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Published: October 12th 2008
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Bangkok was a weird place for me. Can't say that I liked it much, but I didn't end up hating it as much as I thought I would. Let me explain...
I arrived in Bangkok late at night after a full day of temple-ing in Cambodia. Very tired... just wanted to get my hotel and sleep. No problems there, great room, A/C (soooo needed... Bangkok is hotter/more humid than Cambodia if that is possible?!?), great night's sleep. Woke up the next morning feeling lazy and a little intimidated by the city. Decided to suck it up, grab a map and go explore. The Lonely Planet (guide book) has a whole page on all the scams to avoid in Bangkok - read it twice. Thinking I was armed against those who would take advantage of me... I headed out. Walk down to Koh San Road - backpacker mecca, no problem, avoid tuk tuk drivers and taxis trying to scam me. Feeling good. I decide to go to a side street to check out my map, don't want to look like a tourists with all the tuk tuks around. So there I am figuring out the best route to take to Wat
Pho (temple in Bangkok) when a guy comes up to me. Just chatting, talking about the city, all the great sites, how today is a holiday and all the temples are free. I'm thinking fantastic... I ask him what the best way to get to Wat Pho is and he asks for my map. Next thing I know he's mapped out an itinerary for me. I'm thinking jackpot... I'm set for the day. He finishes off by telling me about the promotion going on in the city to promote tourism... Tuk tuk drivers (with a yellow license) will take you to all the temples he's mark for just 20THB (less than $1). I say no thank you, I want to walk. He say no problem and I walk away.
Five minutes later I see a tuk tuk driver and thinking how hot it is and how nice it would be to get to the temple quicker I ask him if he'll take me to all the temples for 20THB. He says yes... I say fantastic and I jump in. He takes me to 3 temples - only one of which I really wanted to go to. He then tells
Waiting for the ferry
Louise, Kase, Peter and Matt waiting for the Chao Praya ferry me he's taking me to the export center. I say no thank you, I don't want to buy anything. He says two minutes only... I say fine and the next thing I know I'm at a tailor's shop. I tell the tailor I won't buy anything and then get back into my tuk tuk. He then takes me to a travel agent, same thing... get back in the tuk tuk and tell him I don't want to go to anymore shops. Another small temple, then to a jewellers. I walk in and out in less than 10 secs. My driver gives me a dirty look, hops in his tuk tuk and abandons me god knows where. My first thought... Shit, I've just fallen for the most common scam. Thankfully I hadn't paid him and I was relatively close to my hostel. I found someone who spoke english, got directions to my hostels and walked back for 15 mins. By this time I was grumpy and hating Bangkok... went straight to the internet and booked my flight out two days later and then went to hide in my room.
At about 8PM I got over my sulk and decided to
go down to the hotel bar for a drink. This is where my Bangkok stay improves... I met a group of people playing poker and was invited to play with them. We talked, played and drank until late in the night and made plans for the next day. We also shared war stories and it turns out I was not the only one to fall for the scam... always makes you feel better when you're not the only shill.
The next day Louise and I went to the spa for a traditional Thai massage (full body... no happy endings!)... very interesting. Kind of an exercise in stretching with some massage and some beating on your muscles. The only part I didn't like was the stomach massage... very weird. We then met up with the guys and hopped on the ferry to the other side of the river to see Arun. We had fun exploring, ate some street meat (yummy pad thai) and then headed back to the hotel for a swim and a nap in preparation for our big night out on Kho San Road (the ugly part - think Amsterdam... think offers of shows that involve girls and
Ping Pongs!) 😊
Next is Koh Samui... beaches... ahhhh!!!
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Jenn
non-member comment
Oh lord, you got scammed by a taxi driver??!! Didn't we teach you anything?! LOL- happens to the best of us ( : Jx