I will take you down to Chinatown, Focker!

Most everything sold in Bangkok that is not edible first starts off in the wholesale alleys of Chinatown. There are lots of Chinese people there, mostly long-settled immigrants. These folks however do not speak Chinese for the most part. Weaving through alleys, pushing along with the throng, Bangkok's Chinatown is an experience you have to have at least once. And if you actually have to buy something (as did Megan), you can make some nice scores. She went on a bead buying rampage. I think she's got enough to make a few hundred pair of earrings.

We stopped to try some Bird's Nest Soup. Yeah, it's bird throw-up. It didn't do anything for me, though. The oyster omlette, however, was great!

Moving though Chinatown there are all kinds of machine shops, small manufacturing nooks, parts-recyclers, and even a few near-empty gleaming stalls with a nice car parked outside and the owner inside being busy doing what looks like to be exactly nothing. Here are some more pictures!

Bird's Nest Soup -- add an almost-raw egg, a gingko nut, and some honey.


Yes, they do make scooters for bad-asses.


A quiet Chinatown alley.


Ice cream, or something like it, always draws a crowd.


Chinatown alley...tight! And yes, people drive scooters down those narrow aisles.