Advertisement
Published: December 26th 2007
Edit Blog Post
Floating Market
Water market in rural Thailand, 3 hours Northeast of Bangkok bangkok, day two
our second day in bangkok proved to be equally overstimulating as our first. after waking up at 6am and having our second straight breakfast of wonderbread toast, we boarded a minibus and headed out of the city with travelers from four different continents. first stop: floating market, 3 hours northeast of bangkok. much like the bangkok mbk mall with endless floors of identical designer knock-offs, the floating market was endless waterways of identical cheap thai souvenirs, all ridiculously overpriced. it was very cool to see and i did buy some ugly overpriced disco elephants which two of my lucky friends will soon become recipients of =).
next stop: the cobra show, the self-proclaimed "best show in the whole world" which i think cirque du soleil would beg to differ. while it was certainly not the best show i've seen, it was by far the most horrifying. after being accosted with a python while waiting in line, the harrassment continued during the show as the insane "snake man" literally heaved a giant venomous cobra into my lap for a photo op. my blood curdling screams proved to more entertaining to the audience than i appreciated and i
CobraInLap
Screaming bloody murder as the Snake Man harasses me with a cobra still haven't gotten a good night's sleep since.
third stop: tiger temple, a large rural animal sanctuary/temple dedicated to preserving and accelerating tiger population. the monks apparently accomplish this by sedating tigers so that animal-adoring westerners will pay big bhat to safely pet their money makers. regardless, i enjoyed every second of it and was disappointed that they refused to let me smell their paws or kiss their heads. whatever.
fourth stop: forgetable bridge on the River Kwai that had something to do with the vietnam war. i was too exhausted to read the placard with all the history. nicole was almost hit by a train.
after returning to our hotel and reflecting on our extreme day trip, bangkok continued to consume us into the night. khao san road proved to be a disappointing, stinky retreat for cheap backpackers and giant cockroaches. after eating an unacceptable grilled cheese sandwich and observing the thai girl/western boy flirtations, we strolled down khao san road, dodging street filth, barefoot drunken travelers, and plenty of cockroaches. while waiting for a cab to take us away, i was notified that i had a "friend" chillin on my pant leg. my insect
MilkingACobra
Snake Man milking cobra venom instincts kicked in and i started kicking and screaming, again igniting laughter among the locals. i swear this roach had antlers and a wing span comparable to a bat. thank GOD i was wearing pants.
a tuk-tuk finally did take us away, dropping us off at a bar across the street from our hotel. the bar, and apparently our hotel are right in the middle of bangkok's super notorious Patpong district, home of the notorious thai ping pong shows and gay nightlife. we were shown several "menus" of seemingly impossible tricks and ultimately succumbed to our curiosity. all i will say about our experience is: it is possible. i took a VERY long shower as soon as we got home. i think the ping pong show definitely was more terrifying than the cobras.
tommorrow we leave for koh samet, an island three hours south of bangkok, a welcome and needed escape from the big city.
miss you all!
Advertisement
Tot: 0.063s; Tpl: 0.011s; cc: 10; qc: 46; dbt: 0.0395s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 2;
; mem: 1.1mb
EDGAR
non-member comment
THAT SNAKE<
I had 1 in my neck and it was larger than me< ENJOY your trip<