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Published: July 24th 2010
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Big and golden
Not just talking about Cath's hair Bangkok
We flew to Jo'Burg again first, then on to Kuala Lumpur, then finally to Bangkok, all with Malaysian Airlines. Malaysian Airlines was okay but no patch on Singapore Airlines or Air New Zealand. Neither of us managed to get any sleep as the flying time was during the day, instead we caught up on the latest movies we had missed while in Africa. Not a great idea as we arrived in Bangkok in the morning so had a day to get through before the evening! We got a taxi to our hotel for the night which we had got as a treat - the hotel had internet, a pool, a big flat screen telly and best of all, dressing gowns!
We had very low expectations of Bangkok having read previous exerpiences of it, particuarly my brother and sister in law's blog, which did not paint a good picture of the city. Brent had also visited Bangkok previously on a short stopover and did not enjoy it either. The thing about having low expectations is that you are often pleasantly surprised, which we were. We thought Bangkok was great. Okay, so it's not the cleanest or the prettiest
All hail
The buddha, not Brent.. city in the world, but we embraced the heat (and there SURE was heat) smell and noise of the place and made the most of it.
First up was another round of bag washing as unforutnately our bedbugs had followed us across the world despite our efforts in Capetown. On our first day we also went to a large electronics mall so we could pick out a netbook which would help us greatly in organsing our travels (which we are making up as we go) and keeping in touch with friends and family.(yes, we're on skype). We also checked out Central World, the mall which got destroyed during the recent rioting in Bangkok. This is the biggest piece of evidence of what happened just a couple of months ago. There are also rememberance places set up to those who died in the riots, where you can light a candle or leave flowers. Fortunately there were few other signs of the recent troubles while we were there.
After moving to a slightly less expensive hotel - which still had a pool! - we set off for a shopping day. After offloading our sleeping bags and warm icebreaker jerseys &
Outside the temple
Which WAS very much OPEN, Mr Scammer beanies we had used in Africa, it was time to load up with some more summer wear. Cath bought herself a new skirt, pair of shorts and some singlet tops while Brent ended up with a few T-shirts. After missing out on the cheap khock-off stores first off (they had been raided by police and shut) we were able to go back to the MBK mall a few days later and they were all reopened.
Being tourists On the Saturday we decided to be tourists for a day and see some of the sights. We took the underground up to the river and then a riverboat to where the Grand Palace is. We first went to Wat Pho to see the emormous reclining buddha, which is 46m long and 15m high. Then we went along to the palace to see the emerald buddha, which is actually made out of jasper. The palace is also home to loads of tourist scams. The most common is a well dressed man or guard tells the tourist that the attraction they want to see is closed. In our case we were told it was closed for a budist holiday. However, there were
Door guards
Can you ship a couple to New Zealand? plenty of open attractions in another part of town and he could arrange transport for us to get there. We walked on to our very much OPEN tourist attraction. We got this twice before we got to the very much OPEN palace and then on the way back to the riverboat we were told again that Wat Pho was not open. We laughed and told him we had already been there! Another day we were walking back up the lane to our hotel and we were told by a man that we were not allowed to walk up this road and would have to take a taxi. We laughed so much at this attempt..! Funny as everyone else is able to walk up this road and we had done quite happily for several days. I hope there are not tourists stupid enough to fall for this, but I do feel sorry for those who believe them, especially if it means missing out on seeing the reclining budda or palace.
It's also difficult to go hungry in Bangkok, there's street food everywhere and loads of cheap foodstalls in malls. Most nights we ate very well at the local food court
These are cool
So we took a photo.. at the Emporium Mall (we were staying in Soi 20, Sukhumvit so very close to walk there) and eating for about a pound a night. We did eat out one night but for four times the cost, we preferred the basic food. Plus the heat and humidity had zapped our apetites, so we were really only eating two meals a day. (plus a bit of Chang, SIngha and Caths favourite, Leo beer). Well...it IS hot...
The skytrain, which is celebrating it's 10th anniversary, is also a godsend. If you don't want to stay in the backpacker haven of Khao San area, it's nicer to stay further out of town and use the sky train to get everywhere. We were a short walk from Phong Peong station and we were able to get the skytrain to the major malls, to the river for boat trips and to the train station. Otherwise navigating the traffic in Bangkok is a major headache.
After a week of shopping, walking around and relaxing by the pool it was time to move on. It had been a lovely adminstrative pit stop and while Bangkok had surpassed our expectations, you can't spend too long there.
Grand Palace
Almost as grand as Brent's purple pants... We fast-tracked our Vietnam visas and picked them up on Tuesday. They take effect on 6 August, giving us 3 weeks to get through Southern Thailand and Cambodia. On Wednesday 14 July we boarded a 6-hour train to Chumphon, which is pretty much the beginning of Southern Thailand. We then take the ferry to Koh Tao where Brent can complete his diving course. Then we're headed south to the tourist mecca of Phuket.
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Couchies
Tracey Dave
What a blogathon!
Wow! You certainly caught up on all the blogs you couldn't post in Africa! It sounds like you are having a great time and there are some lovely photos too. Have a lovely birthday on the 29th Cath - I hope you do something special. Tx