Advertisement
Published: February 15th 2006
Edit Blog Post
Diving at Sail Rock
Justin and Fabio act natural As with many before us, the charms of Ko Pha-Ngan locked us up for longer than expected. Several nights were spent debating whether we should move on to Bangkok, and several nights passed before we finally did. Much of our time on the island was spent swinging in a hammock at
High Life Bungalows on Had Kruad, a small beach on the north-west area of the island. Given its seclusion, its beauty, and its good food, we had a hard time finding an suitable reason to wander.
However, we did make it off the grounds a couple of times toward the end. Justin took advantage of the scuba diving, as the area is known for both quality and affordability. He headed out to Sail Rock with
Chaloklum Diving . where the owner Nick and soon-to-be divemaster Fabio guided him on a couple dives to 12 meters. The marine life and the experience were much better than The Great Barrier Reef.
The next night, we finally resolved to get going in the morning, but not before some final drinks with Craig and Gayle, an English couple we'd become friendly with, and a trip to a local reggae bar. After walking down the windy dirt
The Relaxing Buddha
Chris contemplates life at Wat Pho road for a km, we ended up at venue carved out of a wooded hillside, where a band called Job was playing to a large crowd of locals and backpackers. The ambience was like something in a movie, and the band kept playing and playing without a break. We finally headed back around 2.
It was a good thing we got a bit of sleep, because the next day was a long trek up the coast to Bangkok, including two boats and a very long bus ride. We left our bungalow at 10, and got into the city around 1 A.M., very happy to quickly find a clean bed. After crashing, we were woken up by drunken screaming and banging throughout the night, unsurprising since the hotel contains a dance club on the first floor. Subsequent nights weren't exactly silent, but not quite so loud either.
Bangkok has been outstanding. Not as westernized or orderly as Singapore, it teems with night markets, street vendors and motorcycle taxis. The first day we took a cab up to
Chatuchak Weekend Market which seemed more of a place for locals to shop, and covered 75 square acres with stalls selling everything from CD's
Nightlife in Patpong
We manage to get a family friendly shot on Valentine's Day to dogs. We ended the night at Suan Lum Night Bazaar, where we ate fried crabs and listened to about the 50th (and not the last) version of the Pussycat Dolls "Don't Cha", which seems to be Asia's anthem.
We had to break our three-nights-max-per-place rule for the second time (the first was in Ko Pha-Ngan), because we needed to wait for a Vietnam visa to come through. Of all the cities to be "stuck" though, Bangkok has been the best choice so far. We did the tourist thing on Monday, taking advantage of the cheap "tuk-tuks" (unmetered taxis), which took us around the temples and such for 20 baht (50 cents) as long as we stopped every so often at some shop or another so the driver could get a voucher. Although we declined to get a suit made or buy some jewelry, it was interesting to see what they were willing to offer in this ultimate capitalist haven. The day happened to be a Buddhist holiday, which closed most offices, but opened up lots of temples for free and for foreigners, and turned out to be a blessing. We got to see the reclining buddha at Wat
The Temple of the Emerald Buddha
We pose in front of the sacred temple Pho, the Queen's temple and the standing buddha at Wat Intharawihan. Bangkok is awash in buddhas, as well as photos of their beloved king. We were even made to stand before "Munich" in his honor, which we went to see later that night in Siam Square. This was after we went through the high-end malls around there, which sold everything from Ferraris to Versace and Armani (the real kind). We ate at the most incredible mall food court one could imagine, after Chris walked around for an hour trying to keep her head from exploding.
Yesterday was pretty chill, as we saved our money and energy for the night. We took a river taxi down into downtown, and stopped at the
Bamboo Bar at the Oriental Hotel, a 130-year-old institution, analogous to Raffles in Singapore. We then took the Skytrain to the infamous Patpong district, where we first grabbed a burger at an Irish pub, celebrating Valentine's Day with some comfort food and Guinness. Then it was time for the Patpong district, a night market of knock-offs and a string of brothels and go-go bars. While we weren't enticed by the hordes of hawkers advertising ping-pong shows, we did go
Wasting Away in Ko PhaNgan
Chris and Gayle in the middle of another relaxing night into a couple of interesting places for an overpriced beer and a shot of seediness.
Today, we made plans to take an overnight bus up the Chaing Mai. Chris went off to see the National Museum, as we prepared to move on to (hopefully) another great Thai city.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.302s; Tpl: 0.012s; cc: 7; qc: 47; dbt: 0.2401s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb