Late arrival in Bangkok

We went to Pudong international airport for our flight from Shanghai to Bangkok, but not before jumping on the maglev (magnetic rail train) that traveled at 300 kph! It actually operates at 431 kph, too, but unfortunately we caught it during an off-peak time.

Holy cow I'm totally going so fast!

Bangkok greeted us with pushy information desk helpers trying to sell us an expensive taxi ride into the city, but fortunately we had read up a little bit and found the taxi desk outside that worked with pre-negotiated prices.

Folded elephants greeted us at our hotel.

We briefly met our tour guide then went out to Khao San road for dinner, a super-touristy strip with more white people than Thai. The pad thai was amazing, but not so cheap as China. Readjusting to a new currency took some getting used to, so I avoided haggling for souvenirs just yet.

Next door, they sold fake IDs and diplomas.

Sampling the local beer. Not bad, but very cheap.

My favorite ice cream place in Thailand--Swanson's! (Okay so it's American, but at Thai prices)