Bangkok

The journey from Koh Phayam to Bangkok was quite long. We took moped taxis to the pier, a boat from the pier to the small city of Ranong where we caught a 3 hour van ride to another city. From there we had a few hours to get dinner and then catch an overnight train to Bangkok. The overnight train proved to be a very different experience from the ones in Europe. Instead of small compartments that slept 6 the train was lined on both sides with lower bunks and upper bunks which were made private with the addition of curtains.

We didn’t sleep very well owing to the fact that there was almost always someone getting up or coughing and the lights never got turned off. We arrived in Bangkok at around 5:30 am, tired and a little cranky. We sat in the train station waiting for it to get light and then we set off to find a place to stay. Everywhere else we have been we have booked rooms prior to arriving in the city and had a clear idea of where we were going. However, many times we would arrive in a city and find places that were not listed on booking sites at significantly lower prices so we decided to risk it in Bangkok. We also knew we would be arriving early and would have plenty of time to find a place to stay. We had a general idea of the area we wanted to stay in, Khao San Road, so we caught a bus and headed in that direction.

The bus ride itself was fascinating. It was a very circuitous route that took us past temples and museums, and even through Chinatown. We passed plenty of street markets and parks and I was utterly enthralled, I could have ridden the bus all day. We eventually made it to Khao San road where we found no shortage of hotel/hostel/guesthouse options. We found a very basic one, but it was tucked away a little off the very noisy street and it had AC! What a glorious treat for us to finally have AC again! We soaked up some of the cold air for a while before heading back to the train station to pick up our bags and settle into our new Bangkok home.

If we thought Khao San Road was interesting during the day, it got even more interesting at night. The street was essentially pedestrians only, although a few intrepid drivers and mopeds would venture to drive through the crowded streets.

In place of cars, food stalls lined the streets selling amazing Pad Thai for a dollar, fruit smoothies, spring rolls, dumplings, coconuts and coconut ice cream and even fried scorpions (although we never could decide if they were actually for eating or just for tourists to take pictures). And everything came in a bag, drinks, dipping sauces, spring rolls, everything came in its own plastic bag. Weaving their way through the food carts were vendors hawking their wares- everything from hats to fake sleeve tattoos to customs suits to real tattoos to dreads for your hair. It was so fascinating. I think the first night we were there we just walked up and down our street 3 or 4 times, just looking, wide-eyed, at everything there was to see. We didn’t even make it off our street until the next night, when we made it as far away as about 3 blocks, the whole are was just tons of fun to check out.

We did manage to absorb some culture in Bangkok- we visited Wat Pho, an all-around gorgeous temple with peaceful, relaxing gardens, exquisite buildings and home of the largest reclining Buddha in Thailand.

 

 

We visited the National Museum. We also took the (blissfully air conditioned) subway to a weekend market known for its expansive grounds and had a reputation as a great place to get lost- and get lost wee did (but in a good way- we found tons of cool art, fashion and amazing food!)

We walked past the gorgeous Royal Palace and admired the exquisite architecture of the buildings throughout the city. We even ventured into Chinatown where we got lost again but, once again, found good food and lots to look at. Bangkok was a city of serious contradictions. There were amazing old temples with incredibly relaxing gardens and right outside the garden sat a bustling, noisy, often dirty city full of high rises. Monks walked alongside tourists (and Monks even had reserved seating on the buses and trains!). Striking poverty contrasted sharply with the ostentatious wealth apparent throughout the city. It was a fascinating city.