Bangkok - Day 1

I got off at one station before the main one to avoid touts who would undoubtedly harass me. I got a taxi to my guesthouse, and arrived with no problem. Unfortunately my room was not yet ready when I arrived, so I could not take a sorely needed shower. I decided to walk to the Royal Palace, which is relatively close, while I waited for my room to be ready. While walking there, I walked past the infamous Kaosan road, which looked like a backpacker ghetto from all the signs (not a single one in Thai). Once I got to the palace, a man speaking English approached me to say the palace was closed and would only open at noon. I had been warned about these people (generally out to scam you), and politely told him I would go anyway. The palace opened at 8:30 after a ceremony by the guards next to the entrance. Upon entering the grounds, I was confronted with one of Thailand's irritations: being forced to wear pants at tourist sights. I had to wear incredibly baggy pants in order to be let in. I first went and saw an exhibition of the royal family's jewels, which was interesting. I mostly enjoyed it because it was air-conditioned. I then went into the Jade Buddha temple, which was already swarming with tourists. It was impressive, but a bit garish. The jade buddha was tiny. The rest of the palace was a disapointment though, as you could not go into any of the other buildings. I went back to the hotel, and was delighted to find my room was ready. I took a wonderful shower, and then took a boat down the river to Chinatown. I wanted to see if anyone spoke Chinese there and eat in one of the stalls for lunch. Bangkok's Chinatown is a warren of small streets and alleys, teeming with street stalls. I tried speaking Chinese to some of the vendors, but they did not understand me. I finally ate some berbecued pork soup for lunch, which was very Chinese. The stall's owners did not seem to speak Chinese though. I walked around for much of the afternoon, heading towards the commercial area. I took a subway/skytrain ride and went to Jim Thompson's house, who was a silk seller, and had a beautiful traditional Thai house built for himself. It was lovely inside, and decorated with lovely antiques. I went to the giant mall next door (actually three malls connected to one another), where I ate dinner at a food court. The food court was recommended in my guidebook, and the Tom Yum soup I had was delicious. As I left the mall, I was confronted by a phalanx of screaming girls surrounding a stage. I stayed for a few minutes to find out that a Korean boyband was having a free performance there. It was very strange. The girls were screaming and pointing. What purpose does screaming serve other that hurting people's ears?