Third world stylee....finally in Thailand!

We are safe in Thailand and just in time for their new year here...they have a big celebration with everyone throwing water for like 3 days strait...This supposidly started as a cleansing ritual to clease the evil spirits from the last year and wash the budda images and figures in order to start the new year fresh! However, I think it has kind of turned into like most holidays in the States, the true meaning got lost somewhere in the propeganda.....Like the Easter bunny in the US, and how it used to be about a more religous meaning. The same here....the water is an excuse for everyone to just run about like crazy people soaking everyone and laughing in the streets, everyone has massive squirt guns and noone escapes! It kind of creeped me out a little knowing that the water is not safe here, but at the same time....how could you not smile when an entire city of 6 million people are having a water fight! The religous meaning of the cleansing is still found in the temples and the monks go through days of prayers, praying to budda for a safe and prosperous new year! Great how I didn't even plan to come knowing that it was new year here...but hey sometimes things work out...huh? There is a major language barrier here...last night we had a scary time with a taxi driver who didn't know the address that the hostel had written in Thai writing for us and was just going to leave us in this red light district where there was lots of hookers...I was like no...take us back to Siam a mall....thankGod he understood Siam and no....and said I sorry.... and brought us to the mall...we have had some luck and people help us when they could so all is not that hard to do.....just frustrating at times. But hey English is not the language they speak here and they don't expect people to speak Thai when they come to the US do they? The city itself is dirty and smelly-really smelly-....just walking down the steet...I smell a million differnt smells from urine to garbage to things I don't even want to know! But there are parts that are like Rodeo drive too....This city is very very big!!! We leave today by train for Chiang Mai. It is a sleeper train...but we look forward to the cooler weather and mouintain- jungle terrain. We have had an interesting time in Bangkok....but I am tired of the pollution and look forward to seeing more than just this city. It is really cheap here though....really cheap...we stay in a place that is not so clean but it is only 6 dollars a night, and the best part is that it is close to a good vegetarian restaurant and some other budda statues! Basically for the price it is really great! Two nights ago we went to see a movie at this really nice mall on the other side of the city and we were laughing so hard....it was the nicest movie theatre we had ever been to. The took us to this room to have a complimentary drink, hung will all these pink silk sheets and then a guy came and escorted us to our seats in the movie theatre where we each had our own remote button reclining leather easy chair to sit in. Then he proceeded to give us our own silk pillow and blanket...he brought our coffees and water in on a tray and cookies too. It was like a royal movie theater.... It cost only 12 dollars US per person....I can't imagine why the US doesn't have anything like this... We would never want to see a movie any other way. Lots of other intersting stories to tell but those I will save for another time, and yes I know you all want to see the pictures to go along with the stories...I am behind now...from Bali, Singapore, and now Thailand....I have free internet in Chiang Mai...so hopefully there will be time there! Love to all...and sadly is seems that noone is going to be meeting me in Phuket..... I do have news from the American Counselate in Australia though about my stolen car, but that we won't be able to find out till after Easter weekend! It turns out that they celebrate Easter in Australia and are closed till Tuesday! ;) Hope everyone has a great Easter and that the Easter bunny is good to you all!