My first impression of Bangkok is that it is clean and modern and quiet – no smoke in the air, no honking of horns – in contrast to Delhi, though Bangkok is of course smaller.  Its population is only 12 million compared to Delhi’s 30 million so one would quite naturally expect less congestion. I was surprised to see, at 1:00 am, many small stores and food stands still doing a good business.  I am so rarely up at 1:00 am that I just may not have noticed the same activity in Vancouver, though I have my doubts!

The Bangkok Airport seemed endless.  Outside our gate, a sign pointed us in the direction of Baggage and Immigration 550 metres away.  If I had a flight to catch to another Thai destination I would have had to walk over a kilometre to reach the proper gate.  It’s a lovely airport, though, only five years old according to Mon, the driver who delivered me to my hotel, with interesting murals depicting, presumably, Thai life in some ceremonial or historical context to look at on the way.

Mon told me that Siam, Thailand’s previous name, means “smile” and that Thai means “free” so this is a land where people have many freedoms and smile a lot.  The reason they smile is that they follow the five mores which keep them happy – I believe he said mores, though with his somewhat fractured English and my jet lag he could have used another word.  One: no killing.  If a mosquito is biting you and you slap it on impulse, that’s acceptable, but if you purposely slap the mosquito very hard, that breaks the rules.  Two: no stealing.  Three: no lying.  Four: no sex out of marriage (I think that’s what Mon meant; I didn’t want to press him on this one).  Five: no alcohol.  That said, Mon admitted, there are many many bars and discos that cater to Thai men.  Shopping apparently caters to Thai women.

Mon offered that he used to be a tour guide and would be available to show me Bangkok but was understanding when I told him that I am on an organized tour already.

Upon arriving at my hotel, I was not allowed to enter for several minutes as the staff had just fogged the lobby for mosquitoes.  “Fogging” is what we called it in Winnipeg when trucks puffed out clouds of DDT on residential streets in the middle of summer nights to combat the mosquito population.  While waiting Mon directed me to a good source of Thai food for tomorrow.  Once in my room, I noticed the snack menu that itself sounds like a pretty good start on Thai food!

It is morning now, and Bangkok still looks like a modern city. An eight-lane freeway with a parallel two-lane road lies below my 24^th floor window.  Inside the hotel, there are signs that efforts to modernize may not be complete.  Hot water is hit and miss, more miss than hit I’m afraid, but fortunately most of my shower warmed up to cool.  The internet access is spotty depending on whether the server feels like serving.  These things happen at home, of course, but perhaps not quite so often in tandem.

Time to explore!