Our hotel is on Khao San road, which is a backpacker's paradise. In our attempt to find the hotel at 4 am, we walked through the massive crowds of partygoers and witnessed a bit of the night life.
Today we decided to explore and see where the day would take us. We started with 7-11 to buy massive bottles of water because it is so hot and humid. A woman on the street started laughing when Cyle tried to fit his in his pocket, so we quickly befriended her. Her English turned out to be very good and she hooked us up with a very cheap tuk-tuk ride to a couple of Buddhas. First, we saw the Big Buddha and then went to the Lucky Buddha, who is supposed to bring us luck while traveling.
To celebrate the Fourth of July, we went to Jim Thompson's house. He was an American architect and entrepreneur who was stationed in Thailand in WWII and fell in love with its culture. After building a very ornate house here and making it big in the silk industry, he went vacationing in Malaysia, where he went for a walk in the jungle and never returned. His house is now a historical site with lots of intricate artwork and some very pretty gardens. 
Then we wandered around and found ourselves in the biggest mall we have ever seen. Each floor is designated for the types of shops on it, and the top floor has a movie theater and bowling alley. From there, we went to the Golden Mountain, which our friend from earlier had recommended going to for the sunset. She didn't tell us that it closed at 5:30 though, so our 6:00 arrival only allowed us to run up to the top to snap a couple of pictures before being hurried back down. 
From walking around on the streets, we have learned that smiles really do go a long way. Almost anyone you make eye contact with will smile back, and people are very quick to help and give directions. We have also learned that street food is very cheap and still very delicious. Our Pad Thai lunches today were a little more than $1 but tasted much better than anything you can find in East Lansing. And you add your own spice, which made Cyle and I very happy since we are babies when it comes to spicy food.
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