20-21 january: bangkok, days 2 and 3

you can tell that we've been traveling for a while! our two free days in bangkok were spent doing whatever we wanted to do, versus what the guide books would have dictated. on wednesday, we had a leisurely start to our morning and didn't really head out for an activity until the early afternoon.

we hadn't yet indulged in thai massages so we decided to head over to a really nice (but surprisingly reasonable) spa we had passed while exploring the previous day. they were able to take us right away and we were on top of the world as we sipped tea, enjoyed the eucalyptus scents and had our initial foot baths. for anyone who hasn't gotten thai massages, it's usually described as a cross between yoga and a massage because the therapist is actually moving you and stretching you, as opposed to just massaging your muscles. we walked into a beautiful room with two little mattresses and put on our assigned karate uniforms, excited for a luxurios TWO hours ahead. we're laughing just writing this, because what actually transpired was the most torturous "massage" either of us have ever experienced!! ha. our therapists definitely knew what they were doing and had vice grips for hands, so every poke and prod was kind of excruciating. each of us silently suffered through, thinking we were just wimps until we looked at each other afterward and DIED laughing, admitting that it was absolute torture. maybe it was us, maybe it was them. either way, it's a funny story we won't soon forget. plus, andrew was told (in these exact words), "maybe you try oil massage (i.e. traditional massages we get in the u.s.). you back too strong. you no good thai massage." the compliments just keep on coming. kim is pissed.

that night we got dolled up and headed to a recommended spot -- vertigo, the rooftop bar at the banyan tree hotel. wow. we headed up the 61st floor and walked onto an absolutely gorgeous veranda overlooking all of bangkok's twinkling lights. it has an upscale vibe, a delightful breeze and the most perfect nighttime city view. we loved it. had some drinks and headed over to a different restaurant - baan khanita - that we really enjoyed. it was only later that we realized the mosquitos really enjoyed having us there as well. kim's feet had 25 bites between them (what is it with kim and the feet issues on this trip?)! oh well. small price to pay for a great night.

the next day was our last in bangkok and though the day's agenda wound up being anything but "native," it was a great day all around. did some separate exploring for the late morning, b/c kim saw some stores she wanted to head back to and andrew had an area of town he wanted to walk around. as andrew said, kim "be-bopped" around with her ipod to a street known for itsjewelry and housewares. if you recognize the housewares designer michael aram that kim is downright obsessed with, this must be where he actually gets his things made. she was successful in procuring some serving platters that match our other things at 1/3 what you would pay in the states (andrew could not have been happier at both the cost savings and the fact that he wasn't dragged along on this journey. he's less happy about having to carry around 10 pounds of hammered steel for the remainder of the trip). in a separate part of town, A walked around, took some pictures and enjoyed exploring some of bangkok's less-travelled alleys. highlight of his journey: seeing a thai-style venice beach outdoor weight room with monster truck tires for weights on a flat bench (seriously).

we then met up at the siam paragon, bangkok's huge movie theater on the top floor of their main shopping mall, for an afternoon showing of Avatar in 3-D. separate commentary on each: the movie theater itself is amazing, with graduating pricing for seating depending on the desirability of the location of the seats in the theater and their comfort level (this makes way too much sense for us to not have this in the states). even the lowest grade seats are huge, awesome recliners and we were almost tempted to just curl up and take a nap. there are at least 20 theaters, some for imax, some for 3-D, and the whole structure is super modern and clean. if there had been more movies in english, we probably would have spent the day. as for the movie itself, we LOVED it. just blown away.

we blogged about KFC but that evening might have been our "low" point (read: absolute high point in our opinion) -- we got foot-long turkey sandwiches from subway across the street, sat in our room with beers from 7-Eleven and watched re-runs of The Wire season 2 and a national geographic show on snake bites. sometimes you just need a night in...

next up: fly to koh samui