Cambodia to Bangkok - a time warp

Hi all, we have left our little slice of paradise in Siem Reap for Bangkok. We took a tuk tuk to the airport and boy were we loaded. The day before we had a tuk tuk driver that took the wrong road to our hotel, which is out of town, and we had to disembark twice to get the tuk tuk through the deep sand. Kate of course got to stay in the vehicle. Little princess. :)

We decided to save time and took a Bangkok Airlines flight to Bangkok - no more buses is our new motto. The flight was quick and Kate loves Airline food. Mira not so much. Our hotel was a bit of screw up but in the end we decided to stay here because it is always more trouble to find a new place. We are having a decidedly different stay in Bangkok this time. Last time, we stayed in the heart of the old city. The area is full of backpackers, pagodas and temples. This time we are staying out by the embassies and on the skytrain line. It is more western. We hit two of the biggest malls I have ever seen - prices were very western too. ugh. Our first stop was at the largest aquarium in Asia. The kids loved the fish and the 3d movie.

Kate posing with a sting ray.

Mira with some penguins.

Look out shark?!

The strangest thing about yesterday was the Christmas in the mall. Yes, I know all malls everywhere are pumping out the tunes for Christmas but here it seems particularly weird. Here you can see people praying in front of the malls at small shrines with incense in the air and then hear music and see huge Christmas trees in an almost exclusively Buddhist country..... strange indeed.

Merry Christmas? Not yet, sharon