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Back in Bangkok
Entry 9 of 85 | show all | print this entry |
Pretty damn knackered after the trekking experience and curling up in a ball on a couple of train seats to try and glean some precious sleep on the train back from Chiang Mai, we caught a tuk tuk to the tourist office where we booked our transport and dive combo to Koh Tao, planning on dumping our bags there and taking a wander round Bangkok. It was still quite early, and the place didn't open until 10 am, but unknowingly we knocked on the door. This resulted in us waking up a woman who obviously lived and worked there, who felt terribly rude that she wasn't awake already to let us in, feeling like she'd inconvenienced us, when of course it was really the other way round. Thus, she then offered us the use of their bathroom facilities and took our bags in while we savoured the air conditioning and the joy of being out of the stuffy heat of the city.
We sloped out to allow her a chance to return to bed, and spent the day wandering around MBK, a giant shopping centre. The stores were amazing, selling anything and everything for practically nothing. There were so many amazing souvenirs, at such cheap prices, I wish we'd been there at the end of our trip so we could have taken some home. As it was we were persuaded to part with our money at the giant food court, where yet again, you could purchase any form of worldwide cuisine. The main course was washed down with some immense coconut ice cream!
More than just a shopping centre, MBK boasted a variety of activities, one of which being the cinema. As it cost only 100 baht - £1.40? we decided to take the liberty of watching a film, Fracture, to pass the time. The film itself was unremarkable, but the requirement of having to stand up before the film and pay our respects to the thing was quite an event, as if we were singing the national anthem before a football match.
Afterwards we returned to the tourist office, and accepted their generous offer of special Thai foods - sticky rice wrapped in some form of leaf... it was lovely anyway. They let us use their internet, watch tv, and make ourselves completely at home. They then put us in a cab for the bus pick up point, and waved us farewell. The hospitality of these people was really pleasant and unexpected in such a chaotic place, and made me warm to Bangkok just a little, although as we were back on the streers, that feeling was somewhat fleeting!
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