I am posting now to reflect upon the 4 days we just spent in Bangkok, as we have arrived today in Auckland, New Zealand. I started creating this post a few days ago but decided to wait and combine it into one giant post, due to our hectic schedule in the city and my recent illness (I've had a bad cold/fever for the past 48 hours--but rest assured I am on the road to recovery!). To sum it all up, Bangkok was a pleasant surprise, though getting there (as usual) was painful.
So we left our beloved beach at Koh Phangan for Bangkok on October 9th. The plan was to take overnight transportation to get a free night's rest during the long journey to the capital. This plan, of course, backfired since none of us could sleep on the rickety, 9-hour bus ride that arrived an hour ahead of schedule. Ordinarily, early would be a pleasant departure from the norm in the twisted world of Thai transportation, but early here meant we were homeless in Bangkok at 4:00 in the morning. Luckily, we were able to find a nearby budget hotel that was willing to take us in without charging us an extra night for our ridiculously early check in time. We took full advantage and made sure to sleep for several hours before beginning our first full day in the big city.
To give you a quick background of the location: The area of Bangkok that we stayed in is off of the main street of Khao San, a veritable hot bed for Westerners and the swindlers that love them. In other words, everything is for sale all of the time, and simply saying 'no' is never good enough. Even government documents are not left off the list of bootleg merchandise available, as indicated by the photo below, taken secretly. Luckily, our dealings with other similar folk (though less of them) elsewhere in Thailand has tempered our abilities to express 'no' so that it can be understood. All hassling aside, Khao San turned out to be a great place for cheap food and interesting sites.
We spent our first day getting a general feel for the city by taking a river boat down the temple-laden Chao Phraya River. It was a relaxing experience and made me realize that Bangkok was not nearly as dirty as other tourists had told us (they were likely just spoiled by the pristine beach life).
Our next stop was the Siam Paragon, the self proclaimed "Pride of Bangkok." While this is in fact just a shopping mall, it is easily the most extravagant shopping mall I've ever heard of, let alone visited. It is 7 floors, consisting of anything from top-of-the-line designer/electronics stores and antique shops to an enormous aquarium, IMAX, planetarium, and even a Dairy Queen (also a Starbucks, though that is to be expected)! Oh yeah, I forgot to mention they have a car section on the 4th floor where there are Lamborghinis and Maseratis on display in the windows--how they got up there (or will get back down) is a mystery to me. This place basically has it all but at Western prices, so we did a lot of looking and not a lot of buying.
Later that day, Brian and I decided to check out some Muay Thai (Thai kickboxing) fights, as we had been meaning to do so since we arrived in Thailand. The girls opted out of this one, since the ticket seller outside of the stadium described our '3rd class seats' as being "full of Thais gambling." They weren't lying, but it turned out to be a comical experience. Just before the fights, we came across a pair of Aussies that were also interested in attending, so we showed them the way and decided to share a few beers before the crowds filed into the stadium, pictured empty below. The funny thing was, when we were finally allowed into the stadium, everyone was forced to walk through a metal detector. This seemed like a safe procedure, until we realized that 99% of the people passing through it were beeping, while the nearby police officers did not so much as bat an eye. What a country!
Luckily we saw no actual weapons once we got inside, but the gambling (despite the fact that it is in fact illegal in Thailand) was pretty intense. We were asked several times to partake, though the betting cards were completely in Thai, and all of the fighters were indistinguishable at a distance, so we might as well have just handed our money over. All in all we got what we came for and left with a few more friends, Nico and Jules (the Aussies from Perth) and Reggie (a Frenchman who we befriended during the fighting).
After the fights we met up with the girls at the nearby night bazaar and, along with our new international crew, decided to head back to Khao San road for a bit more late night shenanigans. The 20-minute ride back was a story in itself, as the group decided to take two 'tuk tuks' (meaning cheap cheap in Thai), which are basically motorcycles towing carriages for up to four passengers. I think our drivers picked up on the care-free mood of their passengers and decided to demonstrate the tuk tuks' maneuverability and wheely capabilities.
Luckily we made it to Khao Son unscathed, and right when we arrived we finally came across a full-fledged bug cart with all sorts of savory critters for sale, from meaty cock roaches to over-sized grasshoppers. For fear that my mother would never speak to me again if I ate a cock roach, I opted for the grasshopper. So Nico and I (with the help of Beer Chang, the Thai equivalent of Schlitz Malt Liquor) took part in the counter-intuitive act of bug eating, chomping up two sizable specimens (pictured above). I have to admit, it was a lot more chewy than I'd expected, but luckily the peanut oil that the bug was fried in helped to mask its taste. Our friends were quite entertained, and Brian joined me for a grub worm shortly after. When in Rome right? We ended the night with a few more drinks at a local dive bar with a rock cover band before wandering back to our hotel to pass out. What a night!
The next day we met back up with our friend Reggie and headed for the Chatuchak Weekend Market, where I had read that one could buy almost anything, including tigers, lions, and crocodiles (used as pets or consumed for 'suposed medicinal purposes'). While we did not encounter these animals (I would like to think that international law has supressed this black market trade), we did see a ton of puppies, bunnies, squirrels, hedgehogs, and even beetles for sale. Though visiting the market was an interesting activity and the famous homemade ice cream that we ate there was delicious, after 5 hours of walking through the crowded shops we were in desperate need of rest and had an early night in.
For our last full day in Bangkok, we decided to stray away from the downtown area a bit and visit the ruins of Ayutthaya. This place was actually the former capital of Thailand until it was sacked by the Burmese in the mid 18th century. In turn, the area is covered with temples and toppled buildings that have been kept in surprisingly good condition (pictured above and below were some of my favorite sites).
The picture below is of a Buddha head that broke off of a statue and, according to legend, became naturally embedded in a Banyan tree. I am a bit sceptacle about this, due to the perfect positioning of the head (pictured below), but what a unique site!
We basically spent the day hopping from temple to temple until we had a brief stopover in an area with an elephant exhibit. This was an unexpected treat, as we were able to get up close and personal with dozens of extremely well-trained and docile elephants (including the one that I am feeding below).
We also got to catch a phenomenal baby elephant show, and again we were amazed at how well trained these animals were--see the video below for yourself!
Our last two stops of the day took us to an absolutely massive lounging Buddha statue and a very cool ruined temple town (pictured below). It was a great day, and we celebrated with a top notch dinner on Khao San Rd consisting of Phad Thai (noodles) and spring rolls for a bargain price of 65 baht! (~$2)
I have one more amusing story to tell about our final activities in Bangkok, the morning before we left for the airport. We departed our hotel early with plans to visit the Grand Palace, the internationally renown home of the King of Thailand. Unfortunately, we were told incorrectly that it opened at 8 am, when in fact it was closed all day, due to a Buddhist holiday. This was definitely a disappointment, but the funny part was that when we walked around the outside of the palace to get some photos, a ground of older Thai women abruptly came up to us, handing us sacks of bird seed (I say handing, but it was more like throwing). They told us that it was free and for good luck, so we spread the seed for the droves of awaiting pigeons. When we started to leave, thanking the women, they held their hands out and admamently stated "money." We were obviously upset and surprised by this, but I decided to be diplomatic and hand them the 10 baht coin in my pocket. This is where they angrily replied "150 baht!" I know most of you are not familiar with the conversion rate, but 150 baht ($4.50) is an outrageous amount for a few bags of bird seed, especially when they were forced on you. Anyways, we simply walked away and avoided an international incident, despite the con artists' collective shouts of rage. I guess this was Thailand's special way of saying goodbye. I am only kidding.
Despite the hick ups with transportation and the occasional unsavory person, we really enjoyed the sites, tastes, and people of Thailand. We will miss it, and I definitely plan to return in the not-too-distant future, but now we have a new frontier to conquer--New Zealand!!
We are currently nestled in Auckland on the northern coast of New Zealand's North Island, and we are already enjoying the colder climate (it is in the 50s this evening). Once we settled into our hip, Western hostel, I could not help but notice the stark contrast between NZ and southeast Asia. We are truly getting an eclectic experience on this trip.
Our first priority tomorrow is to retrieve our package of camping gear that my mom shipped to us via FedEx (it is currently tied up in Customs), and we will begin to look for a vehicle to purchase/rent. I will let you know how it goes!
Mike
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