Bangkok Hotels
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Hello Bangkok
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Well let the games begin.
I've decided to try another travelogue, as it's a good way for me to remember what happened during my days over here. Photos are all well and dandy, however, there's more to remember about a trip than a photo can offer. That's why I'm writing this. If there's grammatical and spelling errors forgive me, as I can't afford to spend a lot of time in fixing those up.
I arrived in Bangkok at about 7:30pm today and my first impression of the city was... "holy hannah, that's a lot of people!!!" As the plane was flying in, I had the privilege of a window seat. It was like a power grid beneath us. The roads surged with energy. Headlight after headlight flowed along. I was amazed to see so much traffic near the outskirts of Bangkok and I wasn't too sure what I would be getting in to when I made my way into the heart of the city.
Upon landing, I headed towards immigration and that's when the first signs of the Tsunami disaster became apparent. There was a makeshift booth beside the regular immigration desks. It had been set up for the "missing survivors from the Phuket disaster". I think it meant that if somebody had survived the Tsunami but had lost everything, including their passport, they could still pass through the airport at this point.
After waiting in the airport to pay for my "Hanoi-Bangkok" ticket (due to a faulty printer), it was time to experience Bangkok.... by means of a taxi cab. I made my way out the arrivals door on the third floor (as supposedly these cabs are cheaper, as they don't have to pay 50 baht to the airport to pick up customers). It didn't take me long to find a cab that read "Metered Taxi".
I asked the driver whether it was indeed metered and he hesitantly said "yes". I figured I was now a step ahead, as getting a metered cab is half the battle. Cab drivers who don't use the meter or "forget" to turn it on can make up any price they want. I hopped in the cab and we were soon along our way. Noticing he had yet to turn on the meter, I reminded he needed to do so. Thinking he would comply, he responsed by asking for 300 baht. I knew from research that this was too much to head to the city, but my hands were also tied, as we were already moving.
We haggled over the price for a while. In the end, I paid 350 baht... but that included the 80 baht he had to pay to use the expressway.
As we made our way closer to the hotel, he got lost and seemed agitated at the traffic. At one point, he told me to "walk walk walk". Ah no! There was no way I was about to get out. I was in the middle of Bangkok, I had 2 backpacks, and I had no idea which direction was the hotel. If he couldn't find the place, then there would be no way I could either. I told him to keep going. After asking directions from a tuk-tuk driver, we weaved our way through throngs of people, and eventually found the hotel.
The hotel is called the "New World Lodge Hotel" and it is adequate.
After a long day of sitting, I decided to call it a day. I turned off the lights, turned on the air-conditioner (as it was 11pm and 28 degrees outside), made sure the doors and windows were locked, and went to bed.
Day 1 done... a month more to go.
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