Little bits here and there

Well - I didn't get around posting anything yesterday, so today will be a double post. Not that we have much to write. :) Yesterday was a fun touristy kind of day. After breakfast and morning naps we headed out to lunch and to the Siam World Aquarium. It's located in one of the biggest malls in Bangkok (and one we visited again today but more about that later). We grabbed a quick bite from the food court and away we went to see the sharks and other little fishies. Now, for those of you who know me, you might know that I hate zoos. I really don't like going, although I will, and it's nothing moral or ethical....it's just I don't like zoos. On the other hand I LOVE aquariums. And this one did not disappoint. There were 2 or 3 floors to navigate through ramps and tunnels and tanks that went from one floor to the next. The glass was the cleanest I've ever seen at an aquarium and in some case you'd think you could walk right into the tanks. The shark tunnel was the best -where they swim over your head and all around you. Jesse really seemed to enjoy himself. He liked looking at the pretty fish and thought the crabs and the ugly fish (and boy were there a few ugly ones) weren't too much fun. One of the coolest things we saw was a Chevy sponsored "exhibit" where they made the car into a fish tank. It's not the best picture but it was so cool. It was a good time had by all.

Then back to the hotel to get ready for dinner. We ventured out to a tex-mex place around the corner. Not bad considering how hard it is to find good tex-mex in Illinois, I was impressed.

Today started out slow. We had our appointment at the Embassy at 9:30. There are warnings all over the paper not to be late or else you lose your time and that's the end of it....so we were early. They finally called us to the window around 10:15. Not horrible had we actually arrived on time but since we arrived around 9 it was quite the wait. We were surrounded by Thais trying to get their visas as well (I assume) and a large gaggle of students who we assumed would be off for their exchanges in the Fall. Well - the appointment was painless and we go back tomorrow at 3pm to pick up the actual visa. Then we are free and clear to come home! Yippy!

I've been on the hunt for the perfect souvenir (besides Jesse) to bring home with me. Something I'll have for-always and know it was from this special trip. Yeah, so I'm a little materialist, so what! :) Anyway....we headed to a close by department store to find the air conditioning and escalators not working. We made out lunch arrangements with Eric from Beloit and headed to that mall instead. Which brings me back to the Siam Paragon. The shiniest, most intimidating mall I've ever been to. I'm not talking talking out the Gap and Payless here people - these stores included Jimmy Choo, Burberry, Valentino, Armani, and so many others I hadn't even heard of. Needless to say we just walked around and looked. Although I did find a Jim Thompson store - a silk mogul from back in the day and bought myself a cute little purse. I did find a great pendant in the department store and am now shopping satisfied. :) But seeing all these designers stores and all this "wealth" made me take notice even more that just outside there probably some guy selling grilled chicken on a stick. The way the social classes interact and co-exists has been alarming to me. I don't know enough about the Thai culture to know if the classes really work well side by side or if there's no there way....it's just amazing to see it.