Bangkok: temples, tuk tuks and tourists

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Our flight arrived into the Bangkok airport at 11am on October 28th. We had a quick lunch at the overpriced airport restaurants while we tried to figure out the cheapest way to get into the city. We decided in the end to take the Skytrain (15baht) for a 30 minute ride to the end of the line, then we bartered and ended up paying 150 baht for a taxi to Khoa San Rd, backpacker central in Bangkok.

After checking in at @Home Guesthouse (350Baht with shared bath and fan, free wifi, BUT no plugs in the rooms and they charge 15B to let you charge your batteries using their plugs in the common area), we explored the infamous Khao San Road. At first glance this street was a fascinating array of foods, clothes, souvenirs, travellers and vendors selling anything imagineable! It was quite the experience for every sense, but that we were very abruptly brought back to reality when we were constantly approached and prompted at every stall to buy some service, tour, souvenir or take their tuktuk ride. There were literally probably more tuk tuk drivers than tourists on Khao San Rd. “Sir, you need tuk tuk? Today is a special holiday. I give you special price” gets very tiring after hearing it 20 times in less than 20 minutes!!

Weary of all the scams we had heard about involving tuk tuks in Bangkok, we took to the streets and walked to nearby Wat Intharawihan, with a huge tall standing Buddha with stunning art work inside the main hall. On our way down the streets to our next destination, we notice lots of police lining the streets and no cars on the roads. A woman we pass tells us that today is the anniversary of something (didn’t quite understand) for the King. On this day, the King and his family visit Marble Temple (which is where we were headed) and so it’s closed to the day. The police were lining the street to ensure the safety of the King, who was in poor health at the time. As a bonus for tourists, she tells us, the government is giving the tuktuks free gas for this day, so the drivers are offering rides for the entire day for 10baht per person (remember, 10bath= less than 40 cents). At this point we are either getting an awesomely cheap deal or the entire city is in on the tourist scam. Either way, we get to see more sights riding on a tuktuk, so we agree to let her find us a driver.

Our driver takes us first to “Lucky Buddha” which is apparently only open today. There, we see two very old Buddhas and talk to a monk who tells us a bit about the temple and shows us how to pay our respects as they do in Thailand. We make a wish to Lucky Buddha then continue on our journey to Top Ten, a tailor’s shops with special prices for today only. (I know, you are thinking, hmmm…what are the odds that today is such a special day. The thought occurred to us as well, but since we were still getting a good deal, we didn’t really care). When all was said and done, Kyle bought a tailor made suit with silk shirts and ties for 300$, an amazing deal!! The rest of us decline but they feed us beer while Kyle gets measured!

Next we go off to TAT (Thailand Authority of Tourism) where we book our train tickets to Chiang Mai. Being as odd a day as this was, it only continued when we decided, against our usual way, to book a tour of sorts for Chiang Mai. In the end what we got was sleeper train to Chiang Mai, 3 nights in a hotel w/ breakfast, train transfer to hotel, a 2day/1 night trek with elephant ride and bamboo rafting and a cooking class, all for 150$ each. The good thing was that we were free to choose the days we would do the tours on. Mike was slightly weary of all this, since we tended to not take organized tours as much as possible, but it seemed like a good deal. Fingers were crossed that this was a good decision!!!

Back at Khao San Rd, we had great (but small-portioned) Indian food for dinner at Roti-Mataba, then walked around and made our plans to visit a floating market before we leave the city.

First thing the next morning, we leave our hotel in search of a new one that will not charge us to plug in our electronics. We end up settling on a place smack dab in the middle of Khao San Rd for 700 baht for a big 4-bed room we could all share. While this hotel was convenient, it was also very loud at night, with music blaring from the nearby clubs until 4:30am. Hotels were definitely NOT a highlight of Bangkok!!

We walked to Wat Pho (50B entry) with an enormous reclining Buddha that was more than worth the afternoon of sweating buckets in our long pants and hiking boots (as we were told in our guide book. But there were plenty of people wearing shorts and flip flops. Boo. Sometimes being respectful is overrated, I guess?!?!?!). Wat Pho is simply stunning. Everywhere we turn there are shiny buildings, colourful stupas and great statues. It was a beautiful day and this place just came to life. I’m sure we could have stayed there all day if hadn’t been for the afternoon trip we had planned to Amphawa to see the floating market.

We lunched on Khao San Rd, feeling adventurous and getting the “street” pad thai. The woman fried it up on a grill right on the street and, although the chicken looked slightly questionable, it was undoubtedly the best pad thai I have ever had! And at only 50B, you can’t go wrong there! Paired with a fresh fruit smoothie, this girl was happy!

After lunch we boarded bus 13B to the main bus station, where after much confusion, we finally found the minibus that would take us to Amphawa, 120B, 2 hour drive. We arrive in the small, quaint canal town around 4pm and unfortunately there isn’t much action going on in terms of floating market, but this town is awesome! We walk along the canals, check out shops with really unique items, taste some fruit smoothies in take-home bamboo cups (which I actually kept and sent home, excited to use in the future, only to get home and find them infested with mold 😞 ). One of the things that made this town a gem, was the absence of foreign tourists! It was one of the few places you can go to in Thailand and actually get away from the crowds and the scams. We had a hard time finding people who spoke English when we needed help, but it was a much more authentic cultural experience. We did see lots of small boats rowing around, selling fresh cooked food to people walking along the canal. It was a vast array of smells, colours, sounds and bustle that made for a very cool vibe. The chefs were calling out to people on the sidewalks offering them tasty seafood creations and cooking up requests on the spot.

Although we only stayed in Amphawa for a few hours, it was a needed escape from the bustle of the big city and we were so glad we made the trip there. Somehow, the bus ride back to Bangkok was on a more comfortable minibus and only cost 70B each! Once we were back on Khao San Rd, we had dinner at a touristy place with a great ambience but mediocre food and vendors coming up to your table all the time to sell things. It was a less-than-stellar dinner experience.

Khao San Rd at night was great! Everything lit up and came to life. Bars and restaurants blared music and featured ridiculous drink specials, including one bar, who proudly advertised “We Don’t check ID!!! Strongest drinks in Town!!”. Something tells me we are in the wrong area of the city.

Later that night while I can’t sleep due to the pumping beats, I take the laptop downstairs to send some emails and meet this other tourist. It was about 3am and he gave me a hard time for being in pj’s and not club attire. Needless to say, when we returned to Bangkok a month later, we did not stay at a hotel on Khao San Rd. This was probably one of the least awesome parts of our entire trip and one of the only places that I would actively not want to return to. But hey, to each their own!!

Day 3 in Bangkok and we were all more than read for the more relaxed pace of Chiang Mai. Our train wasn’t until that evening, so we split up for the morning. The guys went to the Royal Palace. Entry fee for this place was a hefty 350B with a strict dress code. There, they saw a beautiful Buddha made of Emerald that was much smaller than expected. They said the Palace was cool and they were glad they went, but it was very touristy and overpriced. Meanwhile, Meg and I went shopping in Banglampu, checking out all the vendor stalls and wedding shops any good deals.

The rest of this day was mostly a low-key day spent wandering the streets and getting ready for the overnight train to Chiang Mai. We took the 18:10 train, 14 hours to CM. When we first boarded the train, we were shocked to find out how small the sleepers were…there was almost no way we would be able to sleep two people in those narrow beds!! On top of that, we saw a few creepy crawlies around and we were all set for the train ride from hell! Luckily, the train staff were friendly and eventually showed us while we were all 4 trying to cram in what we thought were 4 seats, we were really in only 2 seats and we therefore had twice as much space! Phew! With a brighter outlook, we play cards and then have a surprisingly good sleep on the train.

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