Bangkok and Khao San Rd

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Well I'm here at long last. Bangkok.

The flight from Vancouver to Hong Kong was a long, boring flight. The upside was that Cathay Pacific seems to be a really good carrier. There were already pillows and blankets for us when we got to our seats, and even in Economy class we all had our own television screen and could choose what movies to watch. So that was nice, but all in all I probably only got 4 hours of sleep. We were also a little late getting to Hong Kong so we really had to rush to the next gate.

After we got to Bangkok International Airport and went through immigration and customs we got a taxi to Khao San Rd. The infamous backpacker ghetto. The taxi ride was pretty fun. The style of driving here is quite insane. Lanes seem to mean little and people cross the street whenever they want. All the while motorcycles are weaving in and out of traffic. I figured they knew what they were doing though, so I just sat back and tried to enjoy the ride. Once we got to Khao San Road the heat hit. I realized it was insanely hot out. It was about 11:00 AM and it was already 32C. The sweat was literally dripping off my face. Since we're meeting Emily later tonight we already planned on a place to stay. A little Teak style Guest House that was listed in the Lonely Planet guide. We asked for a room with two beds and the lady running the place informed us that she had a room like that, and that it was her last room. Then she informed us that it was a Double Room but it had 3 beds in it, so please don't bring anyone else in. Then we let her know that Emily would be coming around 2AM and she made us pay for a Triple room. It end up costing 360 Bhat, so I guess that's around $12 Canadian. Still, not too shabby. The room it self is a square room with 3 beds side by side. The 3 beds side by side also reach wall to wall. It's pretty funny, I have pictures which I'll try to upload later on when I have some more to make it worthwhile.

After checking into the hotel we walked up and down the street and around the block, looking at all the knockoff clothing and abundance of body-jewelry shops. Coral had already changed in to shorts and sandals, but I was still wearing shoes and pants. I've come to realize that I don't think I'm going to be wearing to many pairs of pants on this trips, or even my shoes that much. It's just way to hot. I'll probably pick up another pair or two of shorts and that should be good. I've just eaten some sort of asian food at one of the many cafes lining Khao San Road. It was Beef over rice with sweet and sour sauce, and green peppers, cucumber, and pineapple. I think it was a Siamese cafe, so maybe that's what kind of food it was. Regardless, I'm usually a very picky eater, but I figure I won't have much of a choice for the next 3 months, so I ate all my food.

And that brings me to now, I'm at a nice air conditioned Internet Cafe. I'm not sure what our plans are for the rest of the day besides being awake at 2AM when Emily gets here. So yeah, that's about it for now.

Ciao.

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Photos

Our room
Three beds wall to wall

Comments

[anonymous]

Wooo Hoo - It begins..
Craig, good to hear that your trip has been good so far. I really liked Cathay Pacific, too. Good blog entry. Head down to Pang Pong (sp?) just for the fun of it - it seems pretty safe so long as you don't go into some of those back rooms. ;) And beware the street meat - it takes a while before your digestive tract can handle some of that stuff. I hope you have a great time! Keep up the blogging. Cheers, SAI - Kakashi