm back ;)

Good morning everyone!!

I just wanted to send a quick e-mail and let everyone
know what I got up to the last few days in Bangkok and
to confirm that I am back in cold, grey Toronto!!

I went to the Chatuchuk Market on Sunday. I was there
early and it wasn't busy so I wandered the market
checking out the stuff they had and deciding what to
buy as souvenirs. The market is more for locals than
tourists and it's huge!! When I finally decided to
actually purchase items, I couldn't find anything I'd
wanted to buy and the market was a zoo. I found a few
of the items and went home exhausted - shopping is
such work ;)

My second day I headed to Ratanakosin. This is a
collection of buildings that were built when Bangkok
became the capital of Thailand in 1782. There were
more than 100 buildings in the complex but many of
them are closed off to visitors or under renovation.
I checked out the Grand Palace, a couple of wats
(temples) and saw the Emerald Buddha which is an
important image in Buddhism. From there I headed by
ferry to a teak museum which was interesting. It was
filled with artefacts given to the Kings of Thailand
by other countries.

The third day it poured and so I went shopping. Ended
up at this mall called MBK (Sam recommended it). It
was almost double the Eaton's Center with six floors
of shopping!! They had an entire floor designated for
cellphones - I had never seen so many styles, colours
and shapes. I bought a couple of other things and
then headed to Patpong, Bangkok's notorious sex
district. I was a bit disappointed as it seemed more
touristy than a sex district should be but it needed
to be seen. I can imagine it's hopping around
midnight but I wasn't motivated to stay!!

My final day I headed to the floating market which is
about 2 hours south of Bangkok. Canals were built
years ago by one of the kings to facilitate trading by
boat. There were locals selling produce and others
had pots with boiling oil for fried bananas or soups.
It was neat to see but a bit too package-tourism for
me!! I had a foot massage, had my last authentic Thai
green curry and got a bus to the airport!! Sad to
leave but knowing that I'll be back :)

I just wanted to say thank everyone for their e-mails
while I was away as it's always nice to hear from
home!! I had a great time away and will get the
pictures on Friday for anyone who's curious for a
viewing. I will also be putting some of the digital
ones on a site somewhere. Sean/Dan, maybe you could
offer up some suggestions on a free/cheap website? :)
I hope you enjoyed my tales!!

Until next time,
Sarah

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