STROLL IN OLD CHINA TOWN IN A HOT DAY

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20140705 STROLL IN OLD CHINA TOWN IN A HOT DAY

Going for a stroll in old China Town I highly NOT recommend it.

I started my day taking a motorcycle ride from the corner of my building to the Giant Swing right in the middle of China Town. None of of the fast public transportation get you there. Not the subway not the skytrain and it is one of the most touristic areas of Bangkok. I guess it is strategically planned that way so trourists spend more money in Tuk-Tuks and Taxis. The sun was out, the sky was blue and it was HOT. I mean hot and dry. The area around the Giant Swing is surrounded by Buddha Factories. I took advantage of the situation and tried to ask for a Business Buddha for one of my friends. But no one spoke English and they looked at me like I shouldn’t be there. Finally a kid showed me some statues in bronze and told me the prices. I didn’t have the cash and certainly I didn’t want to carry a bronze statue the whole day. It was enough just with my tripod and lenses. I looked at the map and all I saw was temples…here and there. I walked around the temple next to the Gian Swing, Loha Prasit. Very pretty. Similar to the other Chinese temples. The guy getting the tickets at the door was aleep so I went right in and right out. I knew one thing for sure: I did not want to see more temples. Looking at the map of the area there was a big green spot so I headed there. A hockey field and a zoo, Dusit Zoo. Great I didn’t have anything else to do so I turned on my gps and decided to walk. I didn’t seem to long. In one of the streets I turned into a temple looking for some shade and a very nice man approached me. He told me in very good English that he was a teacher and that today was a holiday in Thailand and that all temples were free. That I should go and visit them. I grabbed my map and marked it all over and told me what to do. Go here, go there, be there by 3 to watch the Thai Dance and then over there to watch the sunset and then finish. He also mention that the government tuks were THB20 for 2 hrs all day. The government tuks have a yellow plate and the private have a white plate. He said to me. Government pays tuk tuk to show tourist around. “Only today Madam only once a year”. I was sold on the idea and of course right away a Tuk Tuk driver appeared from behind the trees!!! What a scam! The Tuk Tuks make you stop at certain souvenir shops for gems and tailors. They get a gas coupon worth THB200 if you spend a least 10 minutes looking if you buy something over THB1000 they get more coupons. So the Tuk Tuk drivers don’t what to take you anywhere else but there so they can collect the fuel coupons. I sort of knew the game so I agreed to help him out and get my ride for THB20 but then he wanted me to go to another place. And I did because he agreed to take me everywhere I wanted all day for free. But of course once we got to the Zoo he told me Madam at 3:30 I finish and I go home. So I gave him THB40 and walked into the museum. I would have been better if I had gone straight there because then I missed the Thai Dance inside the Throne Hall at 3 pm. Any way I wonder around the zoo. Trying to justify why I was at a place where animals are held in coutivery. I read some of the signs some of the critters were protected by the Thai Law and others were rescued from smuggles. I though ok. That is a good reason to be here. I snapped some shots of the kids with the animals and then I saw the regular gray cloud of the afternoon. If I got out of there I was going to get soaked so I waited it out by the entrance. It sprinkled and didn’t rain hard. Then another Tuk Tuk approached me with the same story. I said no Im walking Im across the street from the next temple. Im not going to pay him to take me one block ahead. Of course I got there and the Throne Hall was closing. My luck! I don’t want to see any of the temples but if I try to enter they close them on my face. I took a couple of shots of the façade of the building and when I stepped out the Tuk Tuk guy was waiting for me. Honestly I wanted to walk. I like the exercise besides I see more when Im walking. He talked me into getting in. And visiting the tailor place to get him a “gasoline coupon”. The sailsperson looked at me with my hippy clothes and seating and asked me what do you do for living…He knew I wasn’t going to order a custome made suit. But that is what they get for forcing tourists go to those places. The driver got his gasoline coupon and I thought now im getting a free ride home. Well the last stop was going to be the Golden Mount to watch the sunset and then the driver was going to take me home. It was 1 hr to sunset and he asked me to go to one more place for ‘gasoline coupon” for him. I said no. But I should have said yes. The temple from the outside looks like nothing special. I was going to turn around and leave. But then I thought Im never going to come back here. I might as well see it. I looked for the entry. No one charging to get it so I went right up. It had a ton of short annoying steps all the way up. It was sort of cute. I thought maybe I should tell the guy to leave I want to wait a while for the sunset here. There was even a rainbow on the distance. I took a few shots and then everyone got kicked out. Everybody was chased down and the doors were going to be closed behind us after we left. There was not such a thing like watching the sunset from there. Another scam. We all got down. And all the tuk Tuks were gone! And now the ride back in yellow tag tuk tuk was minimum THB100. Everyone else took it and left. I said screw it Im walking. My plan b was to walk to the boat express station and then take the bts back home. I walked and pretty soon I was back at the giant swing. And the sun was setting by then and then I saw photographers with tripods waiting for the sun to set behing the temple next to the swing. I did just the same. Got my tripod out but the best spots were already taken so I moved around until I found my own spot. I continued my walk towards the boat station and run into a very nice market next door to the grand Palace. Nice clothes and shoes ver very cheap. The cheaper I have seen so far bummer I didn’t need anything. A few tuk tuks offer me a ride and did not want to know anything about them. When I got to the boat station it was after 8:30 pm and I was soaked in sweat. The guy said: finished take bus! I didn’t feel like dealing with the bus so I took a THB100 Tuk Tuk ride back to Hua Lampong!...that I could have taken to start with but I wouldn’t have found a sunset photo spot if I did that.

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