Bangkok Round 2

We've tried to keep busy over the past few days and make the most of Bangkok, but there seems to be so much to explore. I suppose it's a big city though.

After the sleepless train jouney back on Saturday/Sunday, we decided Sunday was going to be a day of rest! After we checked into our hostel and grabbed a few hours sleep, we took a leisurely stroll down the now very familiar Khao San Road and grabbed a bite to eat. In the evening we cooled down with a few cold drinks in a nearby bar which happened to be showing the Pixar film Ratatouille. Was very enjoyable, however it seemed to be a camera-in-the-cinema job. Knock Off Nigel would be proud.

Upon our return and over the next few days, one thing we became extremely frustrated with were the damn Tuk Tuks. We couldn't walk anywhere without a cry of "Where you go?" or "Tuk Tuk?". And that also applies to walking the 2 metres from our hostel to the shop or on the way to breakfast. And it's never just the one Tuk Tuk'er, on average there's about 10 asking per minute. Admittedly, it's quite a fun ride on one, but they extort you for ridiculous prices. There is a form of haggling that you can adopt, but it's never worth it. Particularly since they have that stupid smug grin on their face after you agree. Taxi's aren't much better as it sometimes takes a while to find a guy who will use the taxi meter, which is generally a lot more cost effective than pre-arranged fares.

Anyway, on the Monday morning, we decided to sample the public transport so we headed for the nearest pier in attempt to join the locals on the taxi boat. After a bit of deliberation over the ticket types, we handed over our money and before we had time to thinkm we were ushered onto a very packed boat. They charged us 13 Baht each for a trip that would have been 200 Baht by Tuk Tuk.

Following the boat ride, we jumped onto the nicely air conditioned Skytrain and headed for Siam Square to get a new camera for me. After trudging around the labyrinth of shopping malls, we were no further forward on our quest. Passed loads of very exlcusive shops (every designer, clothing and otherwise, had their own shops) and had some nice, but overpriced food. The people at Siam Square were like a completely different breed from those of Banglamphu where we were staying. As soon as we stepped foot on the Skytrain, we were surrounded by trendy teenagers, business suits and people constantly yabbering on mobiles. The divide between the rich and the poor seems to be quite steep.

We managed to get a bus back which was a bit of an experience in itself. The buses only have numbers on them and there are no proper bus stops to speak of. As soon as a bus stops, people run off and on and grab a seat if applicable. We knew the 15 went to our general area so we spent a while looking for it before we ran aboard. We gave 7 Baht over (even cheaper by bus) and made it back in one piece, although a good 10 minute walk from our street.

On Tuesday, frustrated at the lack of camera buying the previous day, we headed straight to Khao San road and slipped into a camera shop there and bought a nice 7 Megapixel Panasonic one, which we had seen for 5000 Baht more the day before. Seemed like a good deal (quite a bit cheaper than on Amazon, although I think the Thai prices are catching up) and so far, it has been great. Doesn't seem to be a knock off and has the full international guarantee. After playing about with it for a bit, we decided to hit the Grand Palace, undeterred by our knock back a couple of weeks before. We made sure we were dressed in appropriate attire (although it was very warm wearing full length jeans and top) and headed to the boat pier. It was closed however due to a naval procession so we ended up grudgingly catching a taxi. The Palace was very nice and spent a couple of hours looking about as it was a lot bigger than we thought. After heading back and having dinner, we decided to hit Khao San and have a couple of drinks. Several Tiger's later, we were onto the cocktail buckets of Sang Som (local rum), coke and Red Bull. Nice, but filling. A couple of buckets later we were sitting at the bars on the street of Khao San and Soi Rambuttri toasting the night away.

It was with a sickly hangover that I woke up with the following morning. Never mix your cocktails is a lesson that should have been learned a long time ago. But who needs lessons when you're drunk?

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