One night in Bangkok....

Well, no chess tournament going on here, but BKK is a crazy city none the same...

I'm here for one brief night, en route from China to India. Crazy that it would be such a short trip to cut across northern Burma, but I must go the long way around instead, which stretches into a four day journey. In the morning I will fly to Calcutta, but just miss the once daily flight to Aizawl, so will spend the night there. Will give me a chance to check out the city, htough, and I have not been there before. Always glad to have the opportunity to explore someplace new.

Bangkok is still a new place to me, really. It was quite a shock to arrive here today after having been living very simply in rural China for the past two and a half weeks. We walked into a mall by our hotel that would be considered snazzy for the US. Crazy. Still, I managed to find a small tucked away noodle shop to eat dinner at, thereby avoiding both tourists, and inflated BKK prices. I am enjoying the high speed internet though...

Its also weird to feel a sense of 'homecoming' and familiarity at returning to Thailand, yet I am in a city I don't know, and I don't speak the language! Very weird sensation. I am looking forward to my (eventual) return to Mae Sot, to dazzle with the Burmese I have been practicing! (well, mildly impress).

I do want to find a time to spend a few days in Bangkok, though, and see some of the city, get to know it a bit. After all, Thailand will be my home for a while-