Bangkok, Thailand - the 5th stopover on my amazing travels :)
Bangkok - the city that never sleeps, and not in a glitzy, glam NYC style way! This city is just GO GO GO from the moment you wake up to the moment you fall asleep. Seriously...
I took an overnight bus from Koh Lanta to Bangkok, which took about 12 hours plus the ferry and minibus ride. It only cost me $25 or something cheap like that so seemed like a fantastic idea at the time. I have done longer bus rides in Argentina for 20 hours+ but those buses were super comfortable with reclining armchair style seats, food provided, snacks, blankets. The company I had with me could have helped too but still...seriously this was a first class ticket and I am wondering what I would have let myself in for with a second class lol. The seats were tiny and the bus was packed. It was like sitting on those plastic seats we used to be given in kindergarten school.
I made a friend, or I should say someone wanted to be my friend - an Indian guy who wanted to talk non stop once he found out I was visiting Bangkok to get a visa for India. It started off well, he was a nice guy, serious conversation and really helpful about Rishikesh. Then it turned to an interview style conversation where he asked me about what my father and brother did for a living, what I studied at university, was I married, did I want children etc and kindly informed me he wasn't married. He then proceeded to try to fall asleep snuggled up next to me, when that failed he kept turning his legs into me and trying to snuggle in like that. In the end I got quite annoyed and pushed him away from me literally. I couldn't think how else to make him stop. Good times... When we stopped at the bus terminal to get food, he wanted to buy me dinner which I politely turned down in exchange for the free meal which was kind of gross and had me searching for a crepe and some watermelon straight after to lose the taste. The toilets were the delightful squat and hover asian variety too!
When our bus pulled into Bangkok at 5am I expected the city to be dead, but the terminal was full of people everywhere. Holy crap, it was chaos, not even remotely organised chaos and as soon as you get off the bus people were grabbing at you to sell you something or try to shove you into non-licensed cabs or tuk tuks. People pushing and shouting! I followed a couple who had been on my bus to the taxi line, after unsuccessfully trying to ask where the BTS train system was as I had been told my hotel was close by if I took the train. Instead I waited an hour or so for a taxi. BIG mistake, I got the grumpiest man in the world!!
My taxi driver thought he was a formula one driver. He kept swerving other vehicles at the last minute, in between shouting at me in Thai when I clearly had no clue what he was saying. All I could think was ok let's get this India visa application submitted and get out of here and back to a small island asap! So eventually 'lost in translation' worked and we got to where I am staying and I tried to pay. He looked at my money and started shouting again, and before I can get out the car he drives off. He stopped 20 blocks out and points at a shop to break my money. I got change, and paid him and quickly realised he intended to drop me there and not the hotel. I had to do battle with him to get my pack out of the car before he drove off... So at 6am I was walking the streets of Bangkok back 20 blocks to my hotel with ridiculous amounts of luggage! Someone in my bungalow had told me my backpack was heavy the day before and I had laughed - he was right!
I honestly think that having lived in Bermuda (above) and having fallen in love with Lembeh, that they have killed much hope of me ever living in a city again!
Anyway, I only had 24 hours in Bangkok so used it wisely. I got coffee, and headed to the Indian Embassy to submit my application for my India Tourist Visa. I was pleasantly surprised by how organised it was and how within 25 minutes I had submitted all of my paperwork! They said it could take anywhere between 5 and 8 working days to be ready. Hoping 5-6 days in reality as I only have 8 working days until I fly to India....me unorganised? No! So funny when I got there I had to have photos taken and this little boy who was about 9 years old guided me into a room and took my photo with his nikon camera, in between practicing his English on me. "One, two, three....please sit down madam...again, again" etc and taught me hello, goodbye and thank you in Thai in exchange.
I had planned to cram the day with visits to temples, shopping and sight seeing but I was exhausted and literally hid in my hotel room all day in the AC and used free internet and phone to call bungalows in Koh Samet to suss out whether it was a good place to get the bus to the next day or not. I managed to get a booking reservation for Jeps Bungalows which looks fab and Dani recommended to me. I had a bit of a homesick day to be honest, I don't know why that particular day caught me out, but I missed Bermuda and my cats and just felt a bit ugghh. Maybe it was the city effect and the cold I had caught on the bus. Traveling can be quite tiring in between destinations, you never know exactly what will happen next and I never was one to plan ahead very well!
I eventually took myself outside and walked to Pantip Plaza which was a great 50 minute walk from hotel and ate some streetfood along the way, and tried some crazy juices too. Pantip Plaza is the stuff that technology guys dreams are made of - 5 floors of just IT stuff including cameras, computers etc. I was hoping to find a waterproof housing for my canon but noone had heard of Ikelite so mission aborted. I bought a hard drive instead as they are so cheap compared to anywhere else (must buy something...). I walked back to the hotel too which was nice to stretch my legs. I stopped off in a travel agent and booked my minibus and ferry to Koh Samet for the morning. $20 to travel 5 hours - love Asia travel prices!! There was such cool street art on the floors through my route to Pantip Plaza - see the photos below. It was some kind of organised event throughout the city. Really cool!
On the way back to hotel I spotted a hawker area I had read about online called Nana Square. It was great, all locals sitting in this dining lounge area eating freshly cooked thai food. I ordered a chili and basil chicken with rice for 40 baht, and it was the nicest thai meal I have had the whole time! YUM. The lady asked me if I wanted it 'Farang hot" or "Thai hot". I said farang hot - what she brought me was thai hot and they giggled (in a nice way) as I worked my way through it haha! They brought me a much appreciated cold beer to wash the chilli down with lol. Really glad I found that place as everything else nearby was italian, or McDonalds, Starbucks, Burger King, or indian restaurants.
I am a bit disappointed I didn't make it to the temples, but I have been before and it did me good to get myself organised a bit more. I seem to get quite ansty in a city, I get this weird suffocating feeling like I did when I went through London in January. Once I got out and walked and appreciated being able to walk safely for a long time to stretch my legs I calmed down and took in the chaos from a more positive perspective. I was staying in Soi 9 in Sukhumvit which is right in the heart of the red light district which is hilarious. Every other stall on the streets sells viagra, vibrators, gels, lotions, potions, hand cuffs...and then you would see random stalls selling proper knuckle dusters and knives which scared me quite a bit! And then the normal DVD sellers. I was shocked at how much prices had gone up in Thailand since I was here in 2008. They were selling DVD box sets for $20, I am sure we used to get them for less than dinner cost!
Anyway super excited that I am one step further forward to India, and leaving tomorrow for Koh Samet, a new island for me in Thailand and a new adventure - and a beach with white sand. Yay for peace and quiet and beach days :)
Bye bye Bangkok!!!!!!!
Bangkok - the city that never sleeps, and not in a glitzy, glam NYC style way! This city is just GO GO GO from the moment you wake up to the moment you fall asleep. Seriously...
I took an overnight bus from Koh Lanta to Bangkok, which took about 12 hours plus the ferry and minibus ride. It only cost me $25 or something cheap like that so seemed like a fantastic idea at the time. I have done longer bus rides in Argentina for 20 hours+ but those buses were super comfortable with reclining armchair style seats, food provided, snacks, blankets. The company I had with me could have helped too but still...seriously this was a first class ticket and I am wondering what I would have let myself in for with a second class lol. The seats were tiny and the bus was packed. It was like sitting on those plastic seats we used to be given in kindergarten school.
I made a friend, or I should say someone wanted to be my friend - an Indian guy who wanted to talk non stop once he found out I was visiting Bangkok to get a visa for India. It started off well, he was a nice guy, serious conversation and really helpful about Rishikesh. Then it turned to an interview style conversation where he asked me about what my father and brother did for a living, what I studied at university, was I married, did I want children etc and kindly informed me he wasn't married. He then proceeded to try to fall asleep snuggled up next to me, when that failed he kept turning his legs into me and trying to snuggle in like that. In the end I got quite annoyed and pushed him away from me literally. I couldn't think how else to make him stop. Good times... When we stopped at the bus terminal to get food, he wanted to buy me dinner which I politely turned down in exchange for the free meal which was kind of gross and had me searching for a crepe and some watermelon straight after to lose the taste. The toilets were the delightful squat and hover asian variety too!
When our bus pulled into Bangkok at 5am I expected the city to be dead, but the terminal was full of people everywhere. Holy crap, it was chaos, not even remotely organised chaos and as soon as you get off the bus people were grabbing at you to sell you something or try to shove you into non-licensed cabs or tuk tuks. People pushing and shouting! I followed a couple who had been on my bus to the taxi line, after unsuccessfully trying to ask where the BTS train system was as I had been told my hotel was close by if I took the train. Instead I waited an hour or so for a taxi. BIG mistake, I got the grumpiest man in the world!!
My taxi driver thought he was a formula one driver. He kept swerving other vehicles at the last minute, in between shouting at me in Thai when I clearly had no clue what he was saying. All I could think was ok let's get this India visa application submitted and get out of here and back to a small island asap! So eventually 'lost in translation' worked and we got to where I am staying and I tried to pay. He looked at my money and started shouting again, and before I can get out the car he drives off. He stopped 20 blocks out and points at a shop to break my money. I got change, and paid him and quickly realised he intended to drop me there and not the hotel. I had to do battle with him to get my pack out of the car before he drove off... So at 6am I was walking the streets of Bangkok back 20 blocks to my hotel with ridiculous amounts of luggage! Someone in my bungalow had told me my backpack was heavy the day before and I had laughed - he was right!
I honestly think that having lived in Bermuda (above) and having fallen in love with Lembeh, that they have killed much hope of me ever living in a city again!
Anyway, I only had 24 hours in Bangkok so used it wisely. I got coffee, and headed to the Indian Embassy to submit my application for my India Tourist Visa. I was pleasantly surprised by how organised it was and how within 25 minutes I had submitted all of my paperwork! They said it could take anywhere between 5 and 8 working days to be ready. Hoping 5-6 days in reality as I only have 8 working days until I fly to India....me unorganised? No! So funny when I got there I had to have photos taken and this little boy who was about 9 years old guided me into a room and took my photo with his nikon camera, in between practicing his English on me. "One, two, three....please sit down madam...again, again" etc and taught me hello, goodbye and thank you in Thai in exchange.
I had planned to cram the day with visits to temples, shopping and sight seeing but I was exhausted and literally hid in my hotel room all day in the AC and used free internet and phone to call bungalows in Koh Samet to suss out whether it was a good place to get the bus to the next day or not. I managed to get a booking reservation for Jeps Bungalows which looks fab and Dani recommended to me. I had a bit of a homesick day to be honest, I don't know why that particular day caught me out, but I missed Bermuda and my cats and just felt a bit ugghh. Maybe it was the city effect and the cold I had caught on the bus. Traveling can be quite tiring in between destinations, you never know exactly what will happen next and I never was one to plan ahead very well!
I eventually took myself outside and walked to Pantip Plaza which was a great 50 minute walk from hotel and ate some streetfood along the way, and tried some crazy juices too. Pantip Plaza is the stuff that technology guys dreams are made of - 5 floors of just IT stuff including cameras, computers etc. I was hoping to find a waterproof housing for my canon but noone had heard of Ikelite so mission aborted. I bought a hard drive instead as they are so cheap compared to anywhere else (must buy something...). I walked back to the hotel too which was nice to stretch my legs. I stopped off in a travel agent and booked my minibus and ferry to Koh Samet for the morning. $20 to travel 5 hours - love Asia travel prices!! There was such cool street art on the floors through my route to Pantip Plaza - see the photos below. It was some kind of organised event throughout the city. Really cool!
On the way back to hotel I spotted a hawker area I had read about online called Nana Square. It was great, all locals sitting in this dining lounge area eating freshly cooked thai food. I ordered a chili and basil chicken with rice for 40 baht, and it was the nicest thai meal I have had the whole time! YUM. The lady asked me if I wanted it 'Farang hot" or "Thai hot". I said farang hot - what she brought me was thai hot and they giggled (in a nice way) as I worked my way through it haha! They brought me a much appreciated cold beer to wash the chilli down with lol. Really glad I found that place as everything else nearby was italian, or McDonalds, Starbucks, Burger King, or indian restaurants.
I am a bit disappointed I didn't make it to the temples, but I have been before and it did me good to get myself organised a bit more. I seem to get quite ansty in a city, I get this weird suffocating feeling like I did when I went through London in January. Once I got out and walked and appreciated being able to walk safely for a long time to stretch my legs I calmed down and took in the chaos from a more positive perspective. I was staying in Soi 9 in Sukhumvit which is right in the heart of the red light district which is hilarious. Every other stall on the streets sells viagra, vibrators, gels, lotions, potions, hand cuffs...and then you would see random stalls selling proper knuckle dusters and knives which scared me quite a bit! And then the normal DVD sellers. I was shocked at how much prices had gone up in Thailand since I was here in 2008. They were selling DVD box sets for $20, I am sure we used to get them for less than dinner cost!
Anyway super excited that I am one step further forward to India, and leaving tomorrow for Koh Samet, a new island for me in Thailand and a new adventure - and a beach with white sand. Yay for peace and quiet and beach days :)
Bye bye Bangkok!!!!!!!
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