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This is a good time for me to address something that hasn't come up in the previous days' journals: Bangkok traffic.  In the United States, lines are painted on roads and freeways in order to designate lanes.  When a car wishes to shift from one lane to another, it (sometimes) uses its turn signal to signify this intention.

In Thailand, lines are seemingly painted on roads for the express purpose of painting lines on roads.  Drivers pay absolutely zero attention to lanes; seeing someone use their turn signal is nothing short of miraculous, and it is normal for drivers to "create" lanes (often using the shoulder of the road) in order to get to where they want to go.  Cars that do not break the speed limit run the risk of getting run off the road.  Avi would typically drive around 100 mph through residential areas; this is normal.  When making blind turns or driving at night, horns and high beams are used liberally to alert pedestrians and other cars that, if they do not get out of your way, you will hit them.

How does law enforcement factor into all this?  If a cop ever pulls you over, you will surprise him if you don't attempt to bribe him.  Bribery runs rampant in Thailand; you can drive without a license or any regard for the rules and you won't be held accountable for it.  Insurance works a little differently in Thailand from how it does in the States — namely, if you get into an accident, the insurance company will cover you, and your premium is unlikely to rise.

Finally, pedestrians are pedestrians at their own risk.  If the previous paragraphs didn't make it evident already, a driver will never be considered at fault if s/he hits a pedestrian on the road.  It is the pedestrian's responsibility to stay safe.  For this reason, numerous overpasses line Thai city roads, thus obviating the need to use crosswalks.  

If you'd like, go back and re-read my previous entries.  Try to tabulate the amount of time I was in a car during the trip.  Now incorporate the above paragraphs into your calculations.  This exercise might give you a better understanding of why, at various points multiple times a day, I was fearing for my life out there in the passenger seat.  It also might tell you why Avi doesn't dare drive out in L.A., as well as why it makes sense to hire a personal driver or two to shuttle you around.

So Avi's driver braved Bangkok's brutal midday traffic to drive me from Sukhumvit, out on the east side of Bangkok, right into the middle of town.  This journey took over an hour, giving me a short 50 or so minutes to check out the Grand Palace.  Here it is:

Thursday evening, Avi and I decided to head over to Bangkok's famous Night Market for some shopping.  We got in the car and turned onto Sukhumvit Road.  Shortly after we turned, we stopped behind this taxi:

For the next 35 minutes, we did not move so much as a millimeter.  It was, by far, the worst case of gridlock I'd ever witnessed — worse than anything I've seen in L.A., which is saying a lot and takes even more.  Avi said that on days when the traffic is this bad, it's not uncommon for Thai drivers to park their cars in the middle of the road, get out, grab dinner, and return to find their car — and the surrounding traffic — exactly as they left it.  We took a hint; once traffic finally started creeping forward, we took the first available left turn and had dinner and sake over at Tokujo, a local Japanese restaurant.

We reached Suan-Lum Night Market at about 9:15 PM, nearly three hours after we'd departed the apartment.  

The Night Market was great.  It has hundreds of shops lined up along open-air walkways, and I was able to pick up some great gifts and souvenirs for the peeps back home.  It provided a relaxing end to a prodigious trip.

On 6 January 2005, it was 90°F during the day and 70°F at night.


Maps of Bangkok
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More random road facts:  
Every gas station in Thailand is full service; nobody pumps their own gas.  Not only that, but attendants will typically give you two free bottles of water (or some other random goodie) just for getting gas, even if you don't fill up your whole tank.

Cars drive on the left side of the road, not the right (if you've been paying close attention to the pictures, you will have already noticed this).

In Thailand, it is legal to tint all car windows except for the windshield.  It is also legal to have halogen lamps, flashing license plate frames, and other decorative enhancements.