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Published: November 30th 2010
Bangkok
Khao San rd. crazy crazy crazyThe trip back into this metropolis went as smooth as silk. Our bus ride was uneventful and the drivers didn't try to swindle us out of money or take us to fake border crossings. There is a smorgasbord of problems associated with the border we used that include fully functional fake border offices and bus stations. Aside from the crossing proceeding at a snail's pace, taking over 2 hours which is slow even for Cambodia, the experience was painless. While in line we witnessed diplomats arguing with a military officer who was trying to force them to line up with the rest of us plebeians much to the diplomats dismay. They eventually got their way with enough complaining however. The cherry on top of the trip was that our bus dropped us off right smack in the middle of backpacker central instead of one of the far-flung bus stations several KM from central Bangkok.
We found our old guest house down the little alley filled with vegetarian restaurants with ease and we even were assigned the same room we had 3 months ago. The Khao San road area is the mecca for travelers in Southeast Asia because of all the
Bangkok
Malls, skytrain and clogged streets from central shopping district cheapo flights landing here. It is a bit of a circus that displays the best and worst behavior you will encounter from locals and farang (foreigners) alike. As much as there are ignorant asshole strolling around like they own this place because they are rich compared to the locals, there are shysters a plenty with loads of moral turpitude who will say anything to get at your cash. By this point we have heard (or heard of from others) all the scams and haven't had problems with safety or theft. Last night we had a taxi driver who took us a few Km in the wrong direction because he couldn't understand we wanted to go to the Skytrain station but otherwise we have had a no problems.
When you cross overland into Thailand and don't arrange a Visa beforehand you receive a 15-day entry stamp for free. We have already spent some time here and don't have any huge plans. It is pretty relaxing even though Bangkok is the busiest city we have ever seen. It tops NYC! This place looks like the futuristic cites you see in some movies, as well as having mostly unchanged historic neighbourhoods where
Bangkok
we had to snap one of this impressionist Santa nothing is taller than 2 stories and all the buildings are made of wood. Yesterday we went from end to end and it only took 1 hour between skytrain and taxi. We were hanging out with our friend Brian who we met in the himalayas in Ladahk. Back in India we went on an excursion to the worlds highest saltwater lake (4720M above sea level) and climbed a nearby mountain reaching around 5700M above sea level. We got along great in India and it was he who sold us on the idea of visiting Thailand. We met up in the morning at the biggest outdoor market in Asia, Chatuchak, to browse the stalls and catch up on travel gossip. Chatuchak is the size of an entire neighbourhood and sells most things you can imagine. (nothing weird like monkey paws however i did see those for sale in Cambodia) You can get seriously lost if even if you know your way around and after a few hours we left having been somewhat awestruck and unable to find anything we actually needed because of too much choice.
Brian has lived here for 3 years, teaches, and knows the city and surrounding
Bangkok
... too weird area pretty well. He took us to his neighbourhood 30Km across town, technically just outside city borders. Even being the burbs there were still streetfood vendors, outdoor restaurants, and easily walkable shopping. We chilled over some local beer and caught up further on Brian's recent travels to Burma and Mongolia, 2 places that are high on our to-visit-list. We watched a video he made of his pictures from Ladahk and that brought back a flood of amazing memories. If you remember Jenna and i lost all of our pictures from Kashmir and Ladahk because of memory card problems. It was 2 months of photos, over 800, and many were our favourites from India. We were treated to some amazing and authentic Thai cuisine which can be hard to come by in the touristy area we inhabit and overall the whole day was a blast. Good food, good people, good fun. However now we want to go to mongolia more than ever.
For now we are making trips around the city and stocking up on items that are unavailable in malaysia and sumatra. One nagging issue is my 4 wisdom teeth that need extracting. I don't experience daily pain however
Bangkok
went to an imports grocery store to indulge a little. mmm jalapeno cheddar and louisiana hot sauce! i have avoided the problem for long enough and at the advise of our guesthouse owner, found a clean and respectable dentist nearby. Hopefully i will not be too knocked out from the extractions but will need at least one day off to let the swelling come down. We are not far from any major supplies and the rest will be nice after a bunch of very busy days hoofing it around Bangkok.
We will keep you posted on how everything goes! Lots of love to you friends!
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Dean
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Teeth
4 Wisdom teeth to come out? Expect to be back in circulation after one day? Must be great to be young! Any chance you will actually make it to Mongolia? Great adventures you are having. Neat to have the same room from 3 months ago. Must almost feel like coming home in a way. We felt that way in Nairobi after only a bit over a week of being elsewhere.