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Published: February 6th 2007
We arrived at Bangkok airport in the afternoon. Luckily we had been talking to a guy in Singapore about the best way to get to the Khao San Road. From the airport we caught the free shuttle to the bus terminal about 5 mins away, then got the local air-con bus into the centre for 35 baht (around 50p) for a 30km journey!
We walked down the Khao San Road with our main packs on. It seemed really busy, so we headed for soi Rambuttri, a street where my parents had stayed during their visit over Christmas and New Year. We asked at each guesthouse along the road, but each would tell us the same, full. We then met a fat Welsh man who told us he knew of guesthouses we could stay at if we went with him to the tourist office out of town. Obviously this was a scam so we beat a retreat and carried on. A little further down we found a quiet place for 200 baht a night, although the beds were rock hard! That night we went out and got introduced to Chang Beer, 640ml of 6.4% beer for a little over 60p!
Breaking all the rules
According to the sign, no sitting allowed, Matt!Waking up the next day, we got up late at 2pm because of all the travelling, and just walked around the Khao San Road area. We bought a Lonely Planet of Thailand and sorted out our visas for Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia. On Sunday we visited the Grand Palace and Wat Pho. As with all Wats (temples) in Thailand it's not acceptable to show your legs so when we got there we borrowed baggy pants before entering. The temple was constructed from a lot of gold leaf and inside is the Emerald buddha. It's always cloaked in royal robes, one for each season (hot, cool, rainy), but no photos were allowed of it. After we went to Wat Pho which held the giant reclining buddha at 46m long and 15m high.
The following day we took the Chao Phraya River Express boat along the Mae Nam Chao Phraya to Chinatown. We walked through many crowded streets full of traffic and only really saw shop after shop selling electrical or otherwise goods. It hadn't been the hive of activity of resturants we'd expected it may have been. We got the boat back and took photos of the sun behind Wat
Golden Stupa
Inside the Grand Palace Arun and general river shots.
We spent the rest of our time in Bangkok getting our books for the rest of South East Asia and visiting temples whilst one day meeting up with Nebil from the Kiwi Experience.
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anonymous
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Tuk Tuks
Don't you just love the Tuk Tuks? So much nicer than boring old cars! Hope that one driving down Koh San Road isn't as crazy as most are! mum.