Thailand
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Bangkok,
Thailand
Tuesday, July 18, 2006
Sawatdee! (Hello from Thailand!) + link to PICS (finally!)
hey guys! i arrived in delhi a week ago (yes, a week in delhi.. ugh) we
took a sleeper bus (beds) from rishikesh to delhi we left there at
10:30pm and arrived at 5:00 am in delhi. we took a cab to the main
bazar (pahar ganj) and after walking around we found a place to stay.
fell asleep and got up at 9 am. we decided to go to the caughnnut place
(excuse me for mispelling) (a big circle with shops and underground
market) just to find out (when we got there) from the rikshaw driver
that everything is closed on sunday. we went to the underground market
to find more annoying indians that bug us to buy something from their
store. we left there because half of the stores were closed..and all
the stores had basically the same garbage. and went outside to the
circle. there were western shops like Levi's, Adidas, Nike, McDonald's,
and even TGI Fridays. we felt like we're in europe, and it was a
refreshing feeling. it was a great day! the next day we
went to this are with antiques and stuff, we went into a store and met
a American Airlines stewardes (sp?) that took us to her hotel to
freshen up - SHERATON($250 A NIGHT!!!!) it was such a fancy hotel. we
went to the bathroom and they treated us like queens, and when we got
out the lady (her name was Tamera) gave us a bag with a huge loaf of
round bread, apples, and mints :) oh yeah and fragrent rode buds - "to
put on your pillow tonight". oh and also at that store we sat and hung
out with the commisioner of the delhi police. the only nice sikh person
in india. the next day we took a Delhi tour bus that cost
us only 150 rupees, and was from 10am (10:45 india time) till 6pm - the
bus took us to birla temple, indira ghandi memorial, raj gaht (mahatma
ghandi's ashes), parliament house, india gate, lotus temple, and more
that i dont remember at the moment. the tour was nice... for the price
we paid. they changed our bus twice, and the guides changed 3 times..
non of them really spoke in english. on wed - we bought
plane tickets to thailand, and it was raining so we decided to just
hang out in the main bazar (that we know so well already) the
next day we went to the chandi chowk, took a rikshaw that asked us for
money for the ride AND to go in to 2 stores (he gets comission for
bringing people in) - so we, smart girls, said ok we dont pay for the
ride and we go in the stores. he took us to i think the most expensive
stores with no people in them and annoying sales people that try to
sell anything. the chondi chowk is an even grosser market than the main
bazar. we found a mcdonalds so we bought ice cream and cooled down
inside in the AC. then we started to walk around the market.. that was
so gross :( we walked for 2 hours and after that we decided to go back
to mcdonalds (its like our shelter), and we actually ate there.. at the
middle of the meal some mcdonalds worker came and asked if we could
fill out a suggestion card OF COURSE we said yes.. and 5 mins later he
came back with free ice cream for us.. (so we needed to change our
rating a bit, haha) after that we went to see the Red Fort - this huge
um i forgot the word, like a palace type of building. on
friday i hung out with a new couple from israel i met at my guesthouse.
in the morning we went to drink good coffee and then we decided we want
to go to all the fancy malls of delhi. we took a rikshaw to the first
mall. it was OK, nothing fancy, afterwards we took a rikshaw to another
mall.. the driver wanted us to go into 2 stores, so we agreed, but
without having to pay for the ride.. after visiting those stores the
driver asked what day is it? so we said friday, so he said "ohh the
mall is closed today" - we said go there anyway, its ok... 2 mins later
he said theres not enough gas in the rikshaw and that he needs to go
put gas and he will come back in 5 mins. we said.. ok... we'll go with
you... "no no i will be back in 5 mins".... no... we go with you.
anyway he kept on driving and drove fine for another 10-15 mins. we got
to a place and i went to ask if this is the place we wanted to go, the
lady said NO... the dumb driver took us to a different mall.. but we
decided to go in anyway. after walking around we went outside, and the
driver was still there.. we ignored him. we went into another store,
came out, and he was still there, and we still ignored him. he came
after us and said we didnt pay. the guy that was with us yelled at him
and the driver ran away. HOW RUDE. later on we finally went to the mall
we wanted to go to.. it was not fancy at all.. but whatever, better
than nothing. the next day we (me and the couple) went to
the Akshardham Temple (that was recommended by vijay and kalmeeta -
THANK YOU GUYS!) - the temple is a new (only 5 years old) huge huge
amazing complex with an amazing all hand carved from stone and marble,
and amazing gardens (cams were not allowed). in the complex there were
3 attractions - this hall with like 8 different huge rooms with
exhibitions better than disneyland with dolls that move and talk and
great sound effects, this took 50 mins. it was AMAZING. the next thing
was a 40 mins long movie about the guy this temple was built for. the
movie was on a huge screen and it was great. the next attraction was a
15 min boat ride (like a small world in disneyland) showing us the
history of india, important people, inventions, etc.. on sunday we didnt do much. i did henna on both of my arms and we just hung out in the room watching a movie. at 11:30pm was our flight to Bangkok, Thailand. we
arrived at 4am and walked around for 2 hours looing for a guest house..
we finally found one in the Kaho San) backpackers favorite street. the
guesthouse is called sheikin in bangkok (sheinkin is a street in
israel) its pretty cool.. we passed out and basically did nothing all
day. in the evening we finally went out to the Kaho San that is an
amazing street with tons of cool stores selling cool stuff and tons of
bars and pubs, and millions of people (travellers and locals). i ate my
first pad thai in the street(was very good) and we went bar hopping.
this is my second day here in bangkok. today we (me, tzofit, and shiri
- her friend from israel that also landed in thailand yesterday, dana
left us earlier in delhi, and went to thailand alone) walked around a
lot. i planned us a tour. we saw the Democracy Monument, the Loha
Prasat (a complex with temples), the city Parapet Phrakan Fortress
(this weird white place.. probably a temple), the Golden Mount (amazing
buddhist temple), the Giant swing (i dont really have any idea on what
it was), Wat Suthat - inside there was a HUGE sitting buddha. then we
walked around looking for the Chao Phray River.. and then looking for
Chinatown, and ended up in a very busy park doing Tai Chi with a group
of very nice old ladies! i LOVE it. i love it, i love it.... too bad
thailand is a little more expensive.. i would love to stay here for
longer than 2 weeks. i love thailand, and the stuff to buy here is
exactly my taste... i hope to win the lotto while im here, cuz i really
want to buy whatever i like! (not much.. just some bags, clothes, and
stuff for my new room) is it too early to say that i like thailand better than india? i have more pics on my cam to download, but i am too tired for now.. i will do it later. for now check these out!!! http://mayaspics.spaces.msn.com enjoy miss you all maya
