Bangkok again

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I took an overnight bus from Ranong to Bangkok, arriving at 5 am in the south bus station.

I took a taxi to Khao San Road - tourist trap area. Metered taxis in Bangkok are cheap, their starting meter is at about $1US, and ticks over every km. What bothered me was that I took a taxi from Khaosan Rd to the south bus station the week prior at around 2 pm, a high traffic time. That driver got me to the station at a cost of 87 Baht. But at 5 am with no traffic, it cost 121 Baht to return to Khaosan road! I tried to argue with the driver, but he claimed to have no english. Its embarrassing to say, but I was getting angry about a $1.50 US additional charge! Got to learn not to sweat the small stuff.

Khao San road at 5 am is fully of uglies. I mean that it is sunrise, the market stalls are gone, the street is dirty, the police are at either end of the street and the only remaining people are uglies still hoping to find true love or the next hit on the street (uglies because they are so drunk/stoned or just plain ugly). Maybe I should have taken pics.

I returned to the same hotel, Happy Guesthouse, to book a room. The single rooms are small and basic, but they are clean and bedbug free.

I don't enjoy large cities, especially hot, smelly, overcrowded cities. I walked everywhere I needed to go because the traffic is horrendous - the buses are a jolt of repeat stop/starts. Where possible I used the river ferry system - the river may be polluted, but at least I felt that the boat had free and easy movement.

I am leaving today, Jan 13, for Chiang Mai in north Thailand on the overnight train.

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