Advertisement
Published: October 9th 2006
Edit Blog Post
Hmmm Bangkok, what a cool city. Having heard little about the city other than its reputation for general seediness we were most pleased to discover that there is so much more to see. The area of the Koh San Road is backpacker central and it is here that we have been based for the last few days, it must be possible to avoid the red light districts as we have not seen anything too seedy and instead there are lots of europeans wearing 'Same same but different' Tshirts (the Thai sales moto) and thai fishermans trousers. There are also lots of Thais wearing t-shirts with bizzare english slogans - including but not limited to "I am Seafood" "Rough Natural Cheese" and our alltime favourite tshirt which reads "Pirates are better than Ninjas", which is true and we are keeping our eyes out for aplace which sells those. The streets are alive with the noise of people trying to sell you suits or buckets of thai whiskey and conviently you can buy fried crickets and cockroaches from little stalls to snack on. Tom has been to get measured for a couple of suits, hand made and ready in two days. There are
a baffling number of different decisions to make regarding colour, material and cut but they are looking good and he can't wait to get back into the office to test them out. Tee hee hee.
We arrived in Bangkok on the overnight bus and after finding a room and having a little sleep we hit the streets to check out the delights of the local area. We also went for some super spicy food at one of the many road side stalls in the area. Curries (red, green or yellow) and Tom Yam soups are the order of the day, as well as a great deal of experimentation with condiments. All the food is great and the spicier the better. The hotel that we are staying in has a very interesting approach to the English language and a rather worrying price lists of all the things that it is possible to break and the fines that will be imposed. We are being very careful not to break any of the rules but it is nice place and in the middle of the action. The second day in Bangkok we went to the worlds biggest weekend market and spent a
couple of happy hours shopping for cheap t shirts and other stuff and practicing our haggling. This has improved slightly since the Philippines and we managed to score a couple of deals. We also went in the worlds cheapest tuk tuk (small motorbike things with seats behind) by agreeing to visit a Tailor shop on the way to our destination. The deal is that the drivers get petrol from the shops in return for delivering customers and since we stayed no more that 5 mins and didn't buy anything then it was not too much of an inconvenience, and much cheaper than the sky train.
Today we visited the Grand Palace and the vast array of glittery temples and throne rooms that occupy the same site. The place is unbelievably bling and you defiantly need a pair of sunnies to withstand the glare from the mid day sun shining off the solid gold rooves. An amazing place and we went in to see the Emerald Buddha which is an ancient jade Buddha who wears one of three different out fits as chosen by the kings of Thailand - the current King being the only one who can change his
clothes.
To get around the city we have graduated from death defying tuktuk journeys - they go faster that the cars and tend to utilise that imaginary 'middle lane' that is common throughout SE Asia - to the river taxis which are a cheap and easy way to get around the city. Like many places in Thailand there are special areas designated for monks and the distinctive orange outfit is a common site on the streets of Bangkok. The most common however is a yellow t shirt which designates support for the king. The King of Thailand has been on the throne for 60 years and his image adorns almost every shop and public space. It is also possible to get 'Long Live The King' wristbands and credit cards. He is certainly a very popular man.
Last night we were out making the most of Rachel's last night in town, we have just packed her into a minibus along with her souvenirs - including a Thai chair which might be a bit amusing at check-in - and we can't quite believe that she has gone. Unfortunately Rachel has to go back to work tomorrow but it is ok
Tom with the kings yellow banner
Check out the wonderful trousers tom borrowed from the Palace because now she can save up for her own adventures and we are already planning a holiday to go and visit her somewhere exotic. We heart Rachel and we had the BEST time, woooo hooooo! Not quite sure what to do with ourselves now that we have gone and are going to look into doing some voluntary work somewhere and hopefully stay in one place for a couple of weeks. Had some really good news that Caz and Mark are going to be coming to India for Christmas and we cannot WAIT to see them.
Loving the travel blog Iain and Sam - check out http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/The-Smiths/ everyone
Advertisement
Tot: 0.06s; Tpl: 0.012s; cc: 9; qc: 23; dbt: 0.039s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
rachel
non-member comment
I heart tom and liz
i miss you xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx