What a ride! I waved down a Tuk Tuk (pronounced "took took") off of the street today and "took" it to Wat Benchamabophit, also known as Marble Temple for all of the marble in and around the temple. It really is one of the most beutiful temples here in Bangkok. Construction was completed in 1912, but the temple was founded by His Majesty the King Rama V on March 1st, 1899 for his own posterity. Though the Temple is officially part of the National Museum, it's still quite active with Monks and other people practicing side by side.

I arrived in Bangkok, the capital of Thailand, pretty late in the evening last night. We flew direct from Hong Kong and I feel as though I've been dropped right in the middle of Southeast Asia even though we were in Singapore just a few short weeks ago. It's incredibly hot and humid, with the occasional rain shower. It is, after all, the rainy season and also the King's 60th year as the King of Thailand. And because he is so incredibly popular, there are plans for celebrating the throne all week long. All throughout the city you can see many different photos spanning the King's 60 years...the traffic is nearly unbearable so with the heat and humidity, traveling in and around the city will prove to be an event in itself! Bangkok, with a population of almost 10 million people, is really a huge city that spreads out as far as the eye can see. The center of Thailand, Bangkok, is also the financial hub of Southeast Asia and has recently become a trading competitor with Singapore and Hong Kong on a global scale. The main religion of Thailand is Buddhism, which you can see ample evidence of throughout the city. I'm hoping to explore this side of Thailand more than anything else! Let's go check it out! A little known fact of Bangkok is that the real name is pronounced like this: Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahinthara Ayuthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom Udomratchaniwet Mahasathan Amon Piman Awatan Sathit Sakkathattiya Witsanukam Prasit. Which, in English, translates as: The city of angels, the great city, the residence of the Emerald Buddha, the impregnable city (of Ayutthaya) of God Indra, the grand capital of the world endowed with nine precious gems, the happy city, abounding in an enormous Royal Palace that resembles the heavenly abode where reigns the reincarnated god, a city given by Indra and built by Vishnukarn. So, it comes as no surprise that Bangkok holds the Guiness Book of World Records for the longest place name. Try memorizing that! A market on the Klong River, Bangkok, Thailand.. IRC. 2005. unitedstreaming. 12 June 2006

Here in Hong Kong there are many interesting juxtapositions. You have very traditional food stalls right next to a Pizza Hut, older trams next to the newest sport cars...this is what makes it an amazing city. An element of the city that stands in complete contrast with it's surroundings are the bamboo scaffolds that are used to fix, build, or just maintain any structure you can imagine. Everything from skyscrapers to store signs. Metal scaffolding, such as the style I've seen plenty of times in New York, is less flexable, more expensive, more difficult to cut, is a lot heavier, and is noisier to use than it's bamboo counterpart.

Wow. Tonight was pretty incredible! I was able to learn a few Kung Fu moves at a local Dragon Style Kung Fu Dojo here in Hong Kong. The head Master taught me how to use their special weapon, in English simply called "The sticks", and how to punch. In the spirit of older Hong Kong based martial arts movies, at the end of the lesson we all created a mock scene from an old Kung Fu movie.

After Singapore, arguably the shopping hub of Asia, we spent a week in Taiwan, considered, at least by mainland China, to be the firebrand island-nation, home to Chinese nationalists who fled Communist China. Overall, the Asian leg of this journey has been quite amazing. The food has been excellent most of the time and the people have been amazingly welcoming. In fact, I accidentally ate a few frog legs the night before leaving Taipei thinking they were chicken wings (A local Taiwanese suggested them). They were quite delicious and now I'm re-thinking that part of French cuisine. Maybe they're onto something! The flight over to Hong Kong was quick and unsteady, with many ups and downs. The hour and forty-five minutes felt more like 5 hours. Perhaps this turbulence is from the rainy, monsoon season that is engulfing Asia. Fast, unpredictable winds, lots of rain-All a part of living in Asia! We heard last week about severe flooding in Northern Thailand that has claimed about 100 people. Flash floods tore through villages destroying everything in their path. And to think that we're heading to Bangkok next week. Flying into Hong Kong you're struck with the same feeling of bewilderment you have when you drive through Las Vegas. In Las Vegas it's hard to believe they were able to build so much in the middle of the desert, while in Hong Kong it's hard to imagine so many buildings, so tall, were built right at the foot of, and in, mountains (4 of the worlds 15 tallest buildings are here in Hong Kong). Hemmed in by all of the water and the mountains, it really is one of the most dense cities in the world. In fact, it's the 4th most densely populated in the world. On July 1st, 1997, Hong Kong was handed back over to the Chinese from the British, who held Hong Kong since 1840. On paper Hong Kong is pretty much its own autonomous nation, but is considered a special administrative region of China. It has one of the most liberal economies in the world, making it a center for finance and trade, which explains the massive amounts of wealth that comes from here. One of the most expensive cities to travel through in Asia, costs are right about at par with Australia. I'm really excited to explore more of what I saw today! Population: 7,000,000 Currency: Hong Kong Dollar Exchange rate as of today: U.S.$1.00=HK$7.75