Last Day in Thailand

---

BangkokI spent my last full day in Thailand back in Bangkok. I had a hell of time finding the hotel I wanted to stay at and ended up in one recommended by a taxi driver. It turned out to be pretty nice even though it was bit more than I wanted to pay. I thought about what to do on my last day, and since I had seen some of the touristy stuff on my way in to Thailand, I decided just to explore different neighborhoods and shop. I walked thorough the rather large Chinatown, and it looked like just about every Chinatown I have ever seen. Some of the traditional medicine shops were very old though, with old wooden drawers, glass cases, and strange things in jars. Apparently there is a solid gold Buddha on display in Chinatown that used to be at Sukhothai and managed to survive the attack by the Burmese. The Buddha was encased in plaster of some sort and everyone forgot it was gold inside. When it was being transported to Bangkok centuries later, it cracked and they discovered what was inside. I found out about this after I left Chinatown so I missed it but it was still and interesting story.

Bordering Chinatown is the tourist ghetto centered on Khao San. I guess it would be Touristown or Farangtown. Maybe Smelly and Unclean Farangtown. The place was packed with tons of shops that were either crappy hostels, cheap internet (yea!), tattoo parlours, or selling hippie clothes and souvenirs. I did manage to find yet another table selling hundreds of CDs for cheap, so that was nice. I didn’t stay long in there and took the river boat down to the southern part of the city, which is a great way to travel plus faster and cheaper than a cab. I wondered several of the huge malls and just people watched. I ordered a bowl of chicken ball noodle soup and expertly seasoned it with fish sauce and hot pepper, but I could still tell that no one thought I was Thai. I passed a kiddie are where instead of having the coin operated rides that just rock back and forth you could use the little battery operated cars that kids can drive around on their own. In theory, they were supposed to stay in one area of the mall, but they were still a hazard. I had a well-made chocolate milk shake and headed back to the hotel around via yet another night market. I loved Thailand and hope I get to go back again someday (maybe January!)

---