An overcast afternoon in Khrungthep with a threat of rain that has hung over us for about six hours.  It continues to feel like the rain could begin falling at any moment and the denizens of this crowded metropolis reach nervously for the reassuring feel of their umbrella handles at the slightest hint of precipitation.

Today – yes, a Saturday – Tawn had to conduct two seperate interviews with opinion makers in the Thai-Chinese diaspora.  The first was with a lawyer and Thai Senator who plays a significant role in the ethnic Hokkien community (a specific Chinese immigrant group) and the second was with a specialist in Chinese language and culture who is also the president of the Rainbow Sky Association – very similar to the Asian Pacific Islander Wellness Center, where Tawn volunteered while in San Francisco.  The second interviewee is also a very outspoken and visible member of Khrungthep’s gay community.

Coincidently, tomorrow marks the start of Khrungthep’s annual GLBT Pride Week.  There is a festival in Lumpini Park – the Central Park of Bangkok – that lasts most of the day.  Then there are different events each day of the week, culminating in a parade along Thanon Silon (Silom Road) next Sunday.  We’ll try to stop by and see what there is to see.

The remainder of the afternoon has been spent in Tawn’s office, where I’m using the computer to… well, to update this blog, among other things.  We’ll run some errands this evening and we are still trying to find a laundromat to us as our washer has not been hooked up yet.

Update: My trip report for my JFK-BKK flight has been posted at airliners.net.  Read all about this 17+ hour journey over the North Pole on the brand-new THAI Airways International Airbus A340-500 airplane.

Roast chicken dinner.  Duck with noodles.  Ramen Cup-O-Noodles.  Finger sandwiches.  Read all about the culinary delights – plus the added adventure of my attempts to minimize traffic as people used the space in front of my seat to cross from one aisle to the other.  Fun!  Excitement!  Inspiration!