After a relatively painless flight compliments of Cathay Pacific, and an excellent bowl of congee in Hong Kong, I arrived in Bangkok (BKK) on Sunday night local time. I had enough time to buy a new cell phone, eat a fabulous, spicy, $3 stirfry and crash. The next morning started at 6:30 with a quick review of emails and exisiting data, before a breakfast meeting at 7:30. The rest of the day was sepnt in meetings, and power meals, until the final debrief at 11:00 pm. This was the most networking I've done in my life, but it provided several contacts both in Myanmar (MM) and in BKK, and an invitation letter to enter MM on a business visa. Currently, Tuesday morning, I am sitting in the visa queue at the MM embassy (about 3 hours long) to apply. The rest of this week will be made up of continued meetings.
BKK is a remarkable city, with public transit ranging from motorcycles and tuktuks ( a kind of motorcycle/carriage cross) to buses, good taxis and even a rapid transit line that runs above the city, and a subway. The best part about the city is that snacks are available everwhere - along every street are little stalls with satay, donuts, fresh clams, coffee, rice, fresh fruit. You just stop, grab a stool on the sidewalk, and take a abreak witha newspaper for a few coins. Or, for the truly wealthy, Pizza Hut, Subway and others provide fast food options for a few dollars...
