From Expensive, Giant Beers to Cheap, Giant Dinners

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It seems like it took forever, but I'm finally here in Bangkok. I've wanted to go here for years so it was great to step on the plane. The plane itself sucked but what can you do? Air Berlin most definitely falls short to Lufthansa for German airline of choice.

I got in on Tuesday at 10:00 in the morning but I got almost no sleep on the flight so the only thing I wanted to do was find a hotel and go to sleep. Despite only seeing one restaurant in the airport, the entire terminal smelled so good, I was already drooling over my new cuisine for the next month. I would have eaten right there but I was that tired (it's not often I prioritize anything over food).

I took a 45 minute bus ride straight to the Rattanakosin district to Khao San Road, the world's most famous backpacker's haven. A lot of people opt not to stay here because it's completely jam-packed with tourists, but I figure I'll have an easier time meeting people to travel around with. It is amazing how many tourists are here and the Thais are far outnumbered on this street.

Like any huge city, first impressions are hard to figure out in Bangkok. It has a bit of a Cairo feel to it due to the pollution (although nowhere is filthier than Cairo) and maybe a bit of an LA feel due to the traffic and palm tree lined streets. English is absolutely everywhere and I get the feeling the Thais don't even really care if you don't make the effort of learning their language. I'll of course learn the basics anyway. Khao San Road actually has a bit of a Seaside feel, a Jersey shore town with a boardwalk filled with bars, shops and lights.

After waking up on my first day, I immediately went out to get my first real Thai meal. I paid about $6 for heaping portions of seafood soup and some kind of stir fry. It was of course really spicy, but despite highly hyping it for myself, it did not disappoint! Thai food back home is probably my favorite food and it's even better here.

Later that night, I met Tim and Tom, two British guys who just started an eight month trip last week. We bar hopped up and down Khao San Road until 5 am drinking beers and buckets filled with unknown alcoholic concoctions for next to nothing. I also got a fake student ID so I can start paying half the price for everything, as if it's not cheap enough already. And it gets even cheaper as you leave the city and go through the southeast Asia loop. This is a good thing too because Turkey and Germany wrecked my budget big time.

I planned to meet up with the British guys the next day at noon to go explore this massive market somewhere on the other side of town. In hindsight, I suppose setting a meeting time of noon after drinking until 5 is a bit foolish. Sure enough, I slept in until 2 and I think they said they slept even later. So instead, I took a bus to the Vietnamese embassy to apply for a visa. I paid a whopping 2,500 Baht for an express application.

At the embassy, I met Jessica and Christian, an American girl and a German guy. The three of us went out to get some food. It was of course again amazing and also very spicy. I'm hitting my limits with spice levels out here but it's so good I don't care. After eating, we bused back to Rattanakosin and went to a park on the river with a really nice view of the Rama VIII bridge. We wanted to make it in time for sunset but the traffic had other plans.

Just as I was about to split up with Jessica and Christian, I saw Tim and Tom eating at a place on Khao San. So I joined up with them and we pretty much went out for a repeat of the night before. They left early though because they had an early bus the next day to catch. But I ran into a group of three English girls, an Irish girl and a Russian dude. The six of us finished the rest of the night off at some club that I thought I would hate, but it was actually loads of fun. The bad thing about staying out so late here every night is that I'm pretty much still on Germany time.

Right now my plan is to sort out my Vietnamese visa, head up north to Chaing Mai, then into Laos, possibly via a two day boat ride down the Mekong River, then into northern Vietnam, all the way south to Saigon, into Cambodia, back to Bangkok, and then either go down the penninsula to Singapore or fly to Australia from Bangkok. I have to make a decision soon though because, except for LA to NY, I have no flights booked as of right now.

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Photos

Thai Food
My second meal in Bangkok

Pad Thai
My first real Pad Thai set me back a hefty 75 cents

Khao San Road
Khao San at night

Comments

[Laura]

hellllloooooo
hey it was really nice meeting u the other nite. i like the blog a lot and i'll follow along for sure ur a really good writer and musician to!! stay safe and i'll c u in the spring :-) Laura