Bangkok, Can ya get any smellier?

I made it into Bangkok in the middle of the night 2 nights ago. In most towns 2am aint the time for the city to be hoping... well unless you are in an area with bars or clubs (not including California). Well not Bangkok! In Bangkok at 2am you can still by veggies at the market, clothes from the street vendors, and other stores. The city does not stop! I would go so far to say it in a 24 hour shuk. It is dirty like a shuk, smelly like a shuk, and crazy busy like a shuk. Oh the smells! It is also one of the most pungent cities I have ever been to. If you are not smelling the vendors on the street every 10 feet, then it is the exhaust from the cars, or maybe the incense, or the people (it is hot and humid like Florida in August and people need to be taught to use D.O. for the B.O.). But all in all it has been quite a good experience. So far I have managed:

• to get scammed
• navigate my way to the train station and NOT get scammed
• take a water taxi - and not have a fungus infection from splashing water
• take a tuk tuk ride and survive
• take a water taxi - and not get a fungus infection from splashing water river water
• have a thai massage in a Buddhist temple (Wat Po if you are interested)
• Not drink coffee for the past 2 days! I might have to give in soon to the coffee and hit up the Starbucks on Khao San Road before I leave.
• Find the free Internet place at the Israeli travellers center - they try to 'hide' it by writing "Free Internet" in hebrew. I am letting the secret out!!

Bangkok is also full of professional scam artists, and I am sorry to say that I fell for it yesterday! People manage to stop you in the street and offer assistance to help you where you are going. I was trying to make my way to the grand palace and obviously looked a bit confused as I was lost. I nice man approached me and said he was on his honeymoon from Chaing Mai and wanted to help. Coincidentally, ALL the public places in the area (temples and museums) were closed. Well good thing I met him because he knew where places were open! He showed me on the map and said I should take a tuktuk and he would organize a good deal for 3 hours (50 baht = $1.50). Well stupid me I believed him. I went to some temples that I would have never gone to afterwards, but then i was taken to the silk factories and the TAT (Travel Auth. of Thailand - BIG RIP OFF). Good thing they did not know who they were dealing with and I was not about to buy anything. In the end he wanted to take me to the best gem dealers.. and then it dawned on me. I told him to let me off at a nearby temple and said asta lavista.

Well, lesson learned! New method for dealing with the constant hawking by scam artists and tuk tuk riders. Conversations goes as follows:

Tuktuk driver: "where are you from"

me: "Turkey and Gravy"

Tuktuk driver: "Ahh very nice, very nice"

me: "Yep, especially with cranberry sauce"

Tuktuk driver: "where you going today"

me: "Well, to be honest with you sir the cumulus clouds indicate that the weather is not favorable. Thank you. Bye bye."

Tuktuk driver: "Ahhh....ok"

$1.50 is a lot to lose in Thailand, but not in the scheme of things.
Tomorrow - night train ride to Chang Mai.

BTW - total let down with TP in thailand. And the fact that you can not flush it does not help the smelly situation one bit!