Happy Halloween To You

Happy Halloween!
Yesterday was a mixed bag. First I went to the backpacker ghetto, Khao San Road, to check it out. Had a great Spinach and cheese omelet at a place recommended by Nancy Chandler’s guide (I strongly recommend the guide if you go to Bangkok), though the service was lackadaisical. Sidewalks were crammed with cheap T-shirts and other hippie garb, and this was the first place tuk tuk drivers offered ridiculously low prices to give a tour (which means they take you to overpriced places to shop). Had enough of this so I went to the opposite extreme–in the middle of Downpour #1– and took the ferry back to the sky train, en route seeing a 12 foot long bloated snake corpse in the water.
I then went to Siam Paragon mall–air con and some very swanky shops, including a car dealership (jaguar, of course), and Siam Sea World, the largest aquarium in SE Asia, which was pricey but cool. What I loved best was having lunch that featured specials by the renowned gourmet Thai cooking school, the Blue Elephant. Had the best vegetarian green curry ever! Paid about $9 total, which is more expensive by Thai standards but cheaper than eating at the Blue Elephant restaurant. I have long suspected that guidebook writers keep a few secrets to themselves and I happened on one–a gourmet foods marketplace at the bottom of the mall! Went to another popular mall, MBK, to check it out but all I saw was cheap junk. On the way back to the hotel, a thunderstorm hit, and despite my umbrella (which works better to keep you shaded from the sun, not rain), got pretty wet. I think my nice Sketchers were ruined in the process. At that point I called it a day and settled to watch the news.
Now I’m off to ship some stuff back, then onward to Kathmandu.
Aimee