Bangkok And Away

Bangkok and I had a bit of an awkward introduction...

Computer glitch?: Aww come on!

I was nervous throughout my flight. I didn't have the distraction of a personal TV screen and movie selection like with Qatar Airways. Instead I had Midnight At Paris and one of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies showing on a giant screen at the front of the plane. I tried watching both but I had to keep fidgeting and maneuvering myself into unthinkable positions to see above the towering people in front. I had a feeling I wasn't missing much anyway. Instead I had brief conversations with the girl sat next to me, a native of Bangkok. I couldn't quite pronounce her name but she said that I can call her Run. I then turned to my inner monologue and thought about how fitting that word is to how I was feeling at that point. I had two nights booked at a hostel but had no idea what I was going to do or where I was going next. I hoped it would all come to me when I arrived.

My first thoughts of Bangkok were not that great. I was still in Japan mode so when I wasn't greeted with a friendly smile but a stern look and complete silence at the airport, I was a bit disorientated. There were no musical chimes at the station, no chirpy greetings from the counter staff in 7 Eleven and no road crossings anywhere, just chaos. I instantly felt out of my comfort zone but remembered that this is probably the same feeling I had when I first arrived in Japan. Instead of paper tickets there were plastic coins for the train ticket barriers. There seemed to be a strong bus link throughout Bangkok but I had no idea how to navigate myself. Taxi or tuk-tuk seems to be the best way to get around.

The constant urge to say arigatou gozaimasu (thank you) and sumimasen (excuse me) when trying to get by people was incredible. My Japanese wasn't that great, but here, I only know how to say hello in Thai. I feel incredibly rude but not completely isolated in my ignorance. I'm sure I'm not the only one who is clueless.

Directions to the hostel were vague and just advised me to get a taxi. I did this but soon found that the taxi driver had no idea where he was going. The ride was incredibly cheap, especially compared to the rates in England. You'd expect to pay around 100-150 baht for a rough 30 minute taxi ride. That is around two to three British pounds. In England you'd pay around 15 to 20 pounds for about half that journey! Nevertheless, I still felt like this guy was taking me further and further away from where I needed to be. He kept pulling over and reading my map whilst the meter was running. I had two choices. I either stick with this guy and burn more money or get out and find the way myself. I went for the latter with no regrets. I looked around and saw no street signs. My bottom lip started to quiver but I manned up and looked for someone or somewhere I can get directions from. Thankfully I found an Intrepid (travel company) office and the receptionist spoke good English. I was shown a shortcut to the street parallel to where I needed to be. It turned out I wasn't too far from where I needed to be. I found the hostel and relaxed. The staff were very friendly and told me that they had upgraded me to a smaller female only dorm. Nice.

I didn't feel like doing much so grabbed some food from the nearest restaurant and ran a few online errands when I got back in. The hostel here seems to hold a mixture of clicky gangs of people with nice seemingly gregarious people hidden in corners. I met a guy called Charlie yesterday. He overheard me mentioning that I'd just come from Japan and explained that he is going there next. It didn't take much encouragement from Charlie for me to waffle on madly about how much I love Japan. It helped that Charlie seemed excited to be going to Japan so my anecdotes and vague tips heightened this. I stayed up far too late online catching up with people and watching random clips on YouTube. I needed a comedy fix. It's been too long.

*****

I was completely wiped out the next day. I'm not sure if it was the heat or the continuous lugging of the beast (my backpack for new readers) the day before, but I really didn't feel like doing much. My morning was wasted and I took full advantage of not having to vacate the room until 12pm. I found somewhere to have breakfast and set myself two challenges. Firstly, I needed to find a post office to send my Japan memorabilia back home and the nearest Tourist Information Centre so I can get some leaflets and...well...information. Unlike in Japan, this hostel doesn't hold that much information.

I went outside, looked both ways, wandered ten steps firstly in one direction, then in the other, frowned at my map and retreated back to the safety of the hostel. I asked which direction I should be heading in and the receptionist kindly pointed out where I needed to be. Off I went. Along the way, I was accosted by many males asking me where I wanted to go and pointing to their tuk-tuk. I chuckled to myself as I remembered the night before I was so exasperated at being lost I got grouchy with a few tuk-tuk drivers - Driver: "Where are you going?", Me: "I have no idea!" If it wasn't a sarccy retort, I just plain ignored them. It seemed to do the trick. I was in better spirits today so politely said to each guy that I am fine. A local approached me and offered to help. I was a bit uneasy at first. He recommended a few sights in Bangkok and asked me where I was from etc etc. He then said he would help me get to each place. He marked some places on my map and negotiated a deal with a tuk-tuk in Thai. He could have said anything. The price that was agreed to go to three places and take as much time as I wanted was 5 baht. At the moment you get around 46 baht to the British pound so that amount was pennies. I wanted to have a ride in the tuk-tuk so thought I'd leave the inevitable argument over fares until later.

Back of the tuk-tuk: I had fun

The streets are always busy and there seems to be no real order to the traffic. Motorcycles weave in and out of traffic. Taxis weave in and out of traffic, with or without the use of indicators. Tuk-tuk drivers weave in and out of traffic. People weave in and out of traffic! There aren't that many crossings in Bangkok. I've only seen two so fair and I've seen a far bit of Bangkok. Crazy! The streets are lined with stalls which shelter from the rain and provide shade too. Although the temperature feels exactly the same whether I'm stood in the sun or the shade at the moment!

 Ahhh, shelter...

...From this!

Some of the stalls are quite random. I saw one which just sold all things Angry Birds related. Some sell just one particular garment and others have an array of things. I went out last night intending to buy a top that covers my shoulders for any possible temple visit and some more underwear. I bought neither. Instead I bought a dress and a long top. It was another opportunity to test my haggling skills.

I managed to visit each place and was returned to my original position without any random detours. I paid the guy 5 baht and that was it. Nothing. No scams. Crazy. Someone later told me they paid 120 baht for a one way trip to the Grand Palace which is about a 5-10 minute walk. I felt pretty good about myself at that moment.

I later met a group of guys through a mixture of group conversations. I won't get bogged down in the details. In the end, me, Danny (from Bournemouth, England), Steve (Washington D.C.) and Joshua (Malaysia) went out for a stroll down Khao San Road which is a street synonymous with backpackers and comes alive on a night. We saw this sign...it's not a great photo but it was busy and I didn't have time to wait too long so it was a bit rushed. Hope you can read it!

After that, we decided to go to the Sky Bar which featured in the Hangover 2 movie. This movie is played at least once a day in the hostel. I've seen it and the people that have stayed at the hostel longer than me have said the same. I feel like it's some sort of initiation into Bangkok. I didn't watch this but saw a large chunk of Forrest Gump yesterday. Random, but a great film to watch. We were told that there is a strict dress code there so I needed to change. Several outfit changes later I finally settled on something pretty simple and wasn't sure I whether they'd let me in. I figured that plenty of backpackers must go there so hoped they'd take pity on me. Several haggling sessions later, we finally found a taxi that wouldn't rip us off. The Sky Bar is on the 64th floor. I wasn't sure what to expect but knew that we'd get to see a great view of Bangkok.

Wow...although the drinks were expensive, it was worth it just for the view. I couldn't decide on what cocktail to get. They did an appletini which, as a Scrubs fan, stood out as a front-runner. Then I saw they did a passion fruit martini and was swayed. I thought it would taste better. 

Not a great photo but I tried! We had a photo taken with us all by the skyline but it's not on my camera. I'll upload it when I see it on Facebook.

We didn't get back to the hostel until around 4:00am. Josh had to catch a train to Cambodia in a couple of hours and needed to leave the hostel at 5am. Bad news for him. I didn't get to bed until 5am. It was a good night!

*****

I had a good sleep but still didn't want to move in the morning. Danny, Paul (not sure of his nationality!) and I went for a walk around. We tried to get to the bridge in Bangkok but couldn't find a way to get to it. In the end we caved in and had a break to cool down in a smoothie bar.

Now that's what I'm talking about

I was on a definite sugar-high after visiting this place. Steve went to Chiang Mai earlier on in the day and Danny and Paul left for Laos in the early evening. So now I'm down to no friends. Not to worry as I'm departing Bangkok tomorrow for a four week journey of beach hopping indulgence. I have no idea what internet access I'm going to have so I might not be updating for a while.

The Plan

Pha Taem National Park: 2 days, one night
Ko Tao - 5 nights
Ko Phangan - 6 nights
Krabi - 5 nights

Phi Phi - 5 nights

Phuket - 2 nights

Kuala Lumpur - Not sure. I have around 2 weeks until I depart from Singapore airport to Melbourne so I'm not sure whether to hang about or fly out a week earlier. I wanted to go to North Thailand (Chiang Mai, Rai etc) but I'm not too sure what the flood damage is like up there and was advised not to visit there just now. It's a pretty unoriginal itinerary but I don't care. I've come to Thailand to relax, have fun and laze on a beach or three. The above should help with that nicely.