King and Queen Bling Bling

Another interesting thing about Thailand are the King and Queen - interesting in the sense that their pictures are seriously everywhere and the people loooooovvvveeeee them. At first glance, it seems that people are brainwashed or something (especially since 50% of our country loathes our leader), but it is a genuine like and the king and queen have done a lot of good for this country. They have helped the hill tribes out, aided refugees, acted quickly in times of tsunamis and floods, and tried to remedy the financial situation that is pretty sad at the moment.
Today, I did go get fitted for a cute silk jacket and 3 pairs of cashmere pants...thanks for the address mom :) It is amazing how much cheaper they are here. Currently, I am getting a little weirded out about Cambodia - just because they have no ATMS and it is always dangerous to be a place with no access to money. I am sure it will be fine, just a little unnerving.
Yesterday I went to the Royal Palace - talk about bling. There is so much gold there it is crazy. Overall, it is goregous and I especially enjoyed the guards who I thought for sure would murder me with their machine guns. Thankfully, I took off my shoes at all the right times (you have to take off your shoes to go nearly anywhere here...keeps the floor clean) and was wearing respectable clothing (shoulders and knees = unseen).
I also went to the Golden Teak Mansion which was really quite astounding - very Victorian - and it won my heart because the whole thing was air conditioned! At the mansion, I saw a dancing show that was funny and they took kids from the audience as hostages (well...you would have thought as much at the little one's resistance). THere were seriously 10 schools of kids and all of them had to wear flourescent pink shirts - I gathered the pink color on boys isn't a problem here as it is at home!
I still have yet to meet another American person (aside from the cocky East Palo Alto boy Leslie mentioned). I don't think there are any more. Just me. The Thai people ask me often where I am from...it is funny because if I say USA or United States, most look blankly. It is essential to say "America" followed by "California" and then they smile and say how pretty it is there. Sorry about the rambling....I am waiting for my pictures to get on a CD! Check Leslie's site www.puddledog.blogspot.com for a link to her pictures - she's home!