One night in Bangkok
Trip Start
Jan 29, 2008
1
27
32
Trip End
Mar 04, 2008
Bangkok,
Thailand
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
When we finally crawled out of bed late this morning I packed my bag and that was pretty much all I had time for before check out. We both wanted juice so we sat in the hotel lobby drinking our yummy juice and Roland showed up to take us to the airport. We told him he could just drive us to the train station, where you can get a very fast and reasonably inexpensive train directly to the airport, but he insisted on driving us all the way.
The entire drive to the airport, Roland told us to call him if we were ever in Malaysia again and that he would take care of me if I came to visit, with or without S. He also said he was hoping we would be at the pool when he came to pick us up so he could see me in a bikini. Such a ladies man.
The drive to the airport took a long time and Roland seemed sad to see us go. When we finally got there he told us we could call him not just for a ride but as a friend. He is such an awesome guy. We told him we would definitely keep in touch and would let him know if either of us went back to Malaysia.
We had no problems at the airport this time and went through to board the plane. The flight was uneventful. When we got to Bangkok we lined up for customs and picked the slowest moving line, as was our routine. When we did finally get to a customs officer, he asked us where our arrival cards were. We were kind of wondering this ourselves as we stood in line, because the airline is supposed to give them to you on the plane. But we didn't receive one so we were hoping customs would give it to us. But instead, they told us to go back to a desk behind us and then we had to line up all over again.
We were the second to last people through customs and my bag was on the carousel all by its lonesome by the time we finally got there. At least it was still there.
We decided to go to the taxi stand to get into the city and as we were walking to it, S managed to attract yet another shady character. He is a magnet for these people, I'm not sure what it is. This dodgy guy wanted us to take his cab and was quite persistent. Finally we asked him how much to Khao San Road. The guy gave us a bargain price, according to S, at 700 baht. Later that night Cindy and Robert told us they only paid 450 on a metered taxi, so I guess that wasn't such a bargain after all. I was not convinced that anything this guy had to offer was a good idea but I was safer than if I were alone so away we went. The entire time he was walking us to the cab he was going on about something to do with a lot of foreigners and no hotels. Neither of us could really figure out what he was talking about, but thought maybe he was trying to pitch some other hotel to us somewhere else. But S told him he goes to Khao San Road all the time and knows what he's doing and we don't want his dodgy-sounding hotel.
We finally got to the cab and got in with the driver. Our shady buddy said he's coming with us and gets in the passenger seat. He started talking in Thai to the driver and I could smell the very strong scent of liquor on his breath from the backseat. S translated the conversation for me. The driver wanted to charge us 1200 baht for the ride but Shady told him that he had already agreed to 700, and that he is already really drunk. We giggled as he whispered bits of the conversation to me that he could understand.
We finally got to Khao San Road and away from the taxi. We walked up and down the street trying to find a room. S has a favourite with a nice pool but it was booked full. So we tried another hotel with a pool which was also full. Then we just tried for whatever we could get. It turns out the only thing we could get was a prison-like room that looked like a great place to commit a random act of violence, but was not exactly cozy for sleeping in.
We decided against it and were running out of time. Cindy and Robert were waiting for us at the Sheraton, where they were staying. We got there a little late but they were drinking in the lobby waiting patiently. We sat down and joined them and had $10 beers. The Sheraton has Malaysian drink prices, it seems.
They told us all about their awesome diving trip to the Similan Islands, which is where I have decided I need to go next, and we told them about our Malaysian adventure. Earlier S and I had planned to try to convince the two of them to stay up all night with us. They had to leave for the airport at 3:30am anyway so what would be the point of sleeping? But it sounded like they were pretty exhausted from all the diving and traveling, so I wasn't sure if our idea was going to fly.
Robert really wanted to get one last massage before leaving Thailand, so after finishing our overpriced drinks we walked down to the massage parlour we loved last time we were in Bangkok. We decided to have a couple drinks there while we waited for Cindy and Rob to get their massages. Robert didn't like the pillows there though so they moved on to another location while we ate and drank.
They came back for us an hour or so later and then we all went down to Khao San Road. We went to a busy pub there and Robert decided he needed another massage because the last one he got was absolute crap. So again we waited and drank while they got massages. We were at an Irish pub so we decided to try the Irish car bomb one more time. This time they actually had Irish whiskey so it was definitely an improvement. The Thai guys working there didn't know what the shot was though so SH went over to the bar and helped them make it.
Finally, Cindy and Robert returned and the four of us had a few more drinks. It seems they were up for our all-nighter plan which was awesome! We eventually left the pub, got in a tuk tuk and went to a night club. I don't recommend four people in a tuk tuk. It was pretty crowded and Cindy had to squish down on the floor by our feet, and there isn't exactly a ton of legroom down there.
The club was pretty fun but a little strange. When the boys went to the washroom at one point they came out and told us how when they were standing at the urinals, the bathroom attendants massaged their shoulders.
We stayed at the club until it was time to go back to the hotel for Cindy and Robert to get their things and head to the airport. This time we took a cab which was much roomier. SH sat in the front seat and the driver kept trying to grab his junk. He kept telling him it wasn't cool and the peanut gallery in the back seat couldn't stop laughing.
We all went up to Cindy and Robert's room and they gave me the key card and we said our good-byes. Then everyone left me, drunk but safe. S had more partying to do but unfortunately he didn't take a room key with him and you need one to get up to our floor, so I never actually saw him again. Instead I passed out in my free room in the Sheraton.
