thailand...again

this is my third time in thailand...the first time was 5 yrs ago exactly, the second a year and a half ago...the first time i was by myself, and that 7 week trip in southeast asia trip was my first extended trip...the second time was with my rugby team...i wasn't in control of that trip, so it doesn't relate to anything i did before, or am doing now...
when we arrived in bangkok, i was surprised by how much it had changed in five years...(during the trip with the rugby team we didn't stay in the backpacker area, i didn't see it at all)...prices have doubled, and it's become a lot more western...and i think it's more crowded with travelers...though i don't really know...my first time in bangkok i remember being rather overwhelmed, and now i realize i hardly saw anything...i was so worried i'd get lost, or get sick...this time around we just walked around the first day, without any real direction, and no need to see anything...this is layna's first time in thailand, and one of the things we have done regularly when we arrive in a new city/town is to just walk...get the feel of things...at one point we stepped into a kfc in order to use the loo, (yes, it's western, but we knew it would have a loo) and i ended up talking to another foreigner while waiting...i was really excited that i figured out he was canadian without asking him first...he seemed surprised that i knew, but the "eh" was a dead giveaway...only canadians say it that way...hee hee...and he thought i was aussie...i have no idea why...i know i say some words aussies and kiwis use, but i certainly don't say them the same way!!
bangkok is the initial entry point into southeast asia for nearly everyone...so it's super easy to get started...thai food is found everywhere, but so is western food...(which i think is sad)...mcd's, starbucks, kfc and bk have all shown up in the last five years...there are travel shops all over the place, as well as stalls selling everything from batteries to clothes to every knick knack you do not need...according to the guidebook, thais call bangkok krung thep, which means city of angels...apparently, that's a shortened version of the full, official name...i don't feel like copying the full name, it's ridiculously LONG...
our second day we started by seeing wat phra keow (sp?)...better known to most as the temple of the emerald buddha...it's not actually emerald at all, it's jade...it's not all that big either...it sits pretty high up though, and each season gets new clothes from the king himself...most people seem to pay no attention to the "silence please" sign, i wish they would...this temple is probably one of the most well known sights in thailand/bangkok, everyone goes there...i've gotta admit though, it is pretty fantastic...(though the entrance price was half our daily budget!!!)...the temples are wonderfully coloured, and there are quite a few...our second temple was across the street, wat pho i think?...it's not nearly as crowded, layna and i both liked it better...that's where we got to see the largest reclining buddha in thailand...46m long, and 15m high...it's HUGE...there were a number of temples in this complex, we enjoyed wandering around...it's bigger than wat phra keow...this complex also has quite a number of buddhas, over 100 i think...our third and final full day in bangkok we went to a huge market, the weekend market...the guidebook makes it sound great, but we were rather disappointed...it's true, you can find just about anything there, but it's totally touristy...locals don't go there to find anything...we weren't in the mood to shop, but we loved the food stalls...hee hee...i'd never before seen yellow watermelon...
after bangkok we went down south, to one of the beaches...we opted for the phuket area, choosing kata/karon beach...it's not very party oriented, and is rather similar to the beach we stayed at in goa, india...again, there were upper class european tourists...before boxing day, 2004, kata/karon had more backpackers, more young people...they haven't really come back since the disaster...at least, not that i could see...nearly all the menus in town have a combination of swedish/german/russian options...it's amazing to see how DARK some people get...i know i like sun too much for my own good, but i look like a ghost compared to some of the people we saw!!! if you look the colour of an overcooked sausage, the last thing you need to be doing is laying out on a thai beach!!! yes, i laid out, yes i wore suncream, and yes i covered my face...there isn't much to write about the time we spend on beaches...i could do it for ages and ages, i never seem to get bored...but we moved on after just three full days...(one of which it rained, i only got two days of sunning myself!!)