melting in bangkok

we have arrived at phase II of the trip, after what feels like a lifetime in vietnam. our last stop was amazing -- it was a three day/two night trip to ha long bay, which is easily the most magical place i have ever experienced. we went with the reputable - but pricey - kangaroo cafe in hanoi, and this proved to be a great decision since we had the added pleasure of being in a tour group of 16 with some of the coolest people around. it was a surprising mix of nationalities -- it was ruled by the english/irish, accounting for 9 of the 16 with 4 americans (including us), 2 israelis, and a dutch lass. it was kind of like being able to watch 48 hours of hilarious BBC comedy taking place right before our eyes, all the time. we spent one night on the boat, which was a first for me. i am pleased to report that i don't get seasick. the second night was spent on cat ba island, with plenty of exploration of caves and beaches and floating among the bay's limestone karsts (i don't really know what that word means, but that's what they are according to our friends at wikipedia) in between.

on day 2, we went to monkey island which - surprise! - is an island inhabited by wild monkeys. as soon as we got there, the two dudes running the show got the monkeys all riled up by throwing bananas all over the place. we stood around, took some pictures of them eating and pooing... what you would expect. brendan then suggested that i take a picture of him with the monkey. brilliant. i snap a couple of shots of him with his monkey friend, one where they are in opposite sides of the frame at a very safe distance, and one where the monkey has come into a little closer range to my better half. it's all well and good until i put my camera away and the monkey starts to approach brendan with an intent look in his beady little eyes. as brendan started to back away, the monkey realized there was only one alpha in this situation and called his little buddy over to get in on the action of terrorizing the unsuspecting american who dared to enter his personal space. there stands brendan, fear in his eyes - with me looking on in panic thinking of our ongoing conversations about what to do in the event of a bite from a rabid animal - while the first monkey lets out a nasty little hiss and his buddy starts lunging (do monkeys lunge?) at him. he has the (bright?) idea that maybe the monkeys just want the gigantic bottle of water he is holding in his hand, so he puts it down on the sand as a peace offering. this seemed to distract them somewhat, and as brendan moved into the the mass of the rest of our group, the monkeys seemed to lose interest. we all got off of monkey island without so much of a scratch. and once brendan had escaped the clutches of death-by-rabies, we even got to kayak around ha long bay for a bit and watch the sunset, which was stunning. i have never been so taken with a spot so overrun with tourists. it was absolutely brilliant, as one of our boatmates (and english version of chris farley) would say.

we are now in bangkok, where the heat is giving us a run for our money. it is unbelievably hot compared to vietnam, and even more unbelievably orderly compared to vietnam. i think we went in the right way with the order of countries visited. this place is a cinch compared to the cities we were in in vietnam. there we were almost taken out by a moped/car/bicyclist every other street and we had to give ourselves little motivational speeches each morning before heading out into the chaos. here there are actually sidewalks. that the pedestrians can use. where they are safe from motorized transit. it is bliss.

at the moment we have escaped the heat - after a 6km hike across town in its clutches - at the largest mall in all of asia. it's kind of a bizarre destination, but we had heard a lot about it from the folks on the boat with us and the idea of being entertained and air-conditioned simultaneously was just too appealing to resist. so we just ate at the classiest food court on earth and now we will hunt around for a new memory card for my camera, since we have officially outdone its 800-photo capacity. we are very happy to be in thailand, where the food holds huge promise - already, the food court kao soy and phad thai were far beyond anything i had in vietnam - and everyone is running around in yellow shirts to honor the king on his 80th birthday. we'll soak up all that is urban and gritty in bangkok and then head to the beach - which beach remains to be seen, since we intend to follow the good weather wherever it may be - before we head home in 10 days. i wonder how many panang curries that will allow.