Hello Thailand - crazy Bangkok
Trip Start
Jan 11, 2009
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31
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Trip End
Apr 12, 2009
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Bangkok,
Thailand
Saturday, February 14, 2009
The cab ride from the airport got things off to an interesting start
71 - river crossing to temple
. The cab drivers here make NYC taxi drivers seem like tame turtles. There are no seat belts in cars, so if you ask about them, the driver just has a good chuckle. On the way to the hotel we saw a motorbike crunched by a van, with the motorbike driver on the ground, motionless. Pretty scary - we hope the driver was OK. Even though B2 has been to Thailand before and knows a number of well-documented scams, we still got taken by the driver, as we discovered a day or two later - the meter had been tampered with and we paid two and a half times the actual cost of the fare from the hotel to the airport. It's a bummer to be suckered like that, but we were tired and with the meter being on we just didn't think things through until it was too late. The first day we got all-day passes for the sky train so we went to several stops to see the city from above ground. The most difficult thing is figuring out how to feed A2. The food is pretty spicy and we don't speak enough Thai for street vendors, so sadly we've had to eat a number of meals at Starbucks and food courts at large shopping malls. You know things are desperate when there is temptation for a run to McDonalds.
A2's camera was held hostage at Canon for three days while they tried to figure out what was wrong with it
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. We got the news today they would need two weeks to order a part. We took the camera back and went to a mall to get a new one, luckily we decided to check with the Canon service center at the mall to see if they had the part and they did!!! Now that we have the camera we are off to Khao Yai, expect new and improved photos from A2!We have uploaded a huge number of photos, which encompass 4 days of touring around the city. We hit Chinatown and the temple circuit, finishing things off at the Grand Palace. It's nice being on temple grounds not just because they are beautiful, but also because it's a safe haven from the business of the street. Walking around can be kind of stressful - maps are useless, the air quality is crap, there is endless traffic, exhaust smell everywhere and crossing the street is a hundred times worse than playing Atari's Frogger. The coolest temple we saw was that of the leaning buddha - the golden statue is huge and is quite an awesome site. The crowds at the feet were pretty funny, so we took some pics of the mobs taking photos.
My Mom commented on how clean and pretty Bangkok looks, so I meant to take some photos of the grime, filth and craziness, but that's more difficult to capture, so I guess you all will just have to take my word for it. Just check out the photo of the electrical wires to get a taste of the norm here. It's amazing that the city runs as well as it does with all this chaos going on.
We are off to a National Park to see wildlife a few hours outside Bangkok. We will be out of email/internet contact until we're back, but we don't know when or where that will be. The tentative plan is Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam in the next 2-3 weeks. No stomach bugs so far but A2 is itching like a mangy Bankok dog due to a flea infestation.
Comments
Wow!
Hi A2! Great photos of Bangkok, it looks amazing! Hot, but amazing! Another place I'll have to visit...