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Published: June 24th 2006
I arrived in Bangkok at 1 am on Thursday night (Friday Morning). Before I left I realized that both of the hostels close to the airport I had placed reservations for had not confirmed (and they do not accept walk-ins after 12). I was a little nervous, but not enough to really worry. If I have learned anything in my travels, it is that everything seems to work out one way or another.
The flight went really well and at the exchange counter I ran into Garret and Justin, two brothers from the mother country. They were in the same boat as I was so we took a cab together down town and found a pretty swank guesthouse. I paid 180baht (less that $5) for a single room with fan. They didn’t lie though. That was all it was—a tiny room with a fan, not even blankets or a sheet. The good thing is that it is so hot here you don’t need either. The Swasadee Guest house was luckily for us, right in walking distance of the main areas.
We met down stairs later and had a few beers in this bar decorated with random Thai art. The
Thai Monk
Don't get any ideas Sarah, They are celbit...main theme had to be something like “The mother’s joys of breastfeeding,” since there were sculptures and paintings everywhere you turned. There were also a lot of wood carvings, lanterns, plants and canopies. It was actually an outdoor bar as it had no walls and was open to the busy street outside. Here we watched the game and met a pretty awesome (Indian?) man from Germany.
The next day we got up rather late. We hit up a few travel agencies, as the boys were leaving for Phuket that night. I also had to enquire about when and where to take the bus on Sunday.
By the time we finished it was after lunch. We started walking to the Grand Palace and to see the Emerald Buddha, but ½ way there it started to pour down rain. It was like a monsoon. We stopped for a minute and then decided to run for it. Bad choice. One minute later it seemed like the ocean had fallen from the sky. We were wet from head to toe and on a gated side walk. We ran forward to find the closest shelter. We ducked into a rustic building that turned
out to be an Art Museum. We decided to check it out while we waited. It was never ending and we spent several hours in there. The rain stopped nearly right as we had finished.
When the rain let up we went on to the Palace. By the time we walked there it was already closed for the day. We ran into a guy who was telling us he could take us around the city for practically nothing. So we took him up on his offer and jumped into the back of his Taxi/Carriage/Go Cart. It was quite entertaining. Here they drive on the left side of the road with the drivers sitting on the right seat. The fun (or scary) part was that our driver obeyed no rules. In fact the traffic was so bad, but this did not stop him. He just went on the wrong side of the road. Other than the few accidents we were almost in, the people we almost ran over, and the bicyclist we almost hit, it was quite safe.
The first place he took us was to the largest standing Buddha in the world (now that they tore down the
one in Afghanistan a while back). It was shimmering gold and towered over a small courtyard and a temple. After this we were planning on going to see the large laying Buddha at Wat Po, but the taxi driver said that it too was closed now.
He then took us to a Tux shop. Here you can get a tux (or dress) made for a tenth of the price you can in the west. The tuxes here are also prized for there high quality. We were not interested in the least, but it turns out that he wanted us to stay in there 10 minutes so he could get a gas coupon. He then took us to another place where he could get the same coupon. I think this was part of the deal on why the ride was so cheap. So he took us into a Jewelry store where we had to look around for at least 10 minutes. We then walked down Khoasan street, which happened to be only one street away form where we were staying. We had dinner on the street and then they left for Phuket.
I decided I wanted to take a
Phra Sumen Fort
Driving by in our taxi night trip on the river to see the views, but the docks were empty in the area I was in. So I walked until I found a park and there was also a well-lit Thai Pavilion and the Phra Sumen Fort.
I then went walking along Khoasan Road. This is the street where all of the Backpackers seem to mix together with Thai venders, endless youth hostels and guest houses, tattoo parlors, bars, gadget shops and food carts. Walking here, everyone is trying to sell you something. There is quite a variety of interesting people, from locals to Monks to Hippies.
The first day here was pretty eventful. Today (sat) it is pouring again so I have not really gone out an explored.
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mom
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hey
Glad to know you arrived safely. The pictures are great Bekah. What exactly will you be doing there? And did you change your mind about bringing your laptop? If not, how are you writing? Do you have means to call us still? I love you girl, Mom