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Published: June 12th 2011
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On Thursday night, we went to the Thai boxing. If your Thai, it costs about £4.50 to go, but if your a foreigner, it costs £20! We decided it was worth it, as that’s what you’d pay for a sports event or gig at home (you’d pay more probably). They tried to sell us top price ringside tickets but we opted for the cheapest going and they were absolutely fine. Everyone was Thai so we stuck out like a sore thumb and we still have no idea how the gambling was working in there (and I thought gambling was illegal in Thailand....). There were 10 fights from 6:30pm till midnight and the main event was at 9pm so we stayed until then.
The fighters were so young and if we read the leaflet correctly, all of them weighed less than me! It was very traditional. Thai music played throughout the fights and before each fight there was a lot of ceremonial praying, bowing, bit of dancing, a headdress, flowers round the neck etc. I didn’t think it was too violent considering but one guy got knocked out and the fights seemed to get progressively more violent! Thai’s shout throughout most
of rounds 3 – 5, they go “eeeee” or “kneeeee” or something. When we left, it was pissing down but we couldn’t get a taxi so we just walked home in the pouring rain instead. It wasn’t too bad because of the heat and we stopped near our hostel for some food. I ordered a Thai curry which was probably the spiciest thing I have ever eaten but I can’t even remember what it was called so I’ll probably end up eating it again.
A word about the taxi’s here; they are fantastic and very cheap but some drivers won’t put the meter on until you prompt them. The starting fare is 35 bhat (70p) and goes up from there by the kilometre. It only cost us 75 bhat to go about 7km which is incredible value so please if your ever in Bangkok...insist on the meter! Also, they have no seatbelts and driving in Bangkok is the scariest thing ever so it’s a good idea to hold on tight. We had a great driver last night who not only was honest and used the meter, but also refused to take a tip. He is now our second best
driver of the whole trip (our favourite is still the one in Dubai who said “London London, very cold” in a thick Pakistani accent which has now become a bit of a catchphrase for us both).
On Friday, we woke up quite late and ordered a late breakfast. The hostel doesn’t include breakfast but has a little cafe where you can buy some. I had museli with banana and yoghurt which I would’ve had again but I spotted a cockroach on one of the seats and it put me right off the cafe. It’s not the first one I’ve seen on the trip, but it was just so massive.
The Grand Palace is the biggest attraction in Bangkok. It’s also notorious for all kinds of scams surrounding visiting it so we did plenty of research before going. First, tuk-tuk drivers tried to direct us the wrong way. Then, an old man tried to tell us it was closed so he could take us somewhere else and earn commission. On the way back, a bird lady tried to make us feed the birds so she could charge us for the feed. Once you get within the grounds, everything is
great and well organised. It said online that you need to cover your legs and shoulders so I wore harem pants and bought my big cotton scarf for the shoulders. The stupid guy said I couldn’t use the scarf so I had to borrow this disgusting brown shirt thing which was boiling. It put me in such a mood, especially as I saw loads of girls not adhering to the guidelines and getting away with it. Terry teased me about it the whole time. The grand palace is quite spectacular. It’s a whole site with lots of temples and buildings but really, we could only spent a little over an hour there. I’ll let the photos do the talking, it’s easier than explaining the site.
The heavens opened in the afternoon so we stayed in the hostel and did some research for the evening. There are lots of night markets in Bangkok, so we decided to go to Suan Lum Market, which is at the other side of town. It took a lot of effort to get there. Taxi 1 refused the meter, taxi 2 has no idea where it was and what we were talking about, taxi 3
insisted it was closed (he got out a notebook and drew a picture about how it was closed which made us laugh a lot) and finally taxi 4 took us there. In Bangkok, people tell you things are closed all the time so they can suggest an alternative attraction and take you there. On the way, they stop at their friends shops and make you look around them to gain commission. It’s a scam. For some completely obscure reason, this time, the market actually WAS closed! The taxi driver was telling the truth. We checked it out and yes, definitely shut so we got in another taxi back.
Instead, we walked around Khao San Road for a bit. Khaosan is the backpacker bit of Bangkok and our hostel was only a couple of streets away. It’s quite hard to describe what it’s like but I’ll try. Dermie, Liz and Fran can just think Kavos but more shopping and add in some street food. For everyone else, it’s just a big long street packed with stalls selling mostly clothes, loads of massage shops, tailors, street sellers, street food (pad thai is £1 for a huge bowl with chicken and egg)
and lots of places to drink. As with many hot countries, most bars and restaurants are completely open onto the street. Terry has bought an “I love Bangkok” vest which looks awesome. We didn’t have much money left so we went home and watched a film instead. We decided not to change any more money into Thai baht and remembered that we need $35 each for a Cambodian visa so on our last day, we changed up the majority of our baht to US dollars (Cambodia’s currency) and saved a little bit for the last day.
Now it’s Saturday night, but this hotel doesn’t have free wi-fi so I don’t know when this will get uploaded. From now until 30th June, we are with a tour group which means we have accommodation and transport sorted and we also have a tour guide who will suggest activities for us to do in the day and see us through Cambodia and Vietnam. The past 2 and a half weeks have been amazing but having a tour will be great now because we’ve already paid for everything apart from food and activities so we can get by on much less money. Today
we’ve checked into the hotel for our first night (which is still in Bangkok) and spent the afternoon wondering around Chinatown and getting very very lost. The markets in Chinatown have really tiny passages and people actually ride their motorbikes down them, through the huge crowds. The markets sell all kinds of dodgy stuff like replica guns, crossbows, machetes and Viagra and one of the market is actually called the thieves market because of the nature of the goods on sale! We didn’t have lunch today because of our lack of Thai baht but we have raided the 7-11 (the chain of convenience shops all across Malaysia and Thailand) and eaten lots of cheap cookies and crisps.
We met our tour group and leader tonight and all went for dinner together. The group is mostly English, with one aussie, one german and two Americans. Terry’s disappointed that it’s mostly female. Some people have been travelling for a few weeks like us and others have just flown into Bangkok today and have never been to Asia before. The tour guide is actually Cambodian but his English is great and as Cambodia is the most dangerous place on our trip, it’ll
be comforting to have a local with us. I can hopefully have some more photos of me and Terry together now as we are travelling with other people who can take them! It’s been hard so far because if you ask someone to take a photo, they could just run away with your camera.
Off to Cambodia we go.
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Brian Patten-Walsh
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Wedding Anniversary
Is it possible that you could record a greeting and e mail it to us for our anniversary party on Saturday? Mind how you go, London London,Bloody wet!