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Published: June 25th 2017
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Cycling through the Lungs of Bangkok
Hard to believe we are in the middle of a city of twelve million. My last travel entry, written just before we left home for Bangkok, definitely carried undertones of concern about arriving in Bangkok, the vibrant city we have come to love in our previous travels, being a little worried that it would be consumed by the political tensions and protests that were highlighted daily in the media reports.
These fears were dispelled immediately. We had easy transport to our hotel, as no roadblocks were in effect after midnight when we arrived - but we did speak with other travellers later who had experienced some traffic delays due to protestors' route closures. The protest march we observed in our neighbourhood was peaceful - although we avoided the huge rallies - but we did ride the sky trains directly over the protests in the daytime and all seemed peaceful. We even visited the Paragon Shopping Plaza in downtown Bangkok, where someone threw a grenade a few nights later. And since we have gone, there have been more reports of violence and more deaths, but as always the media focus is only on the negative, and accordingly leaves a distorted version of reality.
Our experiences were entirely positive: we ate out and engaged with
Fish Spa for Two Please
After the bike tour, we were treated to a fish spa, which means a bunch of little fish were happily nibbling on our toes while we sat back and enjoyed the tickles. What fun! locals; listened to music, took in the buzz of the city, and observed life carrying on as usual. And we expanded our experiences this time by taking part in an amazing half day cycling tour throughout the city of Bangkok with
Follow Me Tours. We expected to be joining a small group of eight or ten others, but we were in fact a group of two, so we had our own personal guide, who took us through a number of locations, including the "lungs of Bangkok", a massive green jungle that the revered King incorporated in the city's planning decades ago. We spent two hours biking in a jungle scape that left us bewildered that we were actually in the centre of a city of twelve million. The only scary but ridiculously funny moment was when I cut a corner a bit too sharp on one of the pathway bridges and fell off my bike. However, rather than falling miserably - and perhaps quite seriously - into a swamp at least six feet below, I was saved by the big garbage can strategically attached right on that corner to the pathway. How embarrassing is that? Needless to say, Stan now delights in calling me his "Garbage Can Lady", but I have discovered a newfound appreciation for the mundane.
Our guide also took us through a number of city markets, a former Prime Minister's residence, and the narrow winding pathways through one of the poorest neighbourhoods in Bangkok, where the cleanliness of the district was surpassed only by the friendliness of the residents there. And of course, we couldn't do all of this without navigating our way through a few city blocks of chaotic Bangkok traffic and some wicked intersections - something I still have a little trouble believing we did and survived!
We are so glad we did not alter our travel plans as a result of the media reports, as supposedly 70% of the tourist industry has done. Bangkok remains for us a magical place, and we will surely come back again.
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