grand? you bet your ass.

so i went to the grand palace today. gad its amazing. and i saw the most revered buddhist shrine in asia. all gold and a little buddha (2 feet tall) of solid jade. and i saw the largest reclining buddha in the world, and i tell you wat (get it?) that sucker was big. huge in fact. but the jade buddha was discovered like 100 years ago, when the stucco it was smothered in was chipped away and someone noticed that there was something hugely valuable underneath. a massive treasure hunt ensued, but it was just the one found. i took a water taxi on the chao prayu river (sp?) which was clogged with tourists, most of the german and chinese persuasion, skuttled along and walked around the city shrine which is basically a massive and ornate homage to the current king. haha, white house. try GOLD COMPLEX. it is amazing how young america is.
a tuk-tuk driver tried to rip me off. he didn't succeed and when he realized he couldn't scam me he left me at the second of the three stops we agreed on. before i paid him. so in the end i made out with a nice trip across the city free of charge.
they say nothings free here: but i got out of the situation with my wallet, my dignity, and a FREE ride.
i'm dizzy thinking about my day. and getting amped up for the temple of dawn and the trimuvit wat tomorrow. i wish there were someone here with me to experience all of this but i feel that my life skills are in a rapid growth spurt, even though i'm constantly worried about getting robbed, beaten senseless, or just getting a sunburn!
so far i've avoided all three and that was my wish at the lucky buddha today, to continue the streak of good fortune that has led me here. i am so thankful for getting to see all of this. and do all of this. and learn all of this. thank you everybody who has helped me get this far. hopefully i can get postcards to all of you, although i doubt i would get much else done if i were to commit myself to thanking everybody who has made this possible.