Thunder and Lightning

After 15 nights on Koh Phangan (also referred to as paradise), we have made our way to Bangkok and the beginnings of the rainy season. Despite having to plan our days (as well as minutes) around the rain, the storms are quite amazing. While walking to the steps of Bangkok's sky train, a bolt of lightning hit the roof of those steps, which was followed by smoke and a 3 second blackout in the surrounding area. It was quite the "excuse me while I change my pants" incident. And we are currently couch surfing just outside Bangkok - the time we spend here is spent with flashes of light quickly (as well as oftentimes immediately) followed by deafening cracks of thunder. Shiori finds herself jumping fr0m time to time, but I have enjoyed the electric show.

Otherwise, things are grand. Bangkok is the same as I remember - busy. We have made our way up and down the river to several temples and districts, but we are ready to move on. Unless you enjoy the hustle and bustle of large southeast Asian countries, I would not recommend staying in Bangkok for more than three days. Of course, we have a place to stay a bit outside of the city, so we will have been here for a week when we leave on Monday.

As for this upcoming Monday, we will be catching a train to the Cambodian border en route to the ruins of Angkor Wat. Until then, we will be hanging out, watching some movies, hitting up the markets for fresh food and who knows what else, playing some video games with our host's children, and avoiding the thunder and lightning as much as possible.