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Published: September 3rd 2005
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Singapore
the architecture in the 'business' district Well, I've made it! Currently sitting in a wonderfully cool (air-conditioning is a god-send) internet cafe attached to my guesthouse in Bangkok, Shanti Lodge, rightfully called an "oasis" in Bangkok... but I'm getting ahead of myself.
I arrived bleary-eyed in Singapore after a long day in transit, and was ushered from the airport to the free hotel, which, although not the nicest I've been in, was definately the last bit of luxury I'll have for a while (I had a whole double bed to myself! A shower! A sit-down toilet!). Singapore itself was at once exactly what I expected (modern, almost Western) and the opposite (it really wasn't all that clean - maybe Canada's forever skewed my sense of cleanliness - it was impossible to find a public wastebasket). I spent the day wandering around, having slept in too late to make a tour (all of which were prohibitively expensive regardless) and was absolutely awe-struck by the architecture. It was ultra-modern, even futuristic, all glass and stone and reaching for the sky, and definately appealed to my sense of style. I went a little art-farg and took dozens of pictures of buildings which were not on the tourist map, and
Singapore
Raffles Hotel I'm sure the businessy Singaporeans who were walking by thought I was nuts - oh well, wasn't the first time and definately won't be the last.
Finding my bearings, I tried to set off for the "sights", but was pretty underwhelmed. Orchard Road is really just a collection of shopping malls (what was I expecting?) and after all the hype about Raffles Hotel ("raffles" is on eevvveerrryyyttthhhiinnggggg) it was very... blah. An old, expensive, pretty-enough hotel - what's the big deal? Maybe if I was staying there I'd be a little more impressed. I'd also gone pretty much exclusively to get a picture of myself with a "Singapore Sling", which was invented at the bar there, but it cost $16 and definately didn't look like anything special so I skipped it. I'm sure there will be plenty of other drinks down the road. :p
That night I got back onto a Singapore Air flight (which, although quite nice with their individualized tv sets with a good selection of tv shows/movies/games/music, are just another airline - having a pretty printed menu and fancy names for the dishes doesn't disguise the nastiness of airplane food, nor do beautiful stewardess dresses
Bangkok 1
the reclining Buddha makeup for being squashed in a seat for hours) and was off to meet Alicia in Bangkok... I don't think I've ever been so excited to see anyone in my life. Although I managed Europe just fine by myself, Asia is definately not a continent I'm tough enough to brave on my own just yet.
We taxied to Shanti, not ready for a tuk-tuk, and although we both were professing how very tired we were, didn't get to sleep until 5 am. A combination of jet lag, catching up, the noise of the streets (tuk tuks don't stop, and a monsoonish rain hit at about 230), and the heat made sleep difficult at best. The next day was (understandbly) spent mostly relaxing around the guesthouse, a beautifull organized place which is very difficult to leave, especially considering the mouth-watering food and sense of peace about it.
We did manage to take on Bangkok officially yesterday though, getting up bright and early (had a few more hours sleep) and going to Wat Pho to see a beautiful Buddhist temple compoud, dotted with tons of beautiful sculptures, temples, cats (cats & dogs are everywhere!), and which is known for the
Bangkok 2
silliness at Wat Pho giant and beautiful 'reclining Buddha' which has giant feet inlaid with mother of pearl art (my fave part). We were also accosted by the cutest Thai school children who asked us questions and (tried) to teach us Thai, while being videotaped by a classmate. We're quite the spectacle here. After that we thought about going to the Grand Palace, but were so hot and flustered and annoyed by the constant touts and tuk tuk drivers who no matter where you're going will try to convince you elsewhere, decided against it... though we did walk by and take a picture! After that we decided to splurge on a canal cruise, wherein the two of us had a longtail boat to ourselves and were chauffered around the quiet back-street canals of Bangkok for an hour - it was lovely. Keeping up our gung-ho sightseeing plan, we took for the Vinanamek Teak Mansion, but discovered it was closed, so went to the zoo instead... saw some very strange animals both in cages and out (there was a komodo-dragon looking thing wandering the sidewalk - an escapee?) but were quite tired so headed back pretty quickly. A nap and some food later, and we
Bangkok 3
serenity for all species (Wat Pho) went to Khaosan Road, braving our first tuk tuk (and LOVING it). Khaosan is absolutely ridiculous... It's the "tourist district" and is crawling with backpackers, lit by the neon signs of 7-11s, sbux, Burger King, etc, lined by food stalls and sidewalk bars, and packed to the gills with people. It was ridiculous. We went to "Gullivers" for a couple drinks, and what had been a low-key pub suddenly turned into a bumping club. We had fun for a while, dancing and drinking, but ultimately the all-too obvious pairing off of young, beautiful thai girls with less-than beautiful white tourists got to us so we took off and went to bed. Clubbing in Bangkok was an interesting experience, but not one we want to repeat any time soon.
Today was a day we'd been looking forward to - shopping! The Chatuchak weekend market, which apparently sees 200,000 shoppers a day and features 15,000 vendors selling everything from clothes, housewares, food, knick kancks, jewelry, furniture, to pets (the most adorable puppies). We tuk-tuked there (having found our new-fave mode of transporation) and spent a few hours negotiating the craziness... made it home with (collectively) two bikinis, two t-shirts, two tank
tops, a pair of pants, a backpack, a coin purse, and flip flops for $40! Tonight we're taking it easy, updating journals and such, because tomorrow we leave for Chiang Mai, and have a morning of sightseeing planned - got to make it to the Teak mansion at some point after all.
Reflections on Bangkok: tuk-tuk touts are everywhere and infuriating, but once you settle on a price and location they're fantastic, street food stalls are also everywhere and a little intimidating, but worth the bravery, the humidity kills you, Khaosan is a sight but filled with dirty frat-boy types, Wat Pho is incredible, Shanti Lodge is a nice respite, and, most of all, there's more to Bangkok than meets the eye.
And now for some photos! (*crosses fingers*)
hope everyone's doing well and feel free to email,
Robin & Alicia
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Dad
non-member comment
Nice to hear from you
Hi Robin, Here with Grandma and Grandpa. It was great to get your first blog with pictures!!! It is fantastic! The pictures came through beautifully. Take lots. If you can manage to blog a lot then I don't thin you need to worry about phoning too much although Mom was happy to hear from you. Asia is quite a bit different from Europe, eh? Stay healthy, have fun! Love Dad Grandpa and Grandma