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Published: March 13th 2008
Just to note the page only displaces the first couple of photos so you can click next page at the bottom. The pics are are a mix from my point and shoot and some from my new SLR, you'll probably be able to tell the diff...
Landed in Bangkok! Ah the heat felt so good...I was freezing in Tokyo and the warm humid air was just what I needed.
Got into a cab and went to the famous backpackers road Khoa San Road...words can't describe this place...hundreds of people everywhere, mixed in with street food vendors, stores selling everything from saddles to pharmaceuticals, and saw my first lady-boy...they're easy to spot...don't know what you guys were talking about. Spent a good hour going from guest house to guest house since I didn't make a reservation still lugging my backpack until finally found one in the Sawasdee Smile Inn. Dropped off my bags (good riddance) and ventured out into streets. Dinner cost me 80 cents (authentic Pad Thai), and grabbed a beer in Gulliver's tavern that was filled with local Thai women and foreigner men (don't worry, I was just thirsty)...ended up talking to a guy from Sweden
and then my jet lag set in so crashed for the night.
After another night of restless sleep...this jet lag is killer, I got up and decided to switch guest houses...to one closer to the strip. Checked into Rambuttri Inn with a single air-con room and private bathroom, no shared bathroom for me...which cost me $18 for the night $3 more since I splurged on the private bath 😉
Toured around Bangkok and saw the Grand Palace, Wat Pho, Wat Arun where I met this couple for the UK that had both quit their jobs to travel for 5 months...they just spent the last 6 weeks in India and spending a month in Thailand before doing the same trip as me.
After a day of walking, my feet were malled and the jet lag was setting in again so decided to crash for a couple of hours before venturing out into Khao San Roads night life for round 2.
Day 2 in Bangkok I decided to check out the heart of the city Siam Square. But before starting I needed a good massage after lugging around that backpack for the past couple of days so off
to Wat Pho, the only official Thai massage university in Thailand...that massage was unbelievable...it was all pressure points, hurt like crazy but felt oh so good and cost me $10 for 1 hour. I think I'm just going to have to spurge and have these every couple of days
Grabbed a ferry then took the Sky train to Siam Square.
Now up until now Bangkok looked and felt like a complete third world city, severe poverty everywhere...I couldn't have been more wrong. Thailand is at war between the third world and the new world and I didn't discover this until I hit Siam Square. The Sky Train is state of the art just like the JR line in Tokyo, flat screen TVs play ads, and display stations coming up both English and Thai. But when i got off at Siam Square I was spell bounded but the Siam Paragon mall. I know you're thinking only I would travel the world to end up at a mall. But you don't understand...this mall was monstrous. It was the size of 5 Eaton centres...every single brand had it's own store (Canali, Burrberry, Dolce Gabana, Omega), the mall was so huge that
on the 7th floor it had car dealerships! Yes, porsche, BMW, Lamborghini, Maserati, in a MALL!!! Now if that was enough, on the ground flow is Ocean World, the largest aquarium in all of south east Asia. Man, people here must have money since the mall was packed on a Tuesday. OK, impressive, but wait. One mall wasn't enough, right beside it was 2 other malls the same size!
OK, off to island of Koa Tao for some diving...
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Anne-Marie
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So nostalgic
It's amazing how much your pics look like mine. It really is a magical place, isn't it? Glad to hear you are back on the mend and finally on the beach. Soak it all in. It's so surreal.