Tuk Tuk Adventures in the City of Angels
Arrived in Bangkok last Tuesday (21st) after a decent flight. Was slightly surprised to see the newspapers with front covers showing the China Airlines fire on a plane, and showing the news coverage of it on the main TV channel on the plane but perhaps the Japanese arn’t phased by such things. I decided to watch The Mask as I hadn’t seen it for years, while taking full advantage of the free drinks once again.
Hostel in Bangkok was great and was only about £8 a night which you certainly can’t grumble about. That was for a private room too! Location was pretty good too, right next to the SkyTrain which was cheap and made getting around easy. The name of the hostel is HI-Sukhumvit, and i’d reccomend it!
On making your way around the city you certainly come to realise that it’s a bit dirty and is a far cry from the safety of Japan, but having said that, it’s a really great place to visit. Lots of culture to take in – plenty of atmosphere and all that jazz. Plenty of decent food at outrageously cheap prices too from street vendors. If you are worried about risking that though, the sanctuary of Western establishments such as McDonalds etc are never too far away. No problems to report for us though! Last night we went for a meal with a beer and the total bill for the two of us was 140 baht. That’s just over £2. I can’t deny that I was a bit dubious at first but we woke up the next day feeling fine so that was that bridge crossed. I suppose it’s all to easy to believe all the horror stories about street vendors! You eat with a fork and spoon, which is a little strange at first! Personally I prefer chopsticks.
As you walk through the streets of Bangkok you use one hand to fan your face due to the heat (although its not as hot as Japan!) and with the other you get rid of the vast array of touts, taxis, tuk tuk drivers, market traders and other sellers of random trinkets. Want suit? Want taxi? Need tuk tuk? Had an amusing adventure on a tuk tuk as it happens (a tuk tuk is a 3 wheeler taxi…see photos…it’s easier than discribing!). 70 baht and the chap took us round for 2 hours to all the places we wanted to go. That’s just over £1. We were feeling generous though, so gave him a straight 100 baht. We had read about the smartly dressed men pretending to help you but then try to sell you stuff and this was a textbook example. We were ready for it though, and just said we didn’t want to stop at places. So we only went via one tailors (with a very rude man inside!), and then via a souvenier shop because the guy got a gas token for taking tourists there, and thats fair enough really. I think that’s one thing to definitely realise about Thailand…and the Lonely Planet sums it up well…you are more likely to be charmed out of your money than anything else; we never felt unsafe, and that’s important.
Tonight we wandered around the massive MBK shopping mall and picked up a few bargains. Then we went to the legendary Kao San Road, and picked up yet more bargains at the street market. Cracking street, full of like minded travellers!
Our time in Thailand is limited; only 10 days. So tomorrow we are heading down to Surat Thani on the night train – it takes 12 hours, but saves a nights accomodation! From there, we take a ferry over to Koh Samui.
