Bangkok, July 5-6 and 10-12, 2008
Trip Start
Jun 05, 2008
1
10
18
Trip End
Ongoing
Bangkok,
Thailand
Sunday, July 27, 2008
We checked into a guesthouse on an alley just off Khao San, where we could get a double room for $6 per night. Immediately we went to grab some street food on the main road, where we caught a telling glimpse of how things function in Thai society. While the street vendor was frying up some pad thai for us in her giant wok, a police officer on his motor cycle pulled up in front of her stand and surveyed the scene. Along with half a dozen other street vendors (who aren't authorized by the government), the woman yelled "Police!," threw down her utensils, and pushed her wheeled cart halfway down an alley, all in plain view of the cop. Souvenir vendors started tucking counterfeit items under their stands. When the officer was satisfied that everyone had made an effort to conceal (however slightly) their illegal activity, he rode off. The woman returned to cooking our pad thai as if nothing happened. It was interesting to get a perspective on how law functions in Thailand.
We were leaving Bangkok the next day to go to the island of Koh Chang, so we didn't have time to see everything. Instead we opted for a tuk-tuk ride around to some of the sights, which is extremely inexpensive (about 30 cents an hour) but comes with a catch: you have to go to a retail store (usually a tailor or jeweler), which the driver will take you to, and talk to the salesperson as if you're a potential customer. The drivers claim they get a gas voucher for this. After visiting a giant Buddha, a lucky Buddha, and a couple other spots in the city, our tuk-tuk driver--who was a positively giddy man, overflowing with enthusiasm about everything--took us to a tailor's shop, where a cutely awkward Indian man tried to press upon us that it was "our lucky day!" Needless to say, we weren't buying, but the silliness of the sales pitch made us chuckle about the whole experience anyway.
Dave's brother lives in Bangkok, so that evening we met him at a seafood restaurant by the river. He gave us a few tips about traveling in Thailand and took us to a couple bars. Walking home along Khao San at 10 pm was certainly an experience--thousands of drunken travelers (mainly British tourists) sipping cocktails from buckets, which are the most popular way to sell hard alcohol in Thailand. There was even an elephant on the street available for picture taking. We had an early bus the next morning, so we opted out, but we couldn't help remark about the difference between day and night on Khao San.
After a stint in Koh Chang (which I'll write about in a different entry) we returned to Bangkok to join up with our friend Charlotte from school, who was on vacation in Thailand for two weeks. We stayed at the same place on Khao San, and in the morning went to some of the major temples in Bangkok with Charlotte. First we visited Wat Arun, which is a very tall, thin temple that comes to a quadrangular point. You can climb up nearly to the top, but you have to brave some seriously steep steps on the way up. From the top, however, you get a great view of the city. It was a beautiful day, so we enjoyed that a lot. After Wat Arun we visited Wat Pho, the biggest temple in Bangkok, where there is a giant reclining Buddha made out of gold. The sheer size of it was impressive, and the rest of the temple grounds were lovely as well. Next we headed to the river, where we took a longtail boat ride through the khlongs, which are houses and temples built alongside narrow waterways. Bangkok used to be known as the "Venice of the East," and although many of the canals have been covered up you can still tour through what remains. It was nice to see that side of Bangkok, but a little bizarre since we were basically floating through people's front yards, taking pictures.
We checked out some of the further-flung areas of Bangkok, like Little Arabia, and ate a ton of street food before packing up and leaving Bangkok a second time, heading to some islands further south down the Thai peninsula. After so much time in China and Thailand's biggest city, we were ready for some relaxing at the beach!
