Shrimp Shrimp and More Shrimp

Last night we met up with Kobbie: a friend of my grandfather's who he taught in the 70's.  She lives here in Bangkok.  She and her nephew picked us up form near our hostel and drove us to her house just to see it and then to a Thai/Vietnamese place for dinner.  We were definitely the only white people who had been to this restaurant in a long time as it was a fancy place far from the touristy area.  Kobbie's son and his wife met us for dinner as well.  They were all very nice and we had a great meal and conversation.  Mostly the meal was the center of our convo though as the food just kept coming out and a lot of it was stuff we had never seen before.  I wrote it all down in my journal which is stuffed away in my bags as we prepare for an overnight bus and ferry to the islands tonight but I'll try to remember everything.  We had:

• Spring rolls with fresh vegetables
• Tom Yam - red curry soup with shrimp and veggies
• River shrimp with some sauce and ground up sea shrimp
• Some kind of Fish that was filleted into a spiral with the bones sticking out: It looked awesome before we cut into it
• Roll your own spring rolls with fresh garlic and pork meatballs and peanut sauce
• Mussels in some BBQ-like sauce
• Noodle soup with beef
• There were at least 3 other dishes that I'm blanking on right now
• Dessert for me was coconut milk with tapioca and canteloupe

Everything was delicious and it was the first time since getting here that I was legitimately full and didn't feel like I could eat anymore. Everywhere else the portions are small and we sometimes order 2 meals, which often confuses the waitresses and never comes out like we intended.

Last night we napped from 11-1am and then got up to watch the Germany-Uruguay game.  We watched out front of a bar on a large projection screen with a bunch of Germans, who were all very happy with the result.  Somehow we stupidly thought the finals was tomorrow night instead of tonight and booked a bus to the islands for tonight, so I don't think we'll be able to watch the game :(  Can somebody please write me up a play by play and possible tape the game for me?  That would be much appreciated.  VIVA ESPANA!

Today, we woke up late and headed to the Grand Palace.  After many Thai men tried to scam us into thinking it was closed today and to instead let them show us around, we found it and met an Irish girl avoiding the same scams.  The palace was incredible.  It used to be the home of the king and was decorated as such.  Large golden spires on every building.  Shiny tiles all along the walls.  Tile floors.  Statues of dragons and giant guardians by the entrances to the temples.  The place must have cost a fortune to build and upkeep but it was stunning.  The main attraction was the temple of the emerald Buddha.  Inside this giant temple is a huge altar with crystal and gold, very ornately decorated, atop of which is a small (maybe 2 foot tall) emerald siting buddha statue.  It was a beautiful alter, but a disappointly small statue.

After sweating buckets walking around the courtyards we headed back towards the hostel, stopping for a phalang (sp? Thai version of gringo) sized portion of pad thai and some chicken squewers (sp?).  We just showered, repacked, started sweating again and are now wasting time until our bus leaves.

Can't wait for the islands, though this overnight bus situation will be interesting.