I'm very pleased with myself - I didn't get lost once today. I took the underground from Ratchadaphisek to Sukhumvit (how's those names!) where I changed to the skytrain and then made another change onto another sky-train. Then I took one of the Chao Phraya tourist boats up the river and alighted at the correct Pier. There are a whole lot of boats and they are essentially busses that ply up and down the river. You buy a day pass and you can hop on and off as the spirit moves you.
Anyway, my first stop was Wat Pho. I had a very helpful guide who used to be a monk at Wat Pho, then he was a soldier for 2 years and is now a guide. The temple is the oldest (16th century)and largest in Thailand, It also has the largest reclining Buddha, built of brick and mortar. Other Buddhas in the temple are built of brass, the largest, weighing many tons, required 7 elephants to transport it from the river. Supplicants place gold leaf on the Buddha - on the forehead for clearer thinking, on the mouth for better communication and so on. Others are completely plated with gold leaf annually as a matter of maintenence.
After the temple I was walking to the Royal Grand Palace when I was accosted by a tuk-tuk driver offering me a tour of many other wats for only THB10. I was highly suspicious but eventually I went with him.
Apart from many other temples, he also took me to several jewellry manufacturing factories. Turns out that today the tuk-tuks get a generous petrol allowance for taking farangs to these places, whether they buy or not! Hence the THB10 charge.
By now it was about 17h30 and time to be heading home. I have only done about half of what I wanted, so I'm gonna have to come back here again in the next couple of days.
I headed back for the river and had a meal of noodle soup with fish balls at a local dining establishment. While I was eating the owner came out with some Thai whiskey and offered me some. He took a sip first to demonstrate how good it was. Then his wife (?) sat at my table and offered me some of her food. These people really are amazing!
Interestingly, I ate at the hotel last night and had the gyppos after. I've eaten at several of these less formal establishments with no problems!
After catching the boat I did the sky-train thing with all the commuters on their way home from work, caught the underground to Bang Sue (noun, not phrasal verb) and got back to my hotel.
And I never got lost once - though I did have my GPS in my pocket just in case!
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Day 1
After claiming my luggage at Bangkok airport it took me about an hour to get out of the building and find the taxi rank. I went in and out of entrances, up and down escalators (actually sloping walkways) which were so steep that the wheels of my trolley with my approx 40kg of baggage started sliding down, with me desperately holding on like a midget trying to control an unruly St. Bernard on a leash!
Anyway, I eventually found the taxi rank and figured out the system - you queue, tell an operator where you are going, get a piece of paper, queue again and finally get assigned to a taxi. We got caught in the rush hour traffic (although little rushing occurred) and got to my hotel about an hour later. The driver was very friendly and politely remarked that in his opinion I am not fat, but strong. The fellow at the market was less tactful - he tried to sell me a Buddha on the basis that my tummy matched the Buddhas!
I had no idea what to expect from my hotel since I had booked on-line and relied on other guests reviews (btw - I recommend http://www.edreams.com/ for this purpose). The reviews of some of the hotels were scary - like "get out of bed slowly to give the cockroaches time to disperse".
Fortunately this turned out to be a quality hotel (Chaophya Park) and as the taxi stopped the bellboys dashed over to open the door and vanished with my baggage, which reappeared once I was in my room.
Once I had settled I went down to the Lobby Bar for a beer (they have 5 different style restaurants here - Japanese, Chinese, Western...). The bill for the beer was a shock: THB 210. At 7/11 beers are THB 35. I scanned through the food menu and decided against ordering anything here. Instead I keyed "7/11" into my GPS and set off on foot to get some more affordable fare. I was stopped twice along the way by taxi drivers with their own menus; a chart with photos of about 30 "ladies" who positively ached to please me. I manfully resisted and politely declined.
Just outside the 7/11 was an eating place - sort of an open courtyard with plastic tables and stools. I didn't find the menu to be informative as it was entirely in Thai and didn't have any pictures. Fortunately I know how to order some of my favorite dishes in Thai and ordered Kau-Pat-Moo (Kau=rice, Pat=fried, Moo=pork). I got a good helping of this plus a large Singha beer and paid only THB 110.
Yesterday I spent most of the day at the pool on 2nd floor and met a Thai lady I've been chatting to on the Internet. She's offered to take me to Pattaya for the day some time this week which will be great (judging by the pics I've seen). Buying a Coke at the pool was THB 100 (THB 15 at 7/11).
Tomorrow I plan to do some sightseeing - Royal Grand Palace, Wat Pho, Wat Arun (Wat=Buddhist Temple) and whatever else is to be seen in the area. Getting there should be quite an adventure in itself - 3 changes on the BTS (underground) and the a boat ride along the canal. I have no idea how this will all work out, but I'm taking my GPS, the address & phone number of my hotel and sufficient cash. The concierge thinks I am crazy not to take a taxi... he may have a point...
Watch this space...
Anyway, I eventually found the taxi rank and figured out the system - you queue, tell an operator where you are going, get a piece of paper, queue again and finally get assigned to a taxi. We got caught in the rush hour traffic (although little rushing occurred) and got to my hotel about an hour later. The driver was very friendly and politely remarked that in his opinion I am not fat, but strong. The fellow at the market was less tactful - he tried to sell me a Buddha on the basis that my tummy matched the Buddhas!
I had no idea what to expect from my hotel since I had booked on-line and relied on other guests reviews (btw - I recommend http://www.edreams.com/ for this purpose). The reviews of some of the hotels were scary - like "get out of bed slowly to give the cockroaches time to disperse".
Fortunately this turned out to be a quality hotel (Chaophya Park) and as the taxi stopped the bellboys dashed over to open the door and vanished with my baggage, which reappeared once I was in my room.
Once I had settled I went down to the Lobby Bar for a beer (they have 5 different style restaurants here - Japanese, Chinese, Western...). The bill for the beer was a shock: THB 210. At 7/11 beers are THB 35. I scanned through the food menu and decided against ordering anything here. Instead I keyed "7/11" into my GPS and set off on foot to get some more affordable fare. I was stopped twice along the way by taxi drivers with their own menus; a chart with photos of about 30 "ladies" who positively ached to please me. I manfully resisted and politely declined.
Just outside the 7/11 was an eating place - sort of an open courtyard with plastic tables and stools. I didn't find the menu to be informative as it was entirely in Thai and didn't have any pictures. Fortunately I know how to order some of my favorite dishes in Thai and ordered Kau-Pat-Moo (Kau=rice, Pat=fried, Moo=pork). I got a good helping of this plus a large Singha beer and paid only THB 110.
Yesterday I spent most of the day at the pool on 2nd floor and met a Thai lady I've been chatting to on the Internet. She's offered to take me to Pattaya for the day some time this week which will be great (judging by the pics I've seen). Buying a Coke at the pool was THB 100 (THB 15 at 7/11).
Tomorrow I plan to do some sightseeing - Royal Grand Palace, Wat Pho, Wat Arun (Wat=Buddhist Temple) and whatever else is to be seen in the area. Getting there should be quite an adventure in itself - 3 changes on the BTS (underground) and the a boat ride along the canal. I have no idea how this will all work out, but I'm taking my GPS, the address & phone number of my hotel and sufficient cash. The concierge thinks I am crazy not to take a taxi... he may have a point...
Watch this space...
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