NAVIGATING THE YELLOW BRICK ROAD

Yes. Last night was nice malls and huge, plush movie theaters... today the gritty reality of tourist-driven Bangkok. Despite getting advice from my many friends who have visited Bangkok and despite having the Lonely Planet's Thailand guide at our disposal... we totally got taken for a ride today. We realized we had been paying way too much for our taxi rides. Live and learn, I guess. But we almost missed the Grand Palace and the Reclining Buddha. You see as you walk around the great, white walls of the palace... these Thai men who look "official" totally scam you. They say "there is prayer today or there is a Thai religious holiday and you can't go inside"... and we believed him. Because it seemed totally believable and we were HOT... so hot and tired. My defenses were down and we got taken for a ride. So we took this taxi to the water front where we almost paid $20 for a boat ride. Scam. Total scam. After being frustrated with ourselves... my pride suffered the most... we regrouped. Found the proper boat (under $1) we got to the wats we wanted to see and found the Grand Palace. It was quite an adventure. It makes me distrust all of the people I meet in the touristy parts of the city. So many taxi's will say "I will take you to shopping" - which is another scam. They will take you to a place that supposedly sells jewelry cheap... or some such non-sense... and they get kick backs. Where is our Thai Kate Pieper when we need her? Well... Chiang Mai is next. It should be lush and beautiful... and a lot less touristy. Then it is on to the refugee camps and to play with the kids in the orphanage. THAT will be fun.