For an artist, being away from home can be both inspiring and lonely even with your partner by your side. So for at least 12 days on the hard-pavement of Bangkok, we stumble on Bangkok Arts & Culture Center.

The center is accessible from the skywalk elevated pedway connecting to the BTS National Stadium stop as well as the MBK and Central World Mart (still being repaired) department stores.

wWe admired the Erawan Shrine or Thao Maha Brahma dedicated to the Hindu god Brahma (creator) found in the center of this shopping district.  According to legend the shrine was erected in 1956 to appease spirits causing  construction worker deaths who were working on the site of what is now the Hyatt Erawan Hotel. We thoroughly enjoyed looking at the Christmas ornaments in November. The festive Western tradition of hanging garland never looked so out-of-place in a tropical climate. Outside the center, there were huge installations being constructed for the Bangkok Arts Festival. City artists competed for prizes for the best in their category. Contemporary sculpture, painting, collage, photography, and product design were curated by local arts organizations celebrating their work together in one place.

The coziest little spot in the arts center is the cinema lovers cafe where you sit on crates and sip coffee American style while reading about Thai cinema from silent to sound pictures. The owner studied abroad and speaks excellent English. She servers the best cup of espresso I tasted in the city on saucer with a shortbread cookie. Very Parisian.

Just 45 minutes from Pattaya by water taxi or ferry, Koh Larn is the easiest island getaway for crowded Bangkokites or foreigners. A three day stay was perfect because it's difficult to leave the tranquility. Gla's mother takes a quick day trip on the weekends just to taste the fresh seafood: Som Tam Phu Ma (papaya salad raw blue crab), raw shrimp fixed up with traditional spicy-sour-sweet-salty sauce, raw oysters, and squid.

Here are a few things you need to know before you go to Koh Larn, so you don't get caught paying quadruple what you could pay to make this short jaunt on the Gulf of Thailand.

When you get to the pier in Pattaya city at the end of the Walking Street, you will see more transportation than you could possibly need. Our Song Taew driver dropped us at a ferry, but he must get a commission from because it was way over-priced. The cheapest route, but not the fastest, is the 30 Baht charter ferry that leaves every half-hour. It's clean, has a decent bathroom, and provides life jackets. What more could you need! You will be happy to know you are among Thai travelers as well. They know better than to get overcharged. Schedule and directions to the pier in Pattaya city are conveniently on the web. The fare last November was 30 baht even though it says 20 online.

Na Ban Pier greets you with its clear, glimmering waters and colorful accommodations that reach out from the shore. A mixed bag of locals mill around the pier, but there are no vendors badgering you. The first vendors you  see are 7-Eleven (a chain but convenient) and a motorcycle rental place. It's advisable to hire a motorcycle for 24 hours because the island is not as walkable as it seems. A 24-hour rental cost us about 300-400 baht. If you don't think you're equip to drive your own motorcycle, you won't be hard pressed to find someone who has room for you on theirs for a fee.

With our newly rented motorcycle, we headed off in search of Bee Orchid, the cutest and poshest little motel in the harbor town near Naban pier. Staying near the locals offered a more authentic experience; by that I mean better food and better accommodations. Bee Orchid Resort appeals more to Thai tourists than American, but the friendly staff are happy to have your business. For 1200 Baht (approx. $40), you get a newly renovated air-conditioned bungalow with semi-private porch, queen-size bed, fridge, roomy shower, bathroom, and HD TV with basic cable.

Oh! and a complementary American breakfast, which you can pass up for a trip North West of Naban pier to the best fruit market on the island, congee (rice soup), and grilled banana.

On our last day we sprang on the most beautiful and most secluded beach on Koh Larn. It's small, but clean, and has only one vendor who was kind enough to join us for a cup of coffee under a Tiki hut. It's the only beach that offers free bathrooms and isn't bogged down by salespeople stalking the shore. It's a hub for color-coordinated Chinese tourists leaving on snorkeling tours. The beach is a not as long and the sand is only slightly grittier than Twaen, but we agree it's cleaner, calmer, and not as touristy.

Tonglang is so chill, a stray dog took the opportunity to lay out in front of our hut.

A trip to the hustling, bustling, sprawling city of Bangkok wouldn't be complete without a trip to the Royal temple of Wat Phra Kaew, The Grand Palace, Wat Arun (Temple at Dawn), and Wat Pho. Both are seated near the majestic Chao Praya river. They are only a 5 baht boat ride away from each other and there is a convenient little riverside restaurant on the east side Wat Phra Kaew side. Order some Bah Mi (egg noodle soup with fish balls and add all the fixings). The cook, Na has an unforgettable personality. She's loves Americans and likes tipping ones too. Don't forget to put some tip in her box. She will remind you!

The canals or "khlongs" branching off Chao Praya are fewer than when Bangkok was known as the Venice of East, but are primarily lined by shacks made from  sheets of corrugated metal. If you go to Chiang Mai, the second city, you will see more of these houses but made of wood. The city is famous for its "teak" wood.

Wat Phra Kaew (pronounced more like Wat Phra Ga-ow) is otherwise known in English as the temple of the Emerald Buddha. Wat = temple Phra = holy, Kaew = emerald color of the jasper, jade that the Buddha figure is made of. Every tourist must and does see this temple. It was ordered built by King Rama I (the first king of the Jakrit dynasty when Bangkok was made the capital). The temporary nature of wood temples means construction and maintenance is constantly needed. Inside the main building, Gla performed his ritual genuflection to the Buddha while I kneeled and admired the walls intricately painted with the story of Ramayana as if it were the Sistine chapel in Rome. Don't even try to steal the Buddha, it will mean the end of the Chakri Dynasty!

Because it is a royal temple used for ceremonial purposes, Wat Phra Kaew has no monks who reside there. A small but visible emerald-color Buddha sits atop a tower of golden-leaf-covered "bas relief" carved from wood. Only the King is allowed to change its golden garments between winter, summer, and rainy season attire. While there in November (during the dry monsoon period) we got to see the monsoon season suit. Soon enough King Bhumibol Adulyadej will change the buddha into his winter cloak. Brr! 

Second to the almost 300 year-old brick, stucco, and porcelain Wat Arun, is my favorite temple, Wat Pho "Temple of the Reclining Buddha." It's quiet and much less crowded than the palace and Wat Pra Kaew. Just take an easy look around at as many golden Buddha as you can imagine lining the inside of its many terraces. 

If you're not afraid to try a traditional Thai Massage, Wat Pho houses an institute for the study of the ancient medicine. The temple was built along with the school where Thai massage AKA ancient massage has been learned and practiced by monks since King Rama III. Fragments of the medical texts that remained after the Burmese invasion of Ayutthaya (the old Thai capital) were used as inspiration for the epigraphs (inscription) drawn on the walls of Wat Pho.  Go for an authentic Thai massage for a half hour (120 Baht) or one hour (200 baht). Wat Pho is a must!

Thailand is all in the details. From the intricate mother of pear inlays on the foot of the reclining Buddha at Wat Pho to the whether you order your noodles with soup, just "bah mi" or without broth "bah mi haeng" (without soup). I find if you can't appreciate all the little everyday things that people here love, you are lost: the more varieties of fruit than you will ever see, the fact that you can eat lotus seeds, or grow winter melon in your backyard.

Flavor and texture is  everything to Thai people and their food. Thanks to much preparation before leaving, I have eaten most dishes in some form, but here the intensity of flavor is greater and the freshness of the ingredients is much more than I could have imagined. Gla says I can't complain when we get home that his cooking is not as good as in Thailand. When you've tasted the standard, you recognize the difference.

Even in Thailand, the taste of the same dish varies at each vendor and restaurant. This is the brilliance of Thai food. Every eater and every cook has a different preference and taste for sour or sweet. The level of spicy is pretty much the same as far as I've experienced. You either like it or not.  Take it or leave it. I notice Gla tells the waiters that I'm okay with spicy food in case they don't believe I can handle it. I'm glad to have him help translate, but I can certainly ask for spicy on my own: "Khor phet" or I would like it spicy. Try it!

Life continues as usual strangely here in the Prawet neighborhood of Bangkok. All the anticipation and discussion of daily life here while we were in the US makes me now  feel more at home though I am away. That said, I am not Thai and can never be Thai.

Boy, would it be easier if I spoke more Thai, but I'm getting around. I can talk about food better than most things. My order for lunch today: Khor Singha. Khor Bah mii moo krap. (I would like some Singha beer and egg noodle soup with pork and fish ball. Staying with Gla's parents smooths out the culture shock and I find myself walking with reasonable comfort on the streets.

There are different rules here to say the least. Most people don't wear seat belts. There are few to no pedestrian traffic lights. Road markings and street lights mean nothing to most people, especially for the many people riding "motocy" (motorcycles). The motocys get ahead of the cars during rush hour, which is the worst traffic across the shortest distance I have ever seen. Even so, the complete standstills in traffic gave me a chance to observe the nuances of Bangkok life. I noticed that people pay a very small fee to get from one major street to another major street along a "soi" or sidestreet. How do you do it? Just hop on, hold tight, and your off. If you are a woman with a skirt, you sit sideways.

Day two was spent in central Bangkok along the Chao Praya river. More on the temples, water taxis, and lime smoothies soon.

You know you are in Asia when the shower room has a separate spraying nozzle for cleaning your rear end. I could see my face in the bottom of the bathroom sink it was so spectacularly clean. Easy listening music is the key to a lounge atmosphere, and already I've heard John Denver and Celine Dion's "My Heart Will Go On" covered on piano. The Asians are as sentimental for American music as Americans are.

Hong Kong's official languages are Chinese Mandarin and English. I suppose I underestimated that fact because ever since we arrived in Hong Kong an hour ago, I've been avoiding speaking English because I haven't been able to ensure understanding. Well, Hong Kong was colonized by the British since the mid-1800s and remained so until 1997, so, of course, English is spoken very fluently.

The Hong Kong Airport itself is like a shopping mall with electronics galore. While I was the tourism video on flight (1st Class) from Toronto, the mayor, I believe, was talking about how you can buy electronics for 50-80% of what you would pay elsewhere. As we descended into the city, I watched the shore of Hong Kong growing in the camera view from outside the plane. It looked like the end of the 2001: A Space Odyssey. Cool!

We have one more two hour flight to Bangkok, and we will be safely nuzzled in bed or eating lunch. I think I can force myself to stay awake for one meal before I zonk out.

Thanks to ubiquitous free Wi-Fi internet found at every major airport, I am able to update my blog while eating samosas and tomato florentine soup from the KLM lounge at Toronto Pearson International Airport. My first experience of culture shock is traveling business class with Gla's American Airlines Advantage status. Never have I had this much status and access to this much free alcohol and food in my life!

In a few hours we will board the longest leg of our flight (about 16-17 hours) to Hong Kong before we connect to a flight to Bangkok. We had a slight bump in the road we managed to avoid when we arrived in Canada, not knowing that you have to claim your bags even if you are connecting to another flight. Well, we didn't have to go through customs, but we did have to go through immigration. Remember this if you are traveling through Canada to another foreign country: you must claim your bags by filling out the declaration form found in the pocket behind the seat in front of you in flight.

I don't think immigration knows what persimmon fruit is, but we wanted to bring a couple cases for his family from the United States. I found Canadian immigrant officials to be quite friendly and helpful. One stag was that Gla had to claim that he had food in his luggage, so he was worried there might be a problem. Varieties of the fruit are grown in Mexico, Japan, and the Eastern United States, but also come from California. The Californian and Japanese type is fibrous, orange and pumpkin-shaped as pictured above. Buying persimmon in Thailand is expensive - about five dollars per fruit. In this US, it's ten dollars a box. The trouble of lugging it with us and narrowly escaping immigration will be worth the looks on the family's face as they devour.

Next Stop: Hong Kong.

Thanks to Gla, I am taking one of the most daring vacations in my life since going to Japan for two weeks when I was fifteen. The culture shock will be unlike it would be in any more westernized country, but I will have my partner to lead. I will follow.

The second major move we will make once in Bangkok and after traveling to Chiang Mai, is to Pattaya. The city is a more developed resort location for Thais from Bangkok and foreigners (farangs) including the gay and lesbian crowd. I will try to blend in as much as possible, go with flow, and try to imitate a native tongue. I said I'll try!

So before even reaching Pattaya, our friend Kong says we must visit a stand/truck/make-ship store where a special desert snack is sold. It is white or black sticky rice cooked in a banana shoot called Khao Lham. You can find it frozen here in the USA, but it is a specialty for the region near the Chonburi Province southeast of Bangkok.

Once in Pattaya, we have loose plans to see the Tiffany's show which is more than just a drag show a la The Baton in Chicago (which is actually very good).

From Pattaya beach, we will take a ferry to Koh Laan, a small island off the coast in Gulf of Thailand, about 45 minutes from the mainland. There, we will stay a night and return to Bangkok from our short honeymoon from the family.

Besides eating ourselves into a Thai food coma, I will likely be lounging on the beach and exploring the streets of the city; that is, unless we take a wild chance at scuba diving, para sailing, or the like. I think I will stick to relaxation.

Me and Gla, my Thai partner, have two weeks to the day before we venture to the Land of Smiles where we are going to visit Bangkok (Central Thailand), Chiang Mai (North) and Pattaya (South).

While in Chiang Mai we will be meeting up with some blogger friends Bessie and Kyle who are chronicling their globe-trotting journey at OnOurOwnPath.com. Thanks to the couple's suggestion, while in Chiang Mai this November, we will be celebrating Loi Krotong and the festival of lights.

Loy Kratong is a banana leaf boat (the Styrofoam ones of years past were banned). You will learn the specifics later, but I know that you light a candle in the boat and release it into the water of the river. The act represents releasing bad deeds of the past. It's not quite a renewal as we might associate with Spring in the United States, but rather like the falling leaves, we shed the ugly past.

Two more things we hope to do are go to the San Khampaeng hot springs site and visit Thailand's highest peak elevation at the Doi Inthanon nature preserve. Whew! We will be exhausted.

Look for my Pattaya preview soon.