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Published: December 5th 2006
Tuk Tuk Ride from Hell
Trent and I squashed into our first tuk tuk ride!!! What a rush!Hello everyone,
Me again! Just thought I would give an update and some thoughts on our trip so far! Bit of a mish-mash blog, but we leave for Chiang Mai tonight so thought I finish our Bangkok report now! Today we are just heading over to MBK shopping centre to get into an airconditioned building for some shopping, food and maybe even a movie.
Day 2 - Temples, Tuk Tuks And Khao San Road
We were up bright and early for breakfast, before meeting Mike and Susanna and our guide Charlie (one of Tongs team) for a walking tour of Bangkok and the Temples/Grand Palace. I have to say I am templed out for awhile! It was a long hot day (although in all honesty it isnt THAT hot compared to what I was expecting!). I wont go into full details of all the temples because I simply dont remember their names, the order we did them in or much of the history! I know we saw The Temple of the Golden Buddah (all 5 tonnes of him), The Grand Palace, Wat Po, Wat Arun & The Summer Palace (the last one highly over-rated in my
The Golden Buddah
5 tonnes of solid gold! opinion)... They were all pretty interesting, very beautiful (my mother would of loved the shiny glitzy palace walls) but there is only so long I personally can look at that stuff! A one day tour was perfect... Alot of people do it over 2 days and get more time in each but I personally would of been totally bored if I had spent anymore time in them, and was glad to have seen them but have it over and done with! Heath, sweetie, darling, baby.... do we have to look at them again when you get here?!?!
The fun part was squeezing all 5 of us in Tuk Tuks all day! When Charlie pulled over a Tuk Tuk and asked if he would take us to the first place we all just looked at each other like "is he joking?!?!?!" Mike and Susanna got a photo on their camera of us all squashed in, so I will show you all another time but we were all sitting in a space that holds 2 normally with Charlie squatting in the doorway! The Tuk Tuks are crazy, dodging in between buses, racing motorcycles, and going down the wrong side of the
Chinatown
A quaint little street in Chinatown street... a crazy experience but due to Trent absolutely loving it, we all ended up using Tuk Tuks the whole day! A great experience!
Charlie also took us through all the alleys of Chinatown... a must do part of the day! We were walking down little alleys that you could barely fit two people side by side, and there were motorbikes using them as roadways, beggars lying on the ground with no legs, dried fish everywhere and so many little shops of bits and pieces... it was a great experience. I really want to go back but Trent has said NO! He hated the smells too much!!That is where you come in Heath!!!!
We all did some Sunnies shopping in Chinatown... We got 6 pairs for 1080 baht. Trent got an Adidas pair and an Oakley pair, I got a Dior pair and a Lacrosse pair. Starting to love the shopping! Start saving your money Heath!
We got back to the hotel about 4.30pm and had a swim, then went for a wander to find Khao San Road.... Our hotel is in the perfect location, tucked in a little alley away from the hustle and bustle of
Bangkok but a 5 minute walk from Khao San Rd and it is on Soi Rambuttri which has heaps of street vendors, cafes, bars etc.. Would definately stay here again!
Trent spotted some Billabong shorts that he just had to have but the lady started at 550 baht and wouldnt even barter with me! I walked off with a "I dont care" attitude with Trent trailing behind angry that I wouldnt pay the price.... I assured him the same shorts would be everywhere and someone would be willing to negotiate! Sure enough we got the same ones and paid 760 baht for 2 pairs... I probably could of got her down more but hey it was my first time so it was ok and still a bargain at $27AUD for both. He also picked up a couple of Element TShirts - 2 for 320 baht ($5.50AUD each)... On the way back to the hotel I stopped and had a Pad Thai from a street vendor (20 baht - about 70 cents) and it was so yummy... I had a Pad Thai at the hotel the night before and it was awful - think I paid 60 baht that time,
Wat Po (I think!!)
They all became a blur but I am pretty sure this is in the grounds of Wat Po! so the street vendors are definately the way to go!!
We have been living on Banana Pancakes for breakfast (45 baht) & Banana Shakes (30 baht) -Trent has had 5 in 2 days!!! The food really is so cheap here!
We got back to the hotel about 8.30, ordered some more Fruit Shakes (Mango for me - awesome) and were on our way to our room when we spotted Mike and Susanna leaving a message for us at the front desk! Ended up going back down Khao San Rd with them to a bar, where Mike produced a pack of card and we played ShitHead over a few drinks (all non-alcholic for Trent, Mike and Susanna - Red Bull & Vodka for me!!!!!) Vodka & Red Bull were 120 baht each! Half the price of Australia!! Called it a night about midnight and home to bed! Trent was over Bangkok by this stage, hence our reason for getting into a shopping centre today for some 'normal' time!
Bangkok - What a Crazy City
I have said alot on Bangkok above, but words cant really describe what a crazy city it is. People say you
Wat Po
These statues have a moving ball in the mouth. You touch it for good luck! either love it or hate it, Trent and I both feel that we love parts, but some parts really suck! The smells are disgusting and sometimes overwhelming. The Thais have obviously never heard of putting rubbish in the bin, so there is just crap everywhere.... there are piles of rubbish that would fill a household bin just on the side of the street, with people sitting right next to it having a few drinks. The rubbish is really really sad. You dont think twice about it at home but to see the river with just rubbish floating everywhere or to walk down nice streets full of restaurants and see the rubbish laying out the front is an eyeopener!
People also sleep everywhere.... there is one guy asleep on a banana lounge near our hotel that I swear hasnt moved since we got here... last night on the way home someone had covered him face and all with a white towel... almost like a dead body! Maybe he was!!!
There are NO road rules... You often see a whole family on a motorbike, either on the freeway or in the crowded city streets, with no helmuts and going flat
out dodging in between traffic on the wrong side of the road. On our first day heading down the massive freeways out of the city there were countless bikes heading towards us on the shoulder of our side of the freeway... they drive where-ever they want, when-ever they want!! I saw one family with a baby no older than 1 in between the legs of the father with the 3 year old squashed behind him and the mother on the back! Hilarious! Everyone has a death wish! Even Tong.... we were driving along and we get to a red light, so Tong just drives up the shoulder of the road and keeps going through the red light. If you want to go somewhere and the traffic is banked up, no problems either go down the wrong side of the road or if that is blocked get on a footpath... but the even more amazing thing is, there is no road rage, everyone just accepts that is how it is and gets on with it!
To cross any road you dont use the pedestrian crossing (as the cars ignore them anyway)... you simply take your life in your hands and
Wat Arun
Trent took this photo standing at the base of Wat Arun looking upwards! Nice photography!! walk... Do NOT look at the cars coming towards you, just keep walking... they will stop!!!! If you have the energy just put your hand up like a cop doing the stop signal when he is guiding traffic and then walk... amazingly it works! Haha!
It is amazing to see so much poverty everywhere but then to see the luxury of the temples and the Grand Palace... to just be inside the Grand Palace you would think you are in one of the richest countries in the world!
And In Closing .....
That is enough from me for the moment. I could talk all day about the amazing journey we are having but you are probably all asleep by now! I will download some photos and get out of here! We have to checkout in the next hour so I better get cracking!
Love to you all! Miss you Heath, Mum & Dad, Kez & Bella xxxxx Will have a mobile number by the end of the day so will email you all or post it on here next time!
Reet & Trent xxxxxx
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cathy eades
non-member comment
fabulous
what a fabulous blog. i feel i know bangkok already. take care