It seems like so much has happened just within the first few days of being here. Havn’t had much time to update our blog between exploring a big new city and episodes of Downton Abbey. There is so much to say but I think it would be easiest to start from the true beginning of our adventure: the first full day in Bangkok.
We did get a full nights sleep and any signs of jet lag were too small to notice for both of us. The day began early - we boarded the sky train towards the river and were immediately bombarded with incessant, enthusiastic solicitations for scenic Chao Phraya river tours, the main artery of Bangkok. Unsure of exactly what to do next, we agreed on the fly to a 1.5 hour boat tour, paid the man his 500 baht and waited aboard the pier for our ride to arrive. When our turn came, we were quickly ushered into a long, narrow, rickety wooden boat with a colorful canvas roof and flowers decorating the pointed bow. We sped off, only having a slight understanding of the sights we were about to pass along the river as the giant diesel engine spewed out a black plume of exhaust. Going up the river for the first time, we were struck at how many vessels clog this busy waterway. Public taxis, private charters, ferries, and tug boats towing 2 or 3 barges were all competing for space and are no less aggressive than the tuk-tuk drivers on the streets. After waiting about 10 minutes for a set of locks to allow us through, we were taken through a series of channels where we encountered floating vendors selling trinkets and cold drinks, beautiful wats and waterfront mansions, numerous slums, factories (likely churning out the counterfeit name brand goods sold throughout Bangkok) and huge monitor lizards. Our excursion on the river helped us understand how Bangkok has been referred to as the Venice of the east as river travel makes getting around the city faster and cheaper (as we would later discover in more detail). Through the river is brown with debris and garbage, people still seem content with eating fish caught from its banks.
Back at the hotel by early afternoon, we tested out the pool for the first time and it was a perfect refreshing temperature, helping us forget that it was nearly 90 degrees. We queried one of the pool bar staff about local attractions and nightlife. He was happy to practice his English on us but we were able to understand little under his heavy accent. Swimming and reading for a few hours lead us to make a run to 7-11 for snacks. We relaxed and snacked in our room for a few hours before realizing that we had every type of outlet adapter for the world except the one we needed. Enter the night market.
Just one stop away on the skytrain, we discovered a completely different side of Bangkok. We ate in a very western style mall and explored the weird new neighborhood. Along the main road, the night market vendors were in full swing by 9 pm. All the counterfeit goods you can imagine as well as t-shirts, lighters, bongs, dildos, pirated music and DVDs, beautiful light fixtures and on and on (not to mention some of the best smelling street food yet) were all readily available for purchase. There are alleyways full of neon lights and waiters trying to lure you in with cheap beers and bright neon signs. Hookers sitting on chairs with numbers on them in front of run down hotels with blacked out windows. Sex show solicitors overflowed the sidewalks. “Bing bong show?” they would ask. I don’t know what bing bong means but they really seem to like white males.
We find an Irish pub with a Thai Beatles tribute band playing inside and we sat out on the patio, ordered two cold Changs and listened to the classics. After about an hour there, we decided to leave but not before finding a universal adapter for 150 baht. We walked up the stairs to the train, still not having yet made up our minds about how we feel about this part of town and purchased our 15 baht tickets for the train back to the hotel. Satisfied our new working adapter, we slept another long peaceful rest.
We did get a full nights sleep and any signs of jet lag were too small to notice for both of us. The day began early - we boarded the sky train towards the river and were immediately bombarded with incessant, enthusiastic solicitations for scenic Chao Phraya river tours, the main artery of Bangkok. Unsure of exactly what to do next, we agreed on the fly to a 1.5 hour boat tour, paid the man his 500 baht and waited aboard the pier for our ride to arrive. When our turn came, we were quickly ushered into a long, narrow, rickety wooden boat with a colorful canvas roof and flowers decorating the pointed bow. We sped off, only having a slight understanding of the sights we were about to pass along the river as the giant diesel engine spewed out a black plume of exhaust. Going up the river for the first time, we were struck at how many vessels clog this busy waterway. Public taxis, private charters, ferries, and tug boats towing 2 or 3 barges were all competing for space and are no less aggressive than the tuk-tuk drivers on the streets. After waiting about 10 minutes for a set of locks to allow us through, we were taken through a series of channels where we encountered floating vendors selling trinkets and cold drinks, beautiful wats and waterfront mansions, numerous slums, factories (likely churning out the counterfeit name brand goods sold throughout Bangkok) and huge monitor lizards. Our excursion on the river helped us understand how Bangkok has been referred to as the Venice of the east as river travel makes getting around the city faster and cheaper (as we would later discover in more detail). Through the river is brown with debris and garbage, people still seem content with eating fish caught from its banks.
Back at the hotel by early afternoon, we tested out the pool for the first time and it was a perfect refreshing temperature, helping us forget that it was nearly 90 degrees. We queried one of the pool bar staff about local attractions and nightlife. He was happy to practice his English on us but we were able to understand little under his heavy accent. Swimming and reading for a few hours lead us to make a run to 7-11 for snacks. We relaxed and snacked in our room for a few hours before realizing that we had every type of outlet adapter for the world except the one we needed. Enter the night market.
Just one stop away on the skytrain, we discovered a completely different side of Bangkok. We ate in a very western style mall and explored the weird new neighborhood. Along the main road, the night market vendors were in full swing by 9 pm. All the counterfeit goods you can imagine as well as t-shirts, lighters, bongs, dildos, pirated music and DVDs, beautiful light fixtures and on and on (not to mention some of the best smelling street food yet) were all readily available for purchase. There are alleyways full of neon lights and waiters trying to lure you in with cheap beers and bright neon signs. Hookers sitting on chairs with numbers on them in front of run down hotels with blacked out windows. Sex show solicitors overflowed the sidewalks. “Bing bong show?” they would ask. I don’t know what bing bong means but they really seem to like white males.
We find an Irish pub with a Thai Beatles tribute band playing inside and we sat out on the patio, ordered two cold Changs and listened to the classics. After about an hour there, we decided to leave but not before finding a universal adapter for 150 baht. We walked up the stairs to the train, still not having yet made up our minds about how we feel about this part of town and purchased our 15 baht tickets for the train back to the hotel. Satisfied our new working adapter, we slept another long peaceful rest.