[vladekad]

The people, I had always read Land of Smiles but I knew what the city was like and knew that there was no way in **** that people are like that in Bangkok as they push their way through traffic, coping with the tremendous heat, beathing the smog and smell of fish markets, dodging others on the sidewalks while they are late for work. I was so very wrong. It is the land of smiles!

Sure there was the traffic I expected, the smells and heat too. But nobody was rushing like they do at home. Nobody was impatient. In fact everyone was very laid back, and calm like it was a Sunday afternoon. Late to work or not everyone had time to stop and greet one another. The kindness in the city is what impressed me. We then headed for the country, even more kind, but I knew that and expected that so it was no big deal for me.

What surprised me more than anything else was the air-conditioned places were not much different than being in the shade. I thought for a moment that maybe in Thailand they put the air-conditioners in backwards when installing them. Seems they just don't keep up enough with the humidity. That surprised me considering how much they have from Japan, I really expected more from the climate control options. It is particularly tough for me because unlike Vision being from the hot state of Florida I am from Ohio in the far North. We get more a meter of snow each winter here and the temperatures average -20C during the summer the average is about 30C. Thailand took several days to get to the point I could even survive and walk around comfortably. The first day just lying down with a fan and air conditioning on.