Postcards from Thailand

 

Bangkok as a study in contrasts: 60th-storey rooftop bar in glittering hotel overlooking dwarfing skyline vs. chaotic, endless market that dwarfs you on the ground; fruit that is "hot" vs. fruit that is "cooling"; serious spirituality and serious consumerism; 2-storey, 19th-c. houses in the foreground (at the city's primary intersection), brand-new mall in the background, with sublime concrete infrastructures criss-crossing overhead; food in bags on the streets next to piles of trash on the streets (and rats), perfumed, air-conditioned hotel air vs. humidity and food smells... And every meal is a like a game of Russian roulette with food poisoning as the bullet.