Yesterday, I spent a chunk of the day wandering around in and near Wat Phra Kaeo. Here are a few photos.
Sadly, I won't be making it to Angkor Wat on this trip, but there was a gorgeous model at Wat Phra Kaeo. I suppose it's something.
After that, I took the river taxi back up to the skytrain station and headed for Panthip Plaza, Bangkok's answer to Akihabara. It was pretty great. And I'm sure all of the wares displayed in the photo are fully licensed and legitimate.
(For non-technical readers: Windows Vista, pictured slightly left of center, won't be released until early next year, though unlicensed pre-release copies are circulating.) Most of the first floor was full of small booths selling pirated software, movies, and TV shows, and the upper floors were a standard mall layout, except that every store was a computer store. 5 floors' worth. I bought only one thing: a tiny USB 1.1 hub so that I can charge my phone and my iPod on the road at the same time, instead of switching off as I had to do previously. It cost 70 baht ($1.86). After getting somewhat tired of the proprietors of pirate DVD shops grabbing my arm and offering "sexy movie" from behind the counter, I headed back to the hotel, spending some time in the Guests' Writing Room.