Thursday, January 25, 2007
Bangkok or Bust
I arrived in Bangkok on Tuesday and it's been quite an adventure. I can't make up my mind whether I love or hate this place.
I flew up here with Air Asia, the region's low cost carrier, and it was a good flight. I then got a taxi to Charlie House guesthouse where I'm staying, and so far it seems like the taxi driver who got me here from the airport is the only one in Bangkok who knows where the place is!
Yesterday I wandered around the Grand Palace, which was absolutely beautiful, everywhere you looked was a photo opportunity, although you couldn't take photos of the Emerald Buddha. From there I headed to Khao San Road, that legendary backpacker ghetto... which didn't look too much like a ghetto to me, but there was only about 2 places along the road that I would've stayed at! I had a nice pad thai for lunch and then walked over to the canal and got a boat down it and back up. Back at Khao San Road I had to get back to my hotel... and that was a bit of a nightmare really... Suffice to say I arrived back about an hour later than I should have and had seen more of Bangkok than I had originally intended...!
Today I headed out to the subway to try and find my own way round a bit more, and ended up at Khao San again. I ran into a dude from TAT (the tourist people out here) and it seems that the new government is really putting a big push on tourism out here in light of recent events. I ended up at their offices and before I knew it I was booked on the train up to Chiang Mai next Monday, then going trekking, elephant riding and bamboo rafting around the hill tribes for 3 days/2 nights... omg how scared am i at this... and then heading up into Laos at Hui Xuay (sp?), making my way down the Mekong to Vientiane the capital and flying back to Bangkok in time to start my tour into Cambodia and Vietnam. I also booked a learn to dive course on Ko Tao for an open date in March. This I'm really looking forward to... and gives me a clearer picture of what I'm doing on the way down to Singapore... not sure I'm gonna make it to the Perhentians, which I'm a bit disappointed about, but we'll see. (I think this is gonna be the bust part!)
This evening I got the sky train and MRT back to the hotel now that I knew my way, and stopped off at the night bazaar along the way... and went on this big ferris wheel and got some pretty cool views of Bangkok at night.
Tomorrow I'm moving digs to somewhere a bit cheaper and preparing for the trip up to Chiang Mai. You might say I'm bricking it, having to live without my kitchen sink for a few days...yikes! But I guess there's really no point in coming out this way if you're not gonna leave said sink behind for a while and the trekking is a "must-do". So I"m gonna do it.
For the next couple days I'm gonna see about taking some day tours around and out to the River Kwai and see some tigers and other things.
I flew up here with Air Asia, the region's low cost carrier, and it was a good flight. I then got a taxi to Charlie House guesthouse where I'm staying, and so far it seems like the taxi driver who got me here from the airport is the only one in Bangkok who knows where the place is!
Yesterday I wandered around the Grand Palace, which was absolutely beautiful, everywhere you looked was a photo opportunity, although you couldn't take photos of the Emerald Buddha. From there I headed to Khao San Road, that legendary backpacker ghetto... which didn't look too much like a ghetto to me, but there was only about 2 places along the road that I would've stayed at! I had a nice pad thai for lunch and then walked over to the canal and got a boat down it and back up. Back at Khao San Road I had to get back to my hotel... and that was a bit of a nightmare really... Suffice to say I arrived back about an hour later than I should have and had seen more of Bangkok than I had originally intended...!
Today I headed out to the subway to try and find my own way round a bit more, and ended up at Khao San again. I ran into a dude from TAT (the tourist people out here) and it seems that the new government is really putting a big push on tourism out here in light of recent events. I ended up at their offices and before I knew it I was booked on the train up to Chiang Mai next Monday, then going trekking, elephant riding and bamboo rafting around the hill tribes for 3 days/2 nights... omg how scared am i at this... and then heading up into Laos at Hui Xuay (sp?), making my way down the Mekong to Vientiane the capital and flying back to Bangkok in time to start my tour into Cambodia and Vietnam. I also booked a learn to dive course on Ko Tao for an open date in March. This I'm really looking forward to... and gives me a clearer picture of what I'm doing on the way down to Singapore... not sure I'm gonna make it to the Perhentians, which I'm a bit disappointed about, but we'll see. (I think this is gonna be the bust part!)
This evening I got the sky train and MRT back to the hotel now that I knew my way, and stopped off at the night bazaar along the way... and went on this big ferris wheel and got some pretty cool views of Bangkok at night.
Tomorrow I'm moving digs to somewhere a bit cheaper and preparing for the trip up to Chiang Mai. You might say I'm bricking it, having to live without my kitchen sink for a few days...yikes! But I guess there's really no point in coming out this way if you're not gonna leave said sink behind for a while and the trekking is a "must-do". So I"m gonna do it.
For the next couple days I'm gonna see about taking some day tours around and out to the River Kwai and see some tigers and other things.
# posted by Sue Lambert @ 6:16 AM 
