Tuesday 13 May 2014

The Travel Blog: Bangkok

So since I got back from my trip people keep asking me 'What's this place like? or What did you like best?'  ... and one of the great things about travelling is that your experiences along the way turn you into a storyteller. This is technically a bucket list blog and not a travel blog, but maybe some of these posts will inspire people to add some things to their bucket list and if not it will at least record some of the awesome things I did in South East Asia.

As I explored each city I wrote little phrases and notes down on scraps of paper that were hastily shoved into my bag whilst I focused on enjoying the moment and capturing the beauty of what I was seeing with my camera. Now that I'm back home it means I get to relive those moments through piecing together my little notes and sharing some of time in Asia with my blog readers.

First stop ... Bangkok!

I only got to spend around 48 hours in Bangkok, but I reckon that was probably enough. After arriving on a late flight and going straight to bed I was up early and out before 7am, exploring the streets of Bangkok - basically just wandering aimlessly through the city which is one of my favourite things to do in a new place. It didn't take long before I stumbled across wat after wat after wat (thats a temple or monastery to you and me). Buddhist monks walked the streets and there were markets packed with food on every corner. One thing that doesn't come across in any of my photos is the heat or the smell of this city. It was mid April, with temperatures ranging from 35-45 and very humid. I was basically a sweaty mess as I walked down the smelly streets, attempting to take in and capture life in Bangkok - someone should develop the 'smellovision' concept!


At one point I wandered into a fairly boring part of town. I brought out my map to find somewhere more exciting to explore and got stopped by a man in his 50s. He started asking me where I was going and where I was from etc. I had a Taken moment (I'll refer to these alot - basically when you're a woman travelling alone and anyone stops to ask too many questions, and you've seen the movie Taken, then your brain automatically seems to jump to the unmistakeable conclusion that you're going to get kidnapped, drugged and sold to a prostitution ring against your will until Liam Neeson come and rescues you). I tried to make excuses and pretend that I was really interested in reading the history of a bridge I was standing close to untiil his phone rang and he walked off. I read that sign for a long time, until the man had disappeared from my line of sight. Then I carried on walking and bumped into him again. He was convinced that I was lost and that I shouldn't really be in the business district as there's nothing to see there. More questions were asked and he sat me down on a bench in the middle of the street and told me he'd show me where to go. Assumption #2 - I'm going to get ripped off. He sat down and explained to me (in fairly good English) why he loved Bangkok, asked me questions about where I was from and what I enjoyed doing. He then asked for my map, circled all the interesting places and wrote a list for me of what order I should see them in. Then he told me how he worked for the local newspaper and had done for several years, and warned me about tourist traps and taxi tricks. He then hailed me a tuk tuk, explained to him in Thai the itinerary we'd discussed and bargained the price of 40 bhat for an hour's ride in a tuk tuk (that's 80p or 1 euro to you and me). He put me in the tuk tuk, waved me off and told me to enjoy my trip. So both my assumptions were totally wrong. He was just a really nice guy. I discovered most people in South East Asia are super nice and genuinely appreciate tourism and people who take an interest in their culture - their sense of pride is astounding.



So I set off on my tuk tuk ride, with my guide who spoke no English other than 'up to you, up to me' and 'photo please thankyou' - thank god for the old man or I wouldn't have had a clue where I was going. As I mentioned in a previous post, tuk tuks are great fun to ride, and it was great to get some breeze after the morning heat. I saw a lot of gorgeous temples - the highlight being the Golden Mount, with its giant statues and great views of the city. I also passed a lot of barricades as the Thai Government is super corrupt and there were still anti-Government protests going on in the city. After trying to take me to a number of shops (they get free petrol credits if they take tourists to certain shops - but my driver understood when I said I wasn't interested in going) he dropped me off at MBK. A massive shopping centre. Floor after floor of increidbly cheap clothes, souvenirs and electronics. Some of the people I met went back three times to fill their suitcases. I however hate shopping (I know - weird right?!?). I was just glad for the air conditioning, so after I cooled down and bought one pair of trousers and a fan and I went in search of the food court (now eating I like!). There were only locals eating there and I grabbed a great pad thai  and some fresh lemonade for 70 bhat (£1.40).  I then took the sky train back to my hotel's district - probably the most efficient and clean metro system I've experienced ... def recommend when travelling in Bangkok as its cheap and really easy to use.



I was then knackered and had to spend an hour by the pool to recover from the heat. Closely followed by an amazing dinner treat of Musuman curry and Thai Green Curry. Thai food is much spicier in Thailand than it is at home but I loved it! There was a quick trip to the night market too, but I hate shopping and was jetlagged so I ignored the offers to go watch live ping pong shows and other similar entertainment and had an early night.

That was probably a good call as the next day was packed too. I got up early for a tour of the Grand Palace and Emerald Buddha. Wow! That place is amazing .. so much gold and statues and gorgeous buildings. And a lot of history and tales of Buddha too - I'm glad we had a local guide explaining it all. Be warned though, you need to cover up to go see this. Ankles and shoulders can't be on display. I wore ankle length leggings with a baggy tshirt which got me past the first checkpoint but then I got sent back at the second one as my leggings were deemed too provocative and innapropriate and I had to go rent a long skirt to cover myself up with. In 40 degree heat this was far from comfortable. We also had to take our shoes off to approach the emerald buddha - and the floor in those temperatures is scalding hot so Im pretty sure I burnt a layer of skin off.








Next stop was a tour of the klongs - the canals that run through Bangkok. On the way to our boat we stopped to pick up some fresh coconuts to drink from, some freshly cut mango and pineapple and a takeaway lunch of barbecued pork and sticky rice - so so good! I ate mine and everyone's leftovers. We then boarded our boat and spent a couple of hours on the river. I loved this as it gives you an insight as to how people really live, as most locals houses back into the canal. It's also worrying to see how much of that area floods during rainy season as those houses were pretty close to the water level even in the dry season. We stopped to feed some fish with the monks and then steered past Wat Arun - the iconic symbol of Thailand.



After that it was time to pack up and get ready for our flight to Chiang Mai in the north of Thailand. For those of you flying from Bangkok airport you should definitely check out their amazing airport food court - got some great spicy duck which beats plane food any day.

Chiang Mai post to follow shortly ...

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