The throes of Bangkok Madness

So having spent longer in Malaysia than I anticipated I have run out of time to tour Thailand and therefore I flew to Bangkok via Kuala Lumpur.

On arriving in Bangkok I jumped into a licensed taxi unfortunately I got ripped off on the fare. He put it on the meter however I think he had a “dodgy” meter on account that it cost me triple what the fare should have done! Unfortunately due to the time I arrived in Bangkok it was dark and I never like to venture on public transport in the dark in a city I don't know and don't know where I am going. However I arrived at my hotel and quickly checked in. The rest of the evening was spent resting my ankle.

Thursday morning and one of the first items on my agenda was a new mobile phone as I had left my charger on Dikenga. Having read the reliable Lonely Planet I knew that the MBK centre was the place to seek out. Breakfast eaten and I ventured out onto the mad streets of Bangkok. I made my way to the MBK centre on the sky train. The madness then began..... The MBK centre is just one vast building on several floors and you can buy anything and everything in their. On the 4th floor I found what I was looking for and it was then a matter of wandering around the 101 stores to find a cheap mobile that would see me through the rest of my travels. I settled on the well known make of i-mobile - it was cheap and I am now able to text in English, Thai or Chinese!!!

Job down and having wandered around various other levels of the centre food and water was calling me. Having fed and watered myself I was felling slightly light headed and my ankle was starting to ache and so I decided to call it a day and headed back to the hotel where I chilled by the swimming pool and had a siesta. That evening I had arranged to meet Steve (my hitch hiker in New Zealand) so I jumped in a taxi and made my way to Khao San Road. We met up and over a few beers and some food we caught up on our respective travel stories since we had parted 6 weeks before. He was duly envious of my boat trip. At the end of the night I jumped into a taxi. The hotel I was staying in was behind the Oriental Hotel and believing that it is a relatively well known hotel in Bangkok decided it would be easier for me to tell the driver to take me there and then I would jump out before we got there..... I was mistaken! Oriental Hotel what, where.....!? Thankfully I then remembered the Shangri-La wasn't too far away and thankfully the driver knew this one and I was able to give him directions when we were getting close to my hotel.

Friday morning saw me tackling the river ferry as I wanted to walk around the Grand Palace. I think the guy stood at the dock thought I was a bit simple when I didn't follow his exact instructions as to which pier I had to stand on however the ferry soon pulled up and I jumped on. My first stop was Wat Pho which is home to the largest reclining Buddha (46m long and 15m high). Having spent nearly an hour wandering around the Temple I could see a thunderstorm heading our way and so decided to retreat next door to the Grand Palace. Having walked half way around the Palace I eventually found the entrance and paid my dues and walked in. As expected within half an hour the heavens opened and I, along with a lot of other tourists, sought shelter under a canopy opposite Wat Phra Kaew and home of the Emerald Buddha (the Buddha is clothed in robes to match the season!). The thunderstorm passed overhead bringing torrential rain which caused the walkways to flood. After half an hour it eased off and so I finished my tour around the Palace and Wat.

After the Palace I wandered along the streets past the stalls that sell good luck charms and amulets. Deciding I was so close to Khao San Road I decided to go and have something to eat since it was mid afternoon and I hadn't eaten since breakfast. Once safely ensconced in a restaurant I text Steve telling him where I was if he fancied a beer and 5 minutes he came wandering down the street with book in hand - it transpired he too had just been eating lunch having had a lazy morning. We then ended up spending the rest of the day relaxing, drinking and talking to various people that came and sat nearby. In the end I caught a taxi back to my hotel whilst he carried on drinking with a guy from Scotland and an Aussie that we had been talking to for a few hours.

Saturday morning saw me walk from my hotel to Chinatown. Chinatown in Bangkok is nothing like any other Chinatown I have ever visited with its small and narrow streets only wide enough for a single car. The smell of engine oil was all around and every other doorway seemed to open up into a garage full of tuk-tuk parts. I then had a wander around Wat Traimit. Steve text me wanting to know if I wanted to met up with him so I agreed to meet him at the MBK centre as once again a thunderstorm was on its way.

On my way into the Wat I had been tackled by various tuk-tuk drivers about taking a tour. I had promised various people that whilst in Bangkok I would take a tuk-tuk ride and so I decided this was going to be my last chance. On leaving the Wat I was duly tackled by a tuk-tuk driver telling me he would take me to the MBK centre for 40baht at which point I pointed down the road and said I had been offered a ride for 20baht so he duly agreed without argument and then pulled out his map..... I automatically knew what this meant... a trip to a few shops in order for him to get a fuel token so before he could start I told him I only wanted to go direct. The hardcore stance and negotiations then started I eventually had the driver and his boss trying to negotiate with me and the deal ended up being either 80baht direct or 5baht and one shop! I decided to go with the 5baht (10p!) and one shop - when in Rome and all that!

So we duly headed off with me clinging to the back seat as we weaved in and out of the traffic. We eventually pulled over at a posh looking tailors (bear in mind I am a backpacker so wearing standard shorts and vest top with wild hair not the usual clientèle me thinks!) Anyway i duly went into the shop showed interest in a suit and then made my excuses that I couldn't have a suit made as I was leaving the next morning. The sales guy tried his hardest but eventually realised he was going to get nowhere and let me leave empty handed which earned me praise from my tuk-tuk driver. Thankfully true to his word he took me straight to the MBK centre and since he had amused me all the way with his incessant chatter I paid him 10baht.

Once at the MBK I met up with Steve and we wandered around some of the floors with no particular interest in buying as I still have 8 weeks before heading home and he is returning to Bangkok at least another 2 times before flying home. We then decided food was calling so made our way to the top floor and the food market. The choice was amazing and after awhile I decided to start with a Tom Yum soup. Whilst being in Asia my taste buds seem to have adapted to hot food and I can cope with food being a lot hotter than before however this Tom Yum soup was mighty hot and I was soon crying and my nose running. That said it was actually a really nice soup!

It was then time for Steve to head back to his hostel to collect his bags before heading on the night train north and I needed to return to pack in readiness for my early flight the next morning. Goodbyes said and we headed our separate ways once again.

Sunday morning saw me with an early start and heading to the airport in a taxi (I didn't get ripped off this time).

Hong Kong next stop.....

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