Bangkok and Culture Shock

We are here. First of all, we are safe and haven't seen any problems. Early on the 4th we take a bus to Koh Chang, an island about 5 hours south of here. One thing we know for sure -- we are no longer in Europe and we are no longer cold. Neither of us have ever been anywhere like Bangkok and we must say we have a bit of culture shock happening at the moment. Upon arrival we were exhausted after the 6 hour bus ride to Paris on the 30th and then an 18 hour travel day on the 31st/1st (including 5 hour layover in Germany). And to top it all off Melissa's bag didn't arrive. We just talked to the airport and it is still "not found." Needless to say we did a bit of shopping today. Hopefully it will arrive prior to us leaving for Koh Chang the day after tomorrow. We are 15 hours ahead of west coast time. So far we've taken a taxi, boat shuttles, a true experience, and the sky train to the mall this afternoon. Today we visited the biggest sight in Bangkok, The Grand Palace. Incredible place. We had so much culture shock going yesterday, our first day, that we ended the day with a foot massage, pedicure, scrub. All for about 10 per person. Tonight we have 9:00 appointments for one hour massages, again 10 each. We are calling those "cultural activities" in our budget because the ambiance is not what you would think, but we have decided we love it. We promise to stay updated on the happenings here and to stay safe and leave Bangkok on the 4th.