Bangkok

Since we are two cities away from Bangkok, we grabbed the opportunity to roam the city last Saturday after accompanying three of our fellow expats who went home for a much needed vacation. A lot have been told about Bangkok, and we were eager to experience it.

I haven’t uploaded all the photos yet, I’ll make this entry as a preview of sort.

We arrived at Khao San area an hour past noon after being boiled inside the van with a non-functioning aircon. Our arrival was welcomed by a public demonstration, must be about the ousted prime minister. We better read news articles from now on. The temples were closed as a safety measure in case the rally will be out of control. Great! Now, we have nowhere to go. Our stomachs screamed so we have to find a café as soon as possible. But the pigeons along the way distracted us, thinking it would be a great photo opportunity, we stopped for a while and were approached by two Thais (a woman and a man) handing out corn bits to feed the birds. We asked for the cost but they said, it’s okay, just feed the birds. As our stomach continued to complain, we decided to move out of the park. Lo and behold, we were blocked by these two and shouted “Money! Money!” We told them that they said its free, they said, no, its 50 baht per pack and she started counting the empty packs – 13 all in all. That’s 650 Baht! Fuck! To avoid arguments, we paid the amount. But the guy insisted that we have to pay an additional 200 Baht. Sensing that this is insanely wrong, we went to the tourist information center to ask for help. Perhaps, our alertness alarmed these two that they returned the 500 Baht at the information counter. Lucky for them, we went to the center instead of reporting the incident to the police.

Strike 1

After a quick lunch, we walked around the area, looking for some place to shoot. A seemingly good guy approached us. He was a tuktuk driver. He was old enough to be our father and he spoke good English. Later, he asked if we are interested for a boat trip. We thought, it would be a good alternative than to end the day doing nothing and besides he seemed very nice. The trip will be an hour long for 1200 Baht, and he promised that we will enjoy the trip. Lo and behold again! This was not the trip we expected it to be. Sorry, but it’s like passing thru a canal without sceneries and views. How we wanted to stop the tour and just go back to the dock! So frustrating!

And what’s more frustrating? We found out in our hotel about this modus-operandi and in actuality the ride would normally costs 10-15 Baht only per person.

Strike 2

This was not the way we wanted our adventure to be. It’s becoming a misadventure. We went to a city mall to have our snacks. Well, funny but we weren’t finished yet with our food when the waitress started cleaning our table. Amazing! We started calling hotels and pension houses too for a place to stay. But luck was never on our side. When we moved out of the mall, the heaven sympathize with us, as it heavily poured its tears. Its raining so hard that it made it difficult for us to get a taxi or, well, negotiate one. Grrrr.

Strike 3.

Three strikes already and we were thinking of going back to Rayong. After being ignored for many times, a taxi finally transported us to our desired location. He spoke good English too and he started recommending cheap pension houses and stuffs. He was talkative and we enjoyed his stories. At the back of our minds, we hoped that he is different to the few we have encountered earlier that day. And indeed, he was different. He brought us to a cheap yet comfortable hotel, he volunteered to pick us up if we wanted to go and see the night life in Bangkok.

Around 2130H, he was already in front of the hotel, waiting for us. He decided to bring us to a place famous to foreigners. We went to a sexy show and it was different than the normal sexy clubs. The ladies in the said place had special talent to flaunt. Hmm, do I need to elaborate this one? Maybe not. I was chosen to be a volunteer in one of the acts. It’s cool. Haha! But not the one you’re thinking!

Past midnight we went to a dance club. I thought its boring since the clock had strike 12 yet I can still count the people inside the club. Wait, it looked like the floodgates had been opened. Foreigners and locals of all ages entered the place and you can barely move. Where did they come from? It was a bit expensive but it was a cool place and they played English songs. Hehehe. We went back at the hotel at 3 am.

The next day, we went to the temple we should have visited the day before. But still its cool. Lots and lots of photos! Despite the sun’s penetration, it didn’t stop us to wander around the area. The details on each temple were seamlessly designed - amazing.

Bangkok has definitely lots to offer. Two days to explore the city were not enough. Hope to be back there soon.

/totomai
06/26/07