Bangkok Hotels
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Being bad in Bangkok
Entry 19 of 103 | show all | print this entry |
From the peace and quiet of the seaside town of Prachuap, to the bustle that is Bangkok... On Tuesday afternoon our slow train rolled into Thonburi station an hour late, and we plunged right into the vibrant life of the capital. We made our way to Banglamphu, the backpacker neighbourhood where our accommodation was located, by Chao Praya express boat, the jam-packed commuter water bus that plies the river.
Bangkok is a city of waterways - the Chao Praya river runs like an artery through the old and new parts of the city, and a network of canals radiates through the residential neighbourhoods. Much of the public transport is by boat, be it on the river or canals, and so Bangkok has often been called the 'Venice of the East'. We both took an instant liking to the place, and, despite dreading the prospect of a big city, even Rich really enjoyed our two days there.
On Tuesday evening we met up with Annetta and Baard, a lovely Norwegian couple whom we'd befriended on our China trip. After agreeing to the rendezvous a few weeks earlier, we were all really pleased that we actually managed to pull it off. The evening was spent chatting about our experiences of the last couple of weeks (they'd been to Vietnam and Cambodia) and drinking a jug of super-cheap cocktails. At about 1.30am the boys hatched a plan to go to Patong, the notorious go-go bar district, but us girls managed to talk them out of it with the promise that we would meet again the following evening... in Patong.
The following day, Wednesday the 13th, was the meeting-up day for our Intrepid trip (Indochina Loop, trip code VSV) - we would meet with our group at 6pm. After dumping our bags at the meeting point hotel, the two of set off on a bit of sightseeing - we took the river bus down the river for a half-hour or so, passing the golden spires of the Grand Palace. From Sathon we hopped on the Sky Train, another Bangkok 'must do' transport system. Its ultra-slick metro trains run on railways raised a few storeys above street level. After a brief stroll around the monument to consumerism that is Siam Square (not a square at all but one vast shopping mall), we headed to the Jim Thomson House, a beautiful museum located nearby.
Jim Thomson was an architect and US Army officer who settled in Thailand after WWII. He loved Thai architecture, art and craft, and travelled the length and breadth of the country studying and buying traditional Thai textiles - he successully promoted Thai silk to the West. He created his dream home Bangkok from 6 traditional wooden Thai houses (which originally stood in Ayutthaia) and filled it with Thai art and craft. After his mysterious disappearance in Malaysia in 1967, his home was opened as a museum. It's gorgeous, a real celebration of fine Thai craftsmanship and a haven in the centre of the city.
That evening we met up with our tour group - again a mixed, interesting bunch of people, this time comprising 3 women from the States, 2 from New Zealand, one woman from Germany, a couple from Australia and a couple from the UK. Our leader, Brian, is an Aussie who has been running Intrepid tours since 2000.
After a group meal, at about 9.30, the two of us headed out to Patpong for our second night out with Anetta & Baard. We spent much of the evening in anIrish pub, chatting, drinking Jameson's and listening to an expat Irish band, and only headed out in search of go-go bar action after midnight. After a little detour in the wrong direction (Anetta was convinced she knew where to find the notorious streets, but ended up leading us down a quiet neighbourhood... we eventually asked a cab driver to "take us to Patpong", and he took us right back to whe're we had started!) we found a girly bar and settled in with our expensive beers.
Never have we seen such a bored-looking bunch of girls on stage! Standing around in less-than-erotic bikinis, they would do a few half-hearted bum-wiggles in lieu of dancing, and simply stand about chatting. After 10 mins or so on stage, they'd come down to work the crowd. It really was quite amusing to see... so much for the City of Sin. But then again, we had given the notorious ping-pong shows a wide berth, for fear of being ripped off.
After the go-go bars closed at about 2am, we wandered the streets for a while, looking for somewhere else to have a drink and maybe a snack. With the 'help' of a tout we finally sat down at a deserted streetside restaurant, where we were served rather pricey food and beers. But it tasted soooo good that time of the morning! At 5am we flagged down cabs and said our good-byes.
Needless to say, we woke up the next morning feeling a bit rough. Getting just over 3 hours sleep doesn't help either. But sleeping in simply wasn't an option - our first day on the Intrepid tour included a canal cruise in a longtail boat, 9am start. Powered by an engine the size of that of a large truck, the longtail whizzed us through residential neighbourhoods where wooden houses on stilts line the canals. This was followed by a tour of Wat Po, Bangkok's grandest temple. By midday the two of us were exhausted, and retreated to our room for a much-needed nap.
In the evening, we all boarded the sleeper train to Chiang Mai, the next stop on the itinerary. We both slept like babies on the train!
Latest Comments (1)
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stiptease.. (reply)
Jul 28, 2005 11:10 EST by ahb
Hi you partyanimals
I really love your descriptions Ida! The only thing I missed from your latenight story from Bangkok was the pooring rain! Walking along in the back alleys of patpong district lokking for food -or a show.. or whatever -in new fake shoes with high heels -a splasing experience.. Oh -wish we were still travelling!
Annette
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