For those keeping score, I left Cambodia and returned to Bangkok for a night before flying down to Malaysia. Before returning to Seattle, I will go back to Bangkok for one more night.
I will get around to posting on Cambodia, but probably not until I return to Seattle. Cambodia was an amazing experience. I want to spend some time on those posts and photos.
When I returned to Bangkok, I thought I was over the city. I liked it more than I thought I would, but 5 nights is a lot of Bangkok to experience. So I picked a neighborhood that was closer to the airport. My plan to was to kill a day before heading to Kuala Lumpur. That was the plan. Turns out I discovered a gem of a neighborhood.
The Ramkhamhaeng Road area is wonderful. All the great food and walking of downtown Bangkok with very little pollution and not a single tuk tuk driver (annoying open air cabbies). No one tried to sell me a suit or fake watch or crappy T-shirt. I was just a face in the crowd. I love this area.
Who needs temples and nightclubs? I just need great food, clean air and good people. I met a coffee shop owner and we talked using limited English about coffee culture.
One place I went the lady was excited to meet me. There are no tourists in this part of Bangkok. She was excited to learn that I had visited the Phi Phi Islands, where she grew up. Another open cart restaurant gave me a second plate of food for free. The shop owner refused my money, smiled and waved. And not a word of English was spoken.