Bangkok, Thailand, South East Asia

It is the rooster that wakes me first, the crowing mixed with the sound of mopeds forcing my eyes open. Looking out from my window I see the temple tops glistening in the early morning light across the street. The manic activity of last night has disappeared, the tuktuk three wheeled taxis, the rush of people, bells on the side of the food carts. The shouts of vendors, the roar of motor bikes, the sounds of a thousand people talking, all are replaced by the sound of a solitary man sweeping the streets.

In the gym around the corner, down the alley filled with stalls, the kick boxers climb from their hamolks and twist strips of white cloth around their brown hands. The smell of incense fills the room as monks across the street begin to pray, kneeling in the early morning light.
Across the river district a man drops scraps of bread into the brown water and watches as dozens of catfish slide over each other for the food. The first rocket boat of tourists motors past, cameras flashing at the swimming boys who wave at the lens.

I arrived in Bangkok three nights ago and now it is time for me to leave Thailand and continue onwards to Cambodia. I will be sorry to leave this city for I have seen but a fraction of its personality.