Upon landing at the Bangkok airport, we immediately noticed a difference from India – the number of foreigners. Whereas in India, we could seemingly go days without seeing a non-Indian, there are tons of expats in Thailand. Tourism here is big business and is treated as such. The airport is only a few years old and very modern, catering to tourists with a variety of hotel stands, fast food chains, and information desks. It was very easy to navigate and to find transport, etc. Little did we know at the time, this airport would become “home” to many tourists stuck during the major political protests that followed a few days later.
We headed to Khao San Road, a major stop along the backpacker trail through Southeast Asia. Khao San is like a world unto itself – a carnival of street vendors, street performers, food stands, roadside bars, and massage parlors, with plenty of cheap places to stay. You name it, you can find it somewhere on this street. The food stands sell delicious pad thai, fried rice, fresh fruit shakes, mango and sticky rice, spring rolls, and banana pancakes, along with fried caterpillars, roaches, spiders, and other unidentifiable things that are apparently edible (not for the faint hearted). You can buy all sorts of funny t-shirts, clothes, jewelry, swimsuits, books, and local handicrafts. Rutvik decided to branch out from his usual Brooks Brothers polos (totally uncool with the backpacker crowd) and bought some t-shirts and surfer shorts. We had a good time playing the vendors off each other. There are also plenty of stands where they’ll do piercings, tattoos, and dreads right on the curb. We skipped those and opted for Thai massages instead. It’s hard to say no to the endless touts practically begging to give you an hour long massage for $7!! The roadside bars officially close at midnight (which is our one big complaint), and the cops drive down the street every night to “shut them down” but mainly to collect their bribes from the owners of unlicensed bars setting up shop on the curb. We had fun drinking cocktails out of buckets and people-watching, especially the white guys picking up the Thai girls (and vice versa!). No white guy in this country can stay unattached for long. From what we can tell, these are not typically one night stands – these women actually become “girlfriends” for the entire duration of the trip and sometimes for multiple trips thereafter. (As you might have noticed, we have a count of these pairs going… though in hindsight, it probably would have been way easier to count unattached white guys!) Anything goes on Khao San, it seems. We were offered all sorts of illegal substances and even women, especially when Kelli’s head was turned. We even saw a Thai guy walk a baby elephant down the street around midnight one night, hiding it in an alley as the cops came through.
During the few days we spent in Bangkok, we walked a lot of the city. It is a pain in the butt for foreigners to try to negotiate for transport, and we actually prefer walking anyway. We decided to check out the Grand Palace (the King’s residence) on a Saturday and were shocked to see a massive crowd of Thais at the Royal Grounds adjoining the Palace. It was hard to see much or take pictures. We eventually found someone who spoke some English, who told us that the King’s sister had died a few weeks earlier and people were there to pay her their respects. The King is extremely revered by the Thai people. There are images of him all over the country, and, while he has no official power, his blessing is important for the stability of any democratically elected government. The Grand Palace is beautiful, a blend of European and Thai architecture, but the King’s temple, Wat Phra Kaew (Temple of the Emerald Buddha) next to it is simply stunning. We were also impressed by nearby Wat Pho (Temple of the Reclining Buddha). We’ll let our pictures speak for themselves.
On Sunday, we heard of the political unrest in Bangkok (which we talked about in our Thanksgiving blog entry) on BBC while getting ready and got assurances from a few locals about safety in Bangkok before we headed out for a day of shopping. We first took an extremely overcrowded local bus to the Chatuchak Weekend Market, which brought back memories from India (both the number of people in the bus and the number of people in the market!) For all the rave reviews we had heard, we didn’t buy much and were disappointed because we couldn’t fit into any of the clothes meant for the tiny Thais!! We then ventured into the modern part of Bangkok, with Silom, its version of Wall Street, and Lumpini Park, its version of Central Park. Especially interesting were the many Thais participating in outdoor aerobics classes and working out at workout stations set up throughout the park. There was even an outdoor concert that we somehow mistook for a funeral. (The music sucked, what can we say?!) Then we walked to Siam Square, a street of huge modern malls. It was funny to be able to bargain for knock-offs at the mall and also strange to see that the stores were all decorated for Christmas in Buddhist Thailand!
The big annoyance in Bangkok is getting around in the city. We decided that if we lived there, we’d have to get a car and brave the chaotic traffic. There is a SkyTrain, but its route is limited and it is quite expensive. The local buses are overcrowded and seem to change their routes often. The tuk-tuks (auto-rickshaws) and taxi drivers like to fleece foreigners and typically refuse to use the meter. On one specifically memorable occasion, we stood in a taxi line for a half hour to get a metered taxi after we had trouble finding one on our own. We were amazed at how many cabs were willing to leave with no passengers instead of taking us with the meter! When we finally got a driver to agree to a metered fare, he quickly changed his tune as soon as we left the mall lot and instead demanded a fixed fare. So frustrating!
Despite the minor annoyances, we enjoyed soaking up the culture for the four days that we spent in Bangkok… but after that and all the people in India, we were definitely ready for some chill time on the islands!!
We headed to Khao San Road, a major stop along the backpacker trail through Southeast Asia. Khao San is like a world unto itself – a carnival of street vendors, street performers, food stands, roadside bars, and massage parlors, with plenty of cheap places to stay. You name it, you can find it somewhere on this street. The food stands sell delicious pad thai, fried rice, fresh fruit shakes, mango and sticky rice, spring rolls, and banana pancakes, along with fried caterpillars, roaches, spiders, and other unidentifiable things that are apparently edible (not for the faint hearted). You can buy all sorts of funny t-shirts, clothes, jewelry, swimsuits, books, and local handicrafts. Rutvik decided to branch out from his usual Brooks Brothers polos (totally uncool with the backpacker crowd) and bought some t-shirts and surfer shorts. We had a good time playing the vendors off each other. There are also plenty of stands where they’ll do piercings, tattoos, and dreads right on the curb. We skipped those and opted for Thai massages instead. It’s hard to say no to the endless touts practically begging to give you an hour long massage for $7!! The roadside bars officially close at midnight (which is our one big complaint), and the cops drive down the street every night to “shut them down” but mainly to collect their bribes from the owners of unlicensed bars setting up shop on the curb. We had fun drinking cocktails out of buckets and people-watching, especially the white guys picking up the Thai girls (and vice versa!). No white guy in this country can stay unattached for long. From what we can tell, these are not typically one night stands – these women actually become “girlfriends” for the entire duration of the trip and sometimes for multiple trips thereafter. (As you might have noticed, we have a count of these pairs going… though in hindsight, it probably would have been way easier to count unattached white guys!) Anything goes on Khao San, it seems. We were offered all sorts of illegal substances and even women, especially when Kelli’s head was turned. We even saw a Thai guy walk a baby elephant down the street around midnight one night, hiding it in an alley as the cops came through.
During the few days we spent in Bangkok, we walked a lot of the city. It is a pain in the butt for foreigners to try to negotiate for transport, and we actually prefer walking anyway. We decided to check out the Grand Palace (the King’s residence) on a Saturday and were shocked to see a massive crowd of Thais at the Royal Grounds adjoining the Palace. It was hard to see much or take pictures. We eventually found someone who spoke some English, who told us that the King’s sister had died a few weeks earlier and people were there to pay her their respects. The King is extremely revered by the Thai people. There are images of him all over the country, and, while he has no official power, his blessing is important for the stability of any democratically elected government. The Grand Palace is beautiful, a blend of European and Thai architecture, but the King’s temple, Wat Phra Kaew (Temple of the Emerald Buddha) next to it is simply stunning. We were also impressed by nearby Wat Pho (Temple of the Reclining Buddha). We’ll let our pictures speak for themselves.
On Sunday, we heard of the political unrest in Bangkok (which we talked about in our Thanksgiving blog entry) on BBC while getting ready and got assurances from a few locals about safety in Bangkok before we headed out for a day of shopping. We first took an extremely overcrowded local bus to the Chatuchak Weekend Market, which brought back memories from India (both the number of people in the bus and the number of people in the market!) For all the rave reviews we had heard, we didn’t buy much and were disappointed because we couldn’t fit into any of the clothes meant for the tiny Thais!! We then ventured into the modern part of Bangkok, with Silom, its version of Wall Street, and Lumpini Park, its version of Central Park. Especially interesting were the many Thais participating in outdoor aerobics classes and working out at workout stations set up throughout the park. There was even an outdoor concert that we somehow mistook for a funeral. (The music sucked, what can we say?!) Then we walked to Siam Square, a street of huge modern malls. It was funny to be able to bargain for knock-offs at the mall and also strange to see that the stores were all decorated for Christmas in Buddhist Thailand!
The big annoyance in Bangkok is getting around in the city. We decided that if we lived there, we’d have to get a car and brave the chaotic traffic. There is a SkyTrain, but its route is limited and it is quite expensive. The local buses are overcrowded and seem to change their routes often. The tuk-tuks (auto-rickshaws) and taxi drivers like to fleece foreigners and typically refuse to use the meter. On one specifically memorable occasion, we stood in a taxi line for a half hour to get a metered taxi after we had trouble finding one on our own. We were amazed at how many cabs were willing to leave with no passengers instead of taking us with the meter! When we finally got a driver to agree to a metered fare, he quickly changed his tune as soon as we left the mall lot and instead demanded a fixed fare. So frustrating!
Despite the minor annoyances, we enjoyed soaking up the culture for the four days that we spent in Bangkok… but after that and all the people in India, we were definitely ready for some chill time on the islands!!
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