We landed in Bangkok, Thailand last night at 3am. We had already booked our hotel, so we just headed straight there with little fuss (aside from the can driver refusing to use the meter that the Lonely Planet had warned about). The hotel is more like backpackers, and I was initially distressed by the dusty sheets on the single beds and the lack of AC in the tiny cell. This morning when the light flooded in its okay, despite the dust. It's a comfortable hot here totally bearable, unlike India. The area we're in is extremely touristy. As in more ugly Alibaba pants and backless tank tops than you can count touristy! I am currently enjoying a strong cup of coffee and American Breakfast # 2. Now we're off to explore!
Well turns out there was no need for nervousness, Bangkok has been lovely so far. We spent the day wandering around the city in the area near our hotel. We ended up in a web of sort of underground feeling shops. They weren't underground, but they were all sort of like inside/between buildings so that there was little sunlight, and they wound round and through. I don't think they were meant for tourists as they were selling unfamiliar religious icons.
We have found the Thai people extremely helpful and friendly. There are of course people trying to scam you like in any touristy destination but thanks to a little before and research and a bit of experience under our belts we were able to avoid the tricks this time. The trick is someone offers you a day tour for less than a dollar but then you end spending all your time in tourist knick-knack shops feeling badgered to buy and the driver makes a tidy commission. It started to feel like everyone was in on it after a while, but we still managed to avoid this experience.
We checked out a giant standing Buddha.
We took the sky train that is the main metro that runs through the glitzier part of downtown. It's cool cause it runs quite high over the city centre, so you get an ideal view of things. Right in the core is super high end looking. It's all glass and metallic enormous skyscrapers. It's one most impressive looking cities I've ever seen if you only saw that city centre area.
We hopped off at the largest mall in South East Asia. It was so awesome. All the stores I love at home and many new ones. Plus delicious food everywhere! Starbucks and Dairy Queen were familiar. Then they also have these wicked Sushi buffets where the sushi rides a little convert belt all around the booths, and you just pluck off whatever you'd like! And gelato and steak places! I got totally lost in this enormous stationary store. I was in there for like an hour! I know there a few of you out there who can appreciate my love for this place. I honestly could have bought the whole store! (Mom I think I found your fav Korean pens...not sure, but they're really nice and from Korean anyway haha!) I bought myself this awesome little contraption that cut perfect circles for $3! Hopefully, it doesn't get taken away I the airport...just thought of that.
As the train progresses you move from glamorous skyscrapers to plane cookie-cutter condos. Slightly shorter whitewashed concrete buildings one after another begin to line the route. They are not offensive in the appearance but decidedly ugly. They gradually get worse looking as the train shoots along. Near the end of the line, the skyline seems to disappear. You have to stand at the edge to observe the grubby slummy residence below. They are similar to what we saw in Mumbai, not a full on the actual shanty town but very rough conditions. An expanse of tiny crumbling and filthy apartments toppling over each other, climbing in a sickly stairway around ten stories high. These sort of harsh conditions in such proximity always make cringe and wish I hadn't seen them. They make me wish there was a way to ignore the knowledge that human beings live there. Likely large families cram into one small hovel each night. They make me wish I didn't know the conditions that some people endure and the fact that I can do nothing about their individual lives. They make me resume that desperate, helpless pit in my stomach I feel. But I did see it, and I did feel it, and the train whizzed by.
From the train, we took a river boat.
Now you have two options with the river boat:
A) Book through a tour company
Cost: $30/person
For a one hour trip
B) Follow the locals
Cost: $0.50
To get off where you please-near your hotel
Guess what we chose? Obviously B! A dollar is not too shabby for a sunset river cruise with my hotty husband!
Turns out riverboat is one of the primary modes that people commute home after work. You can take e express from one end of the river to the other, or you can take the one we did which makes regular stops at various little docks along the way, like a bus. It was totally great.
For dinner, we found a great little spot near our hotel for some fantastic Pad Thai! I must say tofu is growing on me. Aside from the large rat that ran past our table mid-meal it was a romantic evening. Rats are terribly alarming though cute if I did not know they were disease infested, I will never get used to their presence.
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