Bangkok ... holy crap!!
Trip Start
Jun 26, 2008
1
3
67
Trip End
Ongoing
Bangkok,
Thailand
Saturday, June 28, 2008
The airport at bangkok is stunning, esp compared to heathrow terminal four. Steel arches combined with topiary infused green spaces actually make for an easy entrance to the far east. Having read the guide books we managed not to get ripped off getting a taxi to the hotel whcih was also very easy. The hotel itself is clean and more importantly airconditioned ... not quite the extreme back packing experience yet but we have that to come and thought we would break ourselves in gently. Went for a walk once we arrived down to the river and accidently ended up in a very posh restaurant on the water front with fan that blew a fine mist of water over us as we sipped our cocktails Sweaty and stained already though im sure we looked out of place. Dinner was awesome as is all the food from the roadside stalls. Kim is loving the fresh corn-on-the-cob and veggie noodles and hasn't been sick once yet. :-)
All day today was spent doing the touristy Grand Place which was genuinely impressive inc the15m reclining budda. After that on a recommendation from graham we ended up on a tuk tuk (sneezing death trap) to the Koh San Rd whcih could easily be ibiza or falaraki without the beaches but fun nevertheless and kim is keeping me in check.Then back to our airconditioned hotel. We returned to find the bed made up and a broken bottle from the mini fridge whereupon kim decided to have quite a long argument with the guys on reception about who brokje it and the fact that we would not be paying the 30p equivalent - amazing how quickly you adjust to how much things are worth over here and avoid getting ripped off.
That evening (saturday) we decided to head to Pat Pong and the red light district famous for its dancing girls and 'pingpong' shows. Walking through this area is surreal to asay the least. The night life is buzzing around the main strip where three roads lead off in total. One for ping pong shows and prostitues galore which line up along the street waiting to be picked out by passing punters - the level of openess about the whole thing is actually quite shocking. The second street is a market with dancing strip bars to either side, with bikini clad, bored looking girls wandering around on a central stage. The market itself is bizzare selling knives, throwing stars and tasers which the vendors are eager to show you how they work! Kimmy found some 'designer' sunglasses and after bartering down from 4800baht to 700baht probably still paid slightly over the odds for a blatant Dior knock off. The third street was for the boys - offering no end of services including the infamous ladyboys. A couple of which hit on me whilst kims back was turned - note to self - do not ware a pink t-shirt in a gay red light distict.
The following day we had intended to go to the Snake frarm which we had read bout in the bible (which is what the lonely planet guide book will be referred to from now on). Unfortunately because i was tired or perhanps just stupid i adjusted the clock on my phone to the wrong time and therefore we woke up at midday! - bodyclock is still not right. We decided to rush out and try and catch the snakes even though we had missed the 'milking' where venom is collected to synthesis antivenom, one of only a couple of places in the world that does this. However, having not consulted the bible in the morning is was told be a passing local the that farm was indeed closed already. :-(
At a loose end before our arduous trip to Cambodia in the morning we decided to go shopping?! A couple of hours spent around Siloms shopping mall (7 floors of western type brands) i had got the decent trainers i needed and kim had her zip-off trousers but still no shoes so we decided to go all the way across the city to MBK - the biggest mall in Thailand. After checking out the railway station so that we knew where to catch the train from the following morning we were offered a tuktuk for 10baht which seemed odd until we were told that we would need to visit a tailors in between! An obvious and well known scam throughout bangkok but we decided to go along for the ride to see what would happen. The tailors was actually quite impressive - a fully tailored classic black suit from a cashmere/wool blend was around nintey quid! Bargain to say the least given the quality items we had seen and the endorsments from other westerners in the shop. So i left a deposit and will be picking up the item in three weeks time. Yes i know - hook line and sinker but i don't have a decent suit so i thought what the hell. :-)
From here we wanted to do one last special thing in bangkok before leaving so went to bar vertigo. The highest point in the city with a bar/restaurant on the top with stunning 360o views over the city. London prices i guess were to be expected but we didn't stay long.
This was our first taste of south east asia and i loved it. I didn't know what to expect when i got here but bankgkok is an organised big city reminicent of rome if only for the driving but quite a lot dirtier. My level culture shock at somewhat of a minimum and coping quite well little did i know about how i would feel about Cambodia...
Photos of Bangkok -
Comments
Hi
Sounds as though you're a bit fazed by it all, but probably coping quite well. It must seem so strange and different from anything you've experienced so far. Stay cool, keep safe!
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