Soi Cowboy jfgi
diver in the aquarium
Thousands of paper planes in the siam plaza
Chinatown
Well this journey has certainly kept me on my toes, moving from city to rural village and back into another asian mega-city.
Bangkok has to be seen to be believed it is a sprawling concrete jungle with layer upon layer of public transport ranging from 2 levels of monorail over the 6 lane motorway which in turn sits above the multi-level underground metro system. Walking is definitely the way to see and experience the city, hopping on the odd skytrain to move from one district to another. The first day i arrived in Bangkok i came into the train station at 9am after a 16hr train ride from Trang. I did get some sleep but in that heat and fully loaded with my backpack and frontpack i was tiring fast in the sun.
Wading through the cries of taxi and tuk tuk drivers i have perfected the look of "no i do not want to be ripped off and forced to buy exotic gems or a badly tailored suit"
(the tuk tuk drivers stop off and force you to go inside and buy something so they earn a comission or gasoline coupons) Moving away from them i found the underground station and discovered i could get to the city centre for 40 baht, not the 300baht the taxi drivers were demanding. Security is big in bangkok although it is mostly just for show, i think its the only city i have ever seen OVER-Employment. where each business has people employed simply to bug passers by into buying something
Upon entering the subway station i passed through metal detectors and had to remove my 20 odd kilos of baggage to show the security guard, although just vaguely pointing and saying "computer, books, camera" seemed to make him happy and off i went
The underground and Skytrain system in bangkok runs like clockwork, its spotless and freezing from air conditioning, in the city centre i walked a few streets and asked in a few places until i came upon the perfect hostel Suk11 here i stayed for 2 days as i got my bearings. Day one i started and being wary of the tuk tuk drivers i walked constantly for 8 hours, seeing chinatown, the golden bhudda, a few monuments and then out of nowhere a Massive political rally, the Redshirts as they are known are a pro-democracy group who last year shut down the city with riots and bombings. This year they seemed much calmer and were partying 50,000 strong at the democracy monument. I waded through the madness to the far side in order to find Khao Sahn road, the most famous road amongst backpackers and travellers, it is a non stop spectacle with street vendors, performers and a plethora of travellers from every walk of life, one doesnt know if you are watching the spectacle unfold or are actually part of it by just being there.
myself and paul walking the streets of bangkok
frog in some spices, it was... interesting
aul golden bhudda
After my 2 days in Suk11 i had to move on as they were booked up. So thrown out onto the street with my bags once again i had no idea where i was going next, but a quick trip to an internet cafe brought up an interesting looking hostel on the outskirts of the city, far from the chaotic streets and parties. i booked my first 2 nights once more and found my way there via skytrain. Finally i had found the right kind of place to chill out and take it slow with the option of going into the local markets or just a bit further to the skytrain direct to the city centre. UDEE is the place which means well rested in thai, that is true of this place, the staff are friendly and the atmosphere is clean and relaxed. Here i met some great people, Mandi from oz and Paul from the states who i joined forces with on a few treks through the city. St patricks day was a laugh. after venturing through the city to see some more sights we eventually jumped into a tuk tuk and bargained a dirt cheap price to get to kaoh sahn road. here we met up with harry from london who had been in udee for a short while. joining him was Xavier from chile and a random american couple we got talking to at a streetside restaraunt over noodles and beer. I didnt meet one irish person and i think it suited the evening, we had great fun.
Kaoh Sahn road
Chinatown
Excellent japanese food, basically cooking raw meat in the boiling broth
Underground lagoon, part of the Siam Paragon Aquarium
Watch repair on the street side, 2 watches fixed for 95 baht plus battery Thats(2.50)
I am glad i moved hostels when i did because the more i explored the streets around UDEE i found i was in real local bangkok, tourists were rare and the locals were nice even the food seemed better as they were cooking for themselves rather than catering for drunk farangs on the street corners. I never got a feeling of unease in the city and even the scams and rip offs that bangkok is famous for are pretty easy to avoid with a bit of common sense. As i ventured through the streets i discovered some real gems of traditional thai city life, Food i cant even describe, shops selling things i didnt even know existed and small food carts surrounded by plastic furniture. The smell of the city is something i will never forget and each street had its own special oudor. Far from here the city centre was a whole world apart with towering shopping centres and plazas, most notably the Siam Paragon Plaza, one of asias biggest and to an irish backpacker it was just incredible how on the streets with homeless beggars and streetwalkers through one glass door you suddenly arrive in the most expensive and lavish shopping plaza i have ever seen, 8 floors with whole levels dedicated to food, Fashion, technology, music, jewels and perfumes, etc, even the cineplex was enourmous with 3 seperate cinemas each with 8 screens or more, I spoiled myself and went to see Rango in the big screen. definitely worth it. from here i wandered through window shopping just taking in the madness of it all, like a car dealership on the 3rd floor selling maserati and lamborghini! though when hungry i returned to the streets to get some freshly cooked pad thai with shrimp, or unidentified meat on a stick. not exactly 5 star dining but i never had any stomach upset. City life is tiring though so i decided to move on after 5 days and made my way to the train station with some vague ideas in mind, i met a tour guide who showed me to a small office around the corner and i sceptically reviewed all of my options, Eventually i decided upon a bus trip to surat thani where i would get a ferry to ko samui island and had everything from transport to accomodation sorted in less than half an hour.
So that was Bangkok, in all of its chaos. I am now on Samui island and have been having a truly immersive experience here. more on that later. until then
i leave you with another selection of photos from bangkok and will link to the photo album on facebook once it is uploaded
Talk Cha!
An eel in the Aquarium
tuk tuk transport!
Street Food
Traffic at its usual hectic pace
Paul trying some cricket!
Forget exfoliation creams, St paddys night, we wandered in here and
for 120 baht you dip your feet in this pool for 20 mins and these fish
literally eat the dead skin and whatnot from your feet and legs
its an extremely wierd feeling but its cool
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