Last night Erynn and I decided to find some real Thai food. I’ve promised a cousin that I would find some good Pad Thai before I left – though I just couldn’t bring myself to promise sampling the fresh pineapple juice that they serve from street-side carts in plastic bags.

Our hotel recommended a Thai restaurant with live traditional music and dance. Off we went by taxi. The meal was great! We ordered Pad Thai and Tom Yum soup that had a crazy spicy kick, but was very yummy.

The traditional music was everything you’d expect – discordant and sharp yet rhythmic. What I can’t quite understand is how such discordant music inspires such fluid and beautiful dance. The movements are precise and elegant. One of the best dancers was one of the young waitresses who was standing behind the tables practicing her hand movements while the dancers performed. You could tell her heart was on the stage!

From there we were planning on meeting up with Tony, a colleague from another agency. We had agreed to meet at the Night Market. We asked the maitre d’ how to get to the market – he assured us it was within walking distance, and sure enough – withing 10-15 minutes we had found the market.

In the meantime Tony had found a place to eat so we decided to find him. We wandered through the Night Market – there were rows and rows of tables where people were selling everything from t-shirts to knockoff Tiffany jewelry…with the box! (So be a little suspicious if I give you any Tiffany jewelry in the next couple of months!)

We wandered through the market looking for the stage and music Tony had described and soon found ourselves in a not so deserted alley. Clubs ran down either side and guys with “menus” approached and invited us to their clubs…ya, we’d wandered into what could politely be called the red-light district.

We stopped the first guy who spoke passable English and asked him where the big stage with live music was…he told us it was the Pink Panther bar. So we dutifully followed his directions down another side alley – only to find the Pink Panther…not where we wanted to be!

I walked grim-faced and managed to stave off most of the crazy offers coming from all sides in varying versions of English. We managed to find our way back out to the main street. From there we caught a tuk-tuk (think tri-motorcycle with a little bench on the back). They charged us some outrageous sum, and basically took us a couple of blocks away.

Turns out the Night Bazzar is a much higher-end version of the Night Market. The only thing they’re hawking are the wares they are selling. It was so hot and sticky I just wasn’t in the buying mood.

The crazy thing about the weather here is that it just doesn’t let up. It is hot and sticky 24-7. Even the animals are lethargic. On our walk to the Market we passed a dog crashed out on a marble coffee table outside. Just looking to draw a little cool out of the stone! Believe me, I understood!