The other day I caught a motorcycle taxi over to the warehouse to crate my motorcycle.  Motorcycle taxis are riders on a moped or small motorcycle.  They are very popular in Bangkok because they can split lanes and weave between the incredible congestion.  My taxi ride started through the back streets and alleys to avoid the stopped traffic on the main road.  Eventually we were dumped out onto the main road where the traffic was not moving.  But this didn't faze my driver.  We rode up onto the sidewalk and proceeded several blocks, weaving between pedestrians and food stalls, before jumping back onto the main road where we weaved through the traffic, cut across the median, and continued on to the warehouse.  The ride took about 10 minutes and cost $1.25.  It would have been a much longer and more expensive taxi car ride!

 To my dismay, no one seemed to mind that there was a motorcycle riding on the sidewalk!  There were no nasty looks, obscene gestures, or shouts.  People accepted it as just one of the necessities of Bangkok, and they went about their business.  This episode reminded me why I find Bangkok pleasant and even refreshing - the people are very tolerant and genuinely friendly.

 Yesterday I took the sky train and then the river taxi into downtown to do some sightseeing.  It was very convenient to hop on the train near my hotel and ride it some miles to the river, then hop on the boat to go upstream to the city center.  Lots of cities have sky trains or subways, but the river taxi is somewhat unique.  On the river I got to see life along the vibrant waterway, as well as avoiding the congestion and smog of the streets.  What a nice change, and another pleasant aspect of Bangkok.

 In the city center I visited the Grand Palace with the Emerald Buddha and several other Buddhist wats.  Another fascinating aspect of Thai life is the integration of Buddhism into daily life.  There are countless ornate wats all over Bangkok (and all over SE Asia).  Anyone is free to visit the wats as long as they remove their shoes and show respect.  It's fascinating to enter the temples and admire the murals and gold statues, to smell the incense, and see everyone from the homeless to the rich praying to Buddha.  Buddhism is very non-judgemental and certainly its influence contributes to the tolerance throughout the region.

 Now do you understand why I've fallen for this city?  Maybe not, but this is Bangkok after all, and not everything here has to make sense!

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