Bangkok, Day 2

What happened today was totally crazy. I told 4 cab drivers they were full of crap, saw 3 large sights in the town center, and watched a runaway lizard get hit by 2 mopeds. As we were finishing up for the day and trying to get a cab back to the hostel, I saw a lizard running from the town park. This was no ordinary lizard. At first I thought it was a little crocodile, but could make out its head and saw that it was some type of iguana. No, just a lizard. I looked over at a military group of men and we laughed and exchanged facial expressions. But then, it ran into the street in front of the Grand Palace. This is where 6 lanes of traffic cross and the lizard was in the middle of it. I stopped to watch and wondered if I should go Steve Irwin style on it and grab it by the tail and bring it to safety. This joker was probably 4-5 feet long and ran like the Gila monsters you see in the Galapagos. I started to run out into traffic but Katherine said it might bite me and to leave it alone. So instead, I took out the camera and watched this beast play a game of frogger in which it lost. Two mopeds ran it over and it still was going. One moped driver even let out a huge scream as she broke the reptile's back. The next one just cruised over like nothing was happening. At this time all traffic had stopped and the lizard hid under a bus. A man came out with an umbrella and the creature still had enough life in it to jump up at him hissing and snapping. The other side of the street had people with cameras and I could have kept this whole thing from happening if I had somehow got him back on the sidewalk. We had to get going to get back to the hostel after many hours of museum touring and sightseeing. Poor little guy. With all the canals, I wonder if he was living in there, or was maybe someone's pet. I am sure though, someone will be eating lizard road kill this evening. Nothing goes to waste around here.

Before all that, the day began with a long taxi ride to the Grand Palace. We toured the grounds with a very comical guide. His name was Jeffrey and he spoke with a hefty Thai accent. We stayed close to him to hear the best that we could. Most of the tourists were from China and Japan making my ability to "blend in" a lost cause. After that, we visited the Textile Musum. Many of the royal dresses were on display, as well as a history of the current queen's actions to keep traditional silk weaving alive. She would travel around the country looking for great silk and practices. She wanted the best for her people and would monitor the living conditions to see where she could help. The silk trade is still alive and people are being treated fairly thanks to her hard work.

We were tired after those two stops but that did not stop us. Next, we went to the National Thai Museum. It is just a few blocks away and it was fun walking the busy street with vendors on either side. Sometimes you can only pass through the people in a straight line. The products, food, and people get really crammed. You just have to watch your pockets and stay smart. The museum was totally overwhelming and wore us out. I felt satisfied that we traveled through most of it seeing what we could. My favorite exhibit was the Thai musical instruments. It is one of the better displays I have seen. Too bad we couldn't bang on some of those huge drums and xylophone-like instruments.

The paragraph about the lizard is where the day ended. We got back to the hostel area after a long taxi ride in the traffic. Looking out the window was entertaining though. Plenty to see. Now it's time to get some laundry done and get ready for the train ride to Chiang Mai tomorrow. Bangkok has been a blast!

Oh yeah, before I forget. On the way back to the hostel, we saw a crowd of people gathering in front of the MBK mall. They had set up a boxing ring and were having a fight. Muay Thai boxing right in front of our place! How cool is that? We watched a few rounds and couldn't believe that there was live traditional music being played during the match.