Bangkok - Nothing in particular, running a few errands in Bangkok

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Summary:


• Vietnamese embassy - collect passort and visa
• Mo Chit bus stop
• Muay Thai
• Laundry


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You guys are probably really (really, really) bored of hearing this but I again wake up at some outrageous hour. I think it was 7am this time, considering that I went to bed at about 3am and I haven't been getting much sleep at all the last couple of days I don't really know how I am still standing. Today there are a couple things on the agenda, I need to return to the Vietnamese embassy to collect my passport and visa, visit the the Mo Chit bus stop to buy bus tickets for tomorrows trip up to the north of Thailand, Chiang Mai and see some Muay Thai.

Despite waking up at 7am, I actually go back to bed to try and get some more rest because I know tomorrow is actually going to be a really (really, really) full on day. I put some laundry into the communal washing machines provided by the hostel (yes 4 days in and I am already out of clean cloths). It costs 20baht to use and 10baht for laundry detergent, there is also a dryer which is 10baht for 10mins. After putting in the laundry I go back to bed, come back out to pop everything in the dryer and once all is done I collect, I think about 40mins had lapsed from start to finish. I leave the hostel at about 10:30am hail a cab and heading down to the Vietnamese embassy its about a 10-15min cab ride and 70Baht. Oh, I must add I love how some (not all) of the cab drivers love to tip themselves, so instead of giving you your exact change they will short change you a little so you might be due 28baht back they may only give you back 25Baht or even 20Baht, or heaven forbid they will just try and not give you change at all (they will see whether you just get out of the cab or wait, terrible if you ask me).

We arrive at the embassy in one piece and it is simply a case of popping in and grabbing my passport with the visa in it. The visa is a page big similar to the Chinese one. I still think this visa is a rip off even after getting of the initial shock of being robbed (not literally) by the Vietnamese embassy. It is very seamless, I am in and out with 5mins, completely different from when I first came (they took well over an hour). It must be something to do with after lunch service that makes everything seem to run at a snails pace. After this I head down to have some local street food just around the corner not sure if its a really authentic place because there are a lot of the foreign embassies that surround this place. The food is however very good, I order rice, pork, duck curry and chicken curry. It's very authentic (Spicy!) to say the least and the duck curry is definitely one of the best curries that I have tasted. I am not much of a lover duck as a cut of meat, I think that there is not enough meat a little too much fat, but if I did then I would possibly have gone back and bought another serving.

From the embassy I make my way over to the BTS Skytrain a little way up the street. From here its onto the second leg of the day, Mo Chit to go and look for a bus ticket for tomorrow. When I was considering my options for this, I did have the option of booking through the hostel for 1100 + transfer costs, but the guys that was selling at the hostel recommended that I do my self and save a bit of money. In order to get to the bus terminal by public transport you need to catch the BTS right to the end of the Mo Chit line (or is called the National stadium line, not sure to be honest but it is the end of line) and form there you either catch the bus or catch a cab (walking is not an option, it is actually quite far and along some highways). When I arrive there is a whole smorgasbord of companies offering travel, of course all their signage is in Thai. After some sniffing around the guy was right it is a little cheaper to book here 900 for VIP or 640 for Gold, there is also 2nd and 3rd class but those classes are not even a consideration for me. The is quite a bit of difference from the 1100 even you go with VIP and factor in the Cab rides in and out. I purchase a VIP ticket for 870ish Baht that leaves at 8:20, I then realise that my tour tomorrow doesn't return till 9pm. Thank god one change is free but they have no other VIP tickets later than 8:20 so Gold class it is.

In the evening I decide (considering that it is my last free night in Bangkok) to head down to Lumphini Stadium to see the muay thai a huge attraction for tourists and locals a like. Lumphini Stadium is a dedicated muay thai stadium with the surrounding properties almost all dedicated to mauy thai in some way or form, whether that be clothing, supplements or the offices of a local mauy thai school. I decide to head don in peak hour traffic, the time was 17:45 on a Friday evening. The journey which usually would take 5-10mins takes approximately 40min but I suppose that's to be expected in peak hour traffic in the heart of Bangkok. I arrive at the stadium to be greeted by a flurry of activity at the front of the stadium, the front of the stadium looks like a shopping center nothing too spectacular.

Inside the stadium it is quite intimate, I arrive mid way through the first flight (no big deal that I would eventually find out).

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