Four nights in Bangkok........

Asia » Thailand » Central Thailand » Bangkok
August 23rd 2008

Published: September 11th 2008

Edit Blog Post

Merryn

Mai Tai

Buckets of cocktail were the go in Khao San Road

Siam's gonna be the witness
To the ultimate test of cerebral fitness
This grips me more than would a
Muddy old river or reclining Buddha

Well...I can't say Thailand would have been in awe of the display of brain power by these two intrepid travellers (although our spotting of scams was immediate indicating there was some activity happening up there) but Craig and I did rather enjoy seeing both the muddy old river and the reclining Buddha. Maybe the four rather than One Night in Bangkok was the simple explanation for this phenomena.

Having indulged my need to refer to at least one musical for this trip, let's return to basics.

We stayed at Rambuttri Village inn, all of one block from Khao San Road which just happens to be the backpacker epicentre of Bangkok. It was a great place to stay with plenty of market shopping and very cheap and tasty food. The foodie highlights for me were a spicy calamari stir fry cooked up by a little old lady in a back lane behind the markets (and costing the grand sum of

The Kamikaze

Craig and I shared this drink but sadly it was not all it appeared to be.

A$1) and a steamed red snapper with lime and chilli served at local restaurant (and this set me back A$7!)

Drinking in Khao San Road was also interesting. Liquor licencing laws are clearly relaxed where tourists roam the streets with stubbies in hand and bars are just chairs and tables set up along the side of the road. Our first cocktails were potent, delicious and cheap making our first massage for the trip - neck, shoulder and foot - all that more relaxing. When we discovered 'buckets' of cocktails for the same price at another bar the following night, we thought we were made. However, with the old saying 'you get what you pay for' ringing in my ears, the bucket of 'Mai Tai' and 'Kamikaze' Craig and I consumed resulted in nothing more for me than a sugar high! The thai massage we had that night was not all that great either!

In terms of following the standard tourist trail, in the limited time we had, we managed to see the Grand Palace (including the marble buddha), Wat Pho (featuring the reclining Buddha), Wat Arun and the weekend markets. My camera got a fantastic workout at the

Grand Palace

It was busy, hot, and there was plenty to see.

first three and I got a massive headache from the weekend markets - too big, too busy, too hot, too much of everything.

We also managed to fit in a day trip to see Kanchanaburi war cemetery, Bridge over the River Kwai, and take a short ride on the death railway. It was hard not to be moved by the sheer number of headstones at the Kanchanaburi war cemetery. Knowing that thousands of allied troops died building the Thai-Burma railway is one thing, to actually see a few thousand of those graves is a most humbling experience. I also visited the JEATH war museum and have since begged my Aunt Judith to go and offer her services as curator. The idea is good and the photographs of the POW camps were well presented but the remaining displays could be improved with a little care and attention.

On a less somber note, our trip also included an elephant ride (they seriously do not have a comfortable gait) and a trip to the Tiger temple. The latter was a bittersweet experience. The tiger cubs were gorgeous and I was pleased to photograph them up close and at play. And whilst

All that glitters....

I think that there was too much gold for me at this place.

I paid to 'hold' a tiger, I am unsure if that was the right thing to do. The propaganda at the facility states the tigers are not drugged but simply used to human contact and can therefore happily sleep during their afternoon photography session. Hmmmmmmm....

Finally, it would not have been a trip to Bangkok without at least some mention of Patpong Road and ping pong balls. After a lengthy debate commencing in January (when we bought our tickets), 'to see or not to see' was the question. In the end, our visit lasted less than 10 minutes as, not surprisingly, neither of us were comfortable with what we saw nor the environment we found ourselves in. The experience did, however, provide for some interesting discussion on our way home!

Additional photos below

Photos: 31, Displayed: 24