And who says Three's a Crowd?

As I am now in the (good) company of my sister and friend, I find that I have less time to write.

We're currently (back) in Bangkok - arrived on Thursday. On the first day that Wendy arrived, we were able to check out Wat Po and get Thai traditional massages at the Massage School within the temple grounds. I had a crick in my neck from sleeping on the Lomprayah bus the previous night and thought the massage woould do wonders. Wow. Have you ever gotten a traditional Thai massage? They are no joke. The way your pressure points are kneaded like raw dough...let's just say it was not like the oil massage I fell asleep during in Koh Tao. It was a very cool experience, albeit the pain. You take a number as you walk in and wait to be called into a room full of people (mostly tourists) who are contorted into various yogic positions. My new friend, Wow, whom we met up for dinner last night said it the best, " It's like yoga for lazy people."

That same night, we were able to catch the Thursday night Muay Thai line up at the Ratchadamnoen Boxing stadium. We decided on mid-range seats that cost 1500 baht/person (less than $50). Even the most economical tickets were surprisingly expensive at 1000 baht, especially if you're on a Thai payroll. The first match started at 6:30pm and the 10th, or last, match ended after 10. You can buy snacks and beer (a bit overpriced) once inside, but the array of street food vendors right outside the stadium was spectacular. There's also an outdoor covered patio where you can grab seats and a table to enjoy your meal, as well.

The matches were pretty entertaining. The youngest boys looked about the age of 15 or 16, and they were in incredible shape. Whatever their daily diet or rigorous training regime, I plan to follow (or at least attempt to follow) once back in SF. We'll see how that goes...

I took a good number of pictures of the first few boxing matches, but since it takes such a long time to post, I think I'll save that for another time. The hostel we are staying at Suk11 in Sukhumvit (which I highly recommend!) has only one downfall. Their internet service is dependent on this little machine that you insert 10 baht coins into, and it controls your access. I find it not as convenient as just paying the front desk for however many minutes you're online. Oh well. Every other feature this hostel offers is pretty great, so I'm not going to complain.

Tonight, the three of us are heading to the different beer gardens at Central World near Siam Square. According to Wow, and evidence we witnessed walking by last night, during the winter months when the heat is actually bearable, outdoor beer gardens are set up featuring Chang, Singha, Tiger, and a few other German beers. There are live bands playing Thai as well as international cover music playing at each station, and you are encouraged to order "towers" of beer, accompanied by small Thai dishes throughout the night. It looked like a great time from what we saw, so we are definitely looking forward to checking it out tonight.

Running out of time, but I will be posting up pictures of Bangkok soon, hopefully before we leave for Chiang Mai on Monday morning.