I began to venture further from Casa Norm and Karen. I could now use the canal boats and the Skytrain, but more importantly, I knew how to get back to the house after a day of wandering.
The mass transit doesn't enter the old part of Bangkok, so I reluctantly had to rely on motorcycle taxis once the canal boats finished.

A couple of afternoons were spent simply wandering through Bangkok. Every bit of public space is used by someone hawking something... under stairways, widened sidewalks, and parks. Despite the apparent chaos, there is a scrap of organization to the storefront commerce. Norm had mentioned "wood street" when he was looking for some furniture, and I didn't know quite what he meant. It turns out that for any given type of good, an entire block or several will be devoted to little garage-like shops devoted to said good. I found myself in the steel pipe block at one point, the plastic-sheeted Buddha district another, and spent ages trying to get out of the automotive part area, which seemed to go on forever. Throughout, there are little stands selling drinks and fried food, so despite being lost, I never went hungry. I'm still feeling healthy too, so I have a little faith in the food, although rarely know what it is. Just doublecheck the shrimp factor.

Another trek had me climbing the steps up to Phuklao Thang, or the Golden Mount (pictured). The temple is built on a hill (can't recall if the hill was built as well, labour is pretty cheap, especially if you are a king), and thus offers great views of Bangkok from the top. Well it would, if the air weren't thick with smog and humidity. The complex has many Buddha statues, as well as access to the roof, where is found a huge golden chedi, a bell-shaped structure which contains religious relics.

My curious was being stimulated once again, and I was regaining my taste for travel. I still didn't know where to go, but various sources were pointing me to the city of Chiang Mai in the northwestern part of Thailand. I'd heard about it throughout my Oz travels, and seemed to have lots of options without as much of the intensity of Bangkok. I booked my ticket on Khao San Rd, due to leave in two days from that point.