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View from hotel roof
Just before the heavens opened Hi everyone...
I got into Bangkok international airport via Taipei at around 1 am. That was a total traveling time of about 20 hours from Los Angeles, and must say that I felt pretty good. Thanks for the sleeping pills Michele! Both Taipei and Bangkok airports are pretty impressive - modern and immaculate. I followed my friend Ed's advice and got a taxi from the arrival drop off area - a good tip to save a few baht. The taxi driver was great... didn't speak a word of English, but proceeded to give me the run down on everything we passed on the way to my hotel. I gave him the thumbs up and a big smile every few minutes, just to let him think I knew what he was talking about.
For the first 10 days I decided to live it up and stay somewhere nice - the hotel Furamaxclusive on Asoke and Sukhumvit. It's a boutique hotel and I guess the nicest one of a group. I got a great deal from Expedia, staying 9 nights and only paying for 6. The reviews on this hotel were very encouraging and I am very pleased with my room,
View from inside the mall
Looking out to the sky train the food and staff. The door men here are really funny. One always says "You're a good man Mr. Rob" in his Thai/English accent - obviously he's been around a lot of Brits!
I get to bed and sleep around 3 am and actually slept really well. The hotel serves buffet breakfast that is included in the room rate and of course... I stuffed myself silly. Next I thought I'd go for a swim in the pool, except they don't have a pool! I could have sworn I saw a pool in the hotel pictures online. They do however have 2 big jacuzzis on the roof, both of which are freezing cold. The first day was very mild, maybe even a little chilly, so freezing cold wasn't exactly what I was hoping for. I did it anyway, just to prove that I am a man, and then went and did 8 curls and 10 sit ups in the gym! I was now ready to take on Bangkok!
On my first day I decided to go to the mall. I don't know why, I hate malls, but was a little curious as to what things cost. The sky train
Beggar
Maybe he's faking it, but it looks pretty convincing to me! is only a couple of blocks away and it takes you right to the entrance. I made hard work of getting a token and getting on the train. After looking like a idiot for about five minutes, trying to get the dam token, some nice Thai lady helped me out with what was an idiot proof machine! Then I proceeded to get stuck at the turn styles (not really turn styles but the thingmy gigs that you have to pass through). The sign said tap the glass with your token, so I tapped the glass with my token while a line of about 20 people developed behind me. Thankfully another nice Thai lady showed me that you have to 'wave your token' over the right spot in order to be admitted into the BTS Sky Train. Finally I get on the train and am very excited to be traveling across the city. I start snapping photos of everything I see and of course people are staring at me. The mall is amazing. You can buy everything from tennis shoes to a new car under one roof. Not only that, the place is packed with beautiful women and they all smile
Little bit of traffic
This is a sample... you ain't seen nothing yet! at you. This is the best mall I have ever been to in my life. I now love malls!
It was getting late in the day and I decided to walk back to the hotel which is about 6 miles away. As I walked I started to discover the stark contrast of life in Bangkok. Following the BTS along Sukumvit, is a mishmash of make shift stalls and carts selling everything from tee shirts to Viagra, along with a huge variety of cooked food. It becomes immediately apparent that the name of the game is survival in this city, and if you can come up with something good to eat, or a marketable product, you can set up shop anywhere and try to sell it. I had no idea how pervasive this shanty town flee market economy was, but after being here a few days, I discover it's everywhere. You can hardly look down any street or soi (small side street) where something is not for sale. The make shift shacks are attached to stores selling all kinds of merchandise or services. Its seems like every third store is a salon or a massage parlor and its feels like
Pile of cats
In between poultry for sale and Thai soup being cooked.... emmm I wonder if......????? a million people are either getting their hair done or a rub down at any one time. The traffic is intense and even crossing over a little soi can be a very dangerous happening. I don't think they have any sort of highway code in Bangkok because drivers whizz around blind corners, pull right out into oncoming traffic, cut across oncoming traffic, weave all over the place and generally drive like complete maniacs. Something was bothering me on the first day, but I couldn't figure it out. I finally realized what it was - no one was honking! Very rarely you will hear someone toot, but that is usually just to let the other driver know they are giving them the right of way. It is amazing to have this much chaos with no road rage.
Beggars are everywhere, especially in the tourist spots. Many of them seem to be severely disfigured either by birth defects or as the result of terrible accidents that left them with missing limbs, scars or burns. Unlike the homeless of Los Angeles, they say very little and are mostly ignored by passers by. One guy was laying face down in the street
My fist meal out
Cost - $0.15.... Yummy, Yummy, Yummy... Pain in my tummy!! in the pouring rain. He looked like he could barely lift his head, like he was a paraplegic and his legs and hips were totally emaciated. His face was also deformed and he could hardly manage to hold out a collection bowl. Everyone seemed to ignored him so I wondered if it was an act. I walked up the stairs of a BTS station so that I could watch what people did as they passed buy, but it was as if he wasn't there. If this guy was in LA he would be a millionaire! This was really, really tragic. I have seen another women several times with two babies. They are all filthy and again, I never saw anyone giving them money. There are many small children, some who are probably no more than 4 or 5 years old, out on the streets trying to do something to raise money.
On my first day, i saw many things that were upsetting, but I think I will keep from saying too much in my first entry to this blog. A lot of things made my laugh but a couple of things made me sick to my stomach. I can
All aboard!
This is the BTS - Sky Train. only describe my first day as sensory overload and as an experience that is so far removed from anything i have ever seen in my life to date. I am discovering that Bangkok is alive with something to stimulate the senses in every second of every day. I make it back to the hotel after being propositioned more than a dozen times, mostly by girls that look younger than my daughter. Since the restaurant is empty, I decide to eat at a rather disgusting, but packed food market next door. My meal which cost about a dollar, was rice, Thai chicken and vegetable curry. I have to say it tasted pretty good but gave me a bad stomach.
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Double E
Eric Estok
double e here
Wow! Your on a hell of a journey. ee