One night in Bangkok

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After the second leg of my flight (this one was over 6 hours long), I arrived in Bangkok at 11:30 p.m. last night. Customs was a breeze. Once out of the airport, I grabbed a metered taxi (the unmetered taxis try to rip you off) to get me to Khao San Road and then wandered around until I found my hotel a little after 1:00 a.m.

The hotel has got some charm but it's definitely in the low budget category. I wanted to start out with humble beginnings. 😊 Shambara is the name of it. It's located in this little alley off Khao San Road (I've got to get a picture of this - it's classic). The hotel has 8 small rooms that share a bathroom at the end of the hall (with 2 showers & toilets). My room is about the size of a big closet. There's a bed and no other furniture to speak of - no room for it really. It's a good set-up though for meeting people, something that I've been able to do quite easily so far. I seem to be running into Canadians everywhere I go. I met two in the Narita airport (from Calgary area), and then another 3 today at the hotel (from Vancouver area). Most of the people I've met so far are doing the backpacking thing too (I'm not the only one!).

Wish I could say I got a good night of sleep last night but that wasn't exactly the case. I got 3-4 hours of sleep and then just decided to get up early and start my day. What have I done so far today? Well, I like to get my bearings initially and see what's around. So I've done a ton of walking.

For lunch I grabbed some great grub from a place called May Kaidee. It's a vegetarian restaurant that's got a lot of favorable reviews on the internet. I really don't know what I was doing at a vegetarian restaurant, but hey, it was good! I actually met the owner May (pronounced My) who was trying to convince me to take her cooking class. Sorry May, don't have time during this round in Bangkok since I leave soon for the island of Phuket (pronounced Poo Ket). She's a nice, friendly lady and younger than I thought she'd be considering the restaurant has been open for almost 20 years.

I ended up talking with an American at the restaurant (from Northern California). She's also doing the backpacking thing but has already spent a lot of time in Thailand. She taught English last year in Surat Thani, Thailand so she picked up a lot of Thai along the way and helped me with my pronounciation of a few words (I'm going to need a lot of help in this department!).

As for the internet, there are internet cafe's everywhere. It's just a matter of finding the ones with good connection speeds. I'm currently at one with A/C and a great connection for only 50 cents per hour. Nice!

Ok, enough out of me for now...there goes Dave!

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Photos

Chris & I at LAX
Here is a picture of Chris & I at LAX on Thursday, January 5 (thanks to the Silvesters for dropping me off at the airport!)

Shambara hotel
Picture of my room in Bangkok

Lunch!
Masaman curry, spring rolls in peanut sauce, and a fruit shake at May Kaidee's (all for $3)

Comments

[Aunt Barb]

Lunch
Hey Dave, Lunch looks good. Glad you made it safe and sound to your first destination. Sounds like you are off to a good start meeting friendly Canadians and cheap lunches. Loved your digs in Bankok. God speed. Jim and Barb