bangkok
12 - 20 october
post by allana
After our sleepy week in Goa it was surreal to emerge bleary eyed into the chaos of Bangkok, but it was organised chaos. Scott nearly cried tears of joy when he saw how calmly and politely the Thais would line up to get on the BTS (sky train). From the moment we arrived we were charmed by the lovely Thai people. They are extremely polite, welcoming and helpful. Leaving the airport really quickly we sped along on the extremely air-conditioned BTS with the huge city whizzing by outside. Couldn’t help but feel a bit sad, our arrival in Bangkok officially means the start of ‘Phase 3’… we are nearing the end of our trip. On the other hand it was a really nice feeling to know we hadn’t been this close to home in 10 months. A mere three hours time difference now!
Scott managed to find us some great cheap accommodation right in the heart of Siam, the super modern shopping district. We wanted to steer clear of Koh San Rd and the usual back packer haunts. Plus being right on the BTS line meant travelling around the city was a piece of cake. We bought some rabbit cards (like Go cards) so we could tap on and off easy and get around super quick. And so our shopping extravaganza began! Perhaps in hindsight it was the wrong decision to stay in amongst all the fancy malls and young designer street markets… We did do a lot of shopping. Scott concluded that we were missing everyone back home so we were trying to replace the loved ones in our lives with consumer goods. I don’t know if that is true or not but it was a lot of fun! And I finally went to a hairdresser, oh the joy of a cut and colour! We were immersing ourselves in the comforts of western decadence. Especially when we treated ourselves to a 3D Hollywood blockbuster on the largest Imax screen we’ve ever seen (Gravity- go see it!)… So it’s fair to say we indulged ourselves for a few days before seeing the more cultural sights of this great city.
Scott managed to find us some great cheap accommodation right in the heart of Siam, the super modern shopping district. We wanted to steer clear of Koh San Rd and the usual back packer haunts. Plus being right on the BTS line meant travelling around the city was a piece of cake. We bought some rabbit cards (like Go cards) so we could tap on and off easy and get around super quick. And so our shopping extravaganza began! Perhaps in hindsight it was the wrong decision to stay in amongst all the fancy malls and young designer street markets… We did do a lot of shopping. Scott concluded that we were missing everyone back home so we were trying to replace the loved ones in our lives with consumer goods. I don’t know if that is true or not but it was a lot of fun! And I finally went to a hairdresser, oh the joy of a cut and colour! We were immersing ourselves in the comforts of western decadence. Especially when we treated ourselves to a 3D Hollywood blockbuster on the largest Imax screen we’ve ever seen (Gravity- go see it!)… So it’s fair to say we indulged ourselves for a few days before seeing the more cultural sights of this great city.
river ride to chinatown
15/10/13
One day we caught the taxi boat up river to check out the hustle and bustle of Bangkok’s Chinatown. It was basically a maze of street markets and food stalls, which we happily sampled including a tasty ice-cream sandwich.
wat pho (reclining buddah)
17/10/13
Wat Pho is a very special place. It is a Buddhist temple right next door to Thailand’s Grand Palace. The day we visited the sky was grey and menacing with looming towers of clouds. This dark sky was the perfect backdrop for the golden temples. The beautiful gardens, statues and colourful shrines with the smell of incense wafting on the occasional breeze made the place feel serene and calm. The giant reclining Buddah is an amazing sight to see, 15m high and 43m long. I'd been here before on a family holiday when I was in grade 8, and it was so cool to experience it again. I was just as impressed and amazed as I was back then.
There are a long line of bronze bowls along the wall that you can walk along and drop coins in. We did this, saying a little prayer for all our friends and family to bring good fortune (so you can thank us when you’re all super rich and successful next year).
There are a long line of bronze bowls along the wall that you can walk along and drop coins in. We did this, saying a little prayer for all our friends and family to bring good fortune (so you can thank us when you’re all super rich and successful next year).
For some reason, perhaps the ominous looking weather, there were hardly any crowds that day so it felt like we were wandering around alone most of the time. We found a quiet open-air room lined with gold Buddahs and beautiful lily flowers. It was the perfect opportunity for some lovely photography.
We came to a smaller temple where for a donation you could light some incense and candles and take a little piece of gold leaf to stick onto the Buddah at the front of the room. There was a real sense of peace here and in some quiet contemplation we found we were both thinking of Dina. It would have been her 60th birthday this year, so we decided to light the candles in her honour and to have a special moment for her in this beautiful place. After we lit the candle and incense we were going to stick the gold leaf inside on the Buddah. As we carefully peeled back the little piece of paper a sudden gust of wind came without warning and perfectly peeled away the piece of gold, taking it right past our faces and up high into the air. We watched the tiny glimmer float higher and higher up in a spiral until it finally disappeared from view. It felt like the universe was taking our thoughts and love right up to her.
On the way home (after a delicious lunch and aaahhhhmazing fresh coconut icecream), we stopped by Khao San Road to check out the famous backpacker street. Chang and Singha singlets galore, strip clubs, beer and sleezy guys saying “Need ID?” We looked in his folder and for a few baht you could buy the ID for whatever you needed, open water diver, driving licence, student card, over 18 card etc from countries all over the world. If you’ve ever lost your wallet in Thailand check out Khao San Rd for photocopies of your ID being sold for 50 baht. We found a shady bar to enjoy a quiet beer and take in the street scene. Before long wares were being offered to us from a continual line of vendors strolling past. I let my eyes rest on some wooden baskets for a second too long and the hawker saw his chance to make a sale. He was a nice guy and the elephant shaped baskets he was selling were pretty cute. We haggled for a few minutes until he relented and gave me my price, informing me he didn’t have time to haggle because he had to go catch the first of many buses home which was a three hour journey, ready to do it all again the next day. Needless to say I felt terrible and regretted not giving him a better price. I realised later I’d still been majorly ripped off, completing the full cycle of emotions felt by most travelers when dealing with street vendors.
With the newly purchased baskets sitting on our table we were obvious targets. Before we could enjoy another sip of singha an old lady with a funny hat trotted over and began serenading us with those croaking wooden frogs. Scott and I are suckers for old ladies trying to sell us stuff. I still think about the amazing smile of the old lady at Lake Titikaka who sold us socks. Anyway, this one knew she had us from the get go so now we are the proud owners of a croaking frog. Unfortunately only later did it dawn on us all our new purchases are wood, so not sure what the chances are of us getting them back through customs.
With the newly purchased baskets sitting on our table we were obvious targets. Before we could enjoy another sip of singha an old lady with a funny hat trotted over and began serenading us with those croaking wooden frogs. Scott and I are suckers for old ladies trying to sell us stuff. I still think about the amazing smile of the old lady at Lake Titikaka who sold us socks. Anyway, this one knew she had us from the get go so now we are the proud owners of a croaking frog. Unfortunately only later did it dawn on us all our new purchases are wood, so not sure what the chances are of us getting them back through customs.
19/10/13 Jim Thompson house
Bought some beautiful silk cushions for our “future home” (Scott must have very big expectations for this future home of ours because it has been my reason for many a purchase this year) and enjoyed a rather grown-up day admiring his house, gardens and the museum. Jim Thompson was an American entrepreneur who came to Thailand after WW2 and is credited with making the thai silk industry world famous. He adored Thailand and embraced its culture, but not so much that he heeded the warning of his Buddhist fortune teller who told him to be extra careful on his 62 birthday. The year he turned 62 he disappeared without a trace in the Malaysian jungle.
We got to see spinners turning the beautiful golden cocoons into fine silk threads, traditional Thai dancers and Scott made friends with the deadly red eared slider tortise.
We got to see spinners turning the beautiful golden cocoons into fine silk threads, traditional Thai dancers and Scott made friends with the deadly red eared slider tortise.
scott gets suited
Our other major achievement while we were in Bangkok was getting a gorgeous suit tailor-made for Groom to be Scotty Pips. After much research we went with 'Tailor on Ten' who are meant to be the best in the business; we also found them to be very professional. Don't want to give away too much before the big day but here's a sneak peak!
riding on the night train
After we had finally gotten enough of Bangkok's bright lights, street food and shopping it was time to head off somewhere a little quieter... Turtle Island (Koh Tao). To get there... night train, back of pick up truck, 3 hr ferry boat. Finally
Scott got his train ride he’d been dreaming about all year! Even Bangkok’s busy
main train station is not stressful for travellers. Plenty of helpful Thai’s
make sure you know where to go. We had time for a $1 dinner of delicious noodle
soup on the street before finding our seats on the overnight train to Chumpon. To be honest I
wasn’t particularly looking forward to the overnight journey, based on our 2007
train travel experiences in India. However I am very pleased to say Thailand
once again was delightful! The old train certainly wasn’t fancy, however the
seats were comfy and everyone had their own place. Unlike India you didn’t have
to fight for space against 50 other people stealing your seat or guard your
bags with your life or put up with horrendous smells coming from the back of
carriage. Instead we enjoyed the view of people’s backyards as the train
chugged through Bangkok’s outer suburbs, and contemplated ordering a cold beer
or snack from the vendor who would occasionally wander past. At about 7pm a
nice lady came through and asked if we’d like our beds made up. Why yes, we
would! From the roof down came the top bunk, the bottom two seats became a soft
long bed, she pulled out clean sheets and pillows fitted them perfectly into
the mattress and whipped shut the curtains for privacy. We couldn’t believe it!
Train travel in Thailand gets the big thumbs up.