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Phuket had left us feeling a little low on the famous Thai friendliness, but we got plenty on our flight to Bangkok. I think all airlines should have hostesses that bow to you as you walk onboard. The flight in was smoother than the taxi ride to our hotel, not that we had booked one this time, deciding we could risk just turning up and hunting out a bargain in the tourist districts as Bangkok is loaded with budget hotels. As we boarded our taxi we were given a complaint form, not so good an omen. Our driver was not pleased we were asking him to drive us across Bangkok at rush hour and was continually passive agressive - sighing and moaning like an old woman! We were persistent however, and he ended up taking us exactly where we wanted...no tip for him though!
We had decided to head for the Khao San area, a sort of tourist ghetto but very convenient. We actually ended up staying in the first hotel we found (we got lost looking for one we liked the look of in a book), and were surprised we could afford to stay there when we asked for the price - £16 a night for double room with aircon and ensuite. There was even a rooftop pool! So far so good. After all this faffing about we took a wander around onto Khao San road for a look around. The area is a sort of tourist village with bars, restaurants and street stalls popping up at every corner. Every few paces you are asked if you want to buy something, be it a suit, deep fried cricket or a bracelet. Fortunately there was not as much smut as we had feared, and usually what little there was involved an embarassed man showing me or Graham a laminated piece of card with different 'offerings' on it whilst whispering 'ping pong show?' in a shifty voice. We'd soon found a restaurant with lots of locals sitting outside and found some great Thai food (to us anyway), then went to the other side of the road for a beer being sold out the back of a pick up converted to a bar.
The top sights to see in Bangkok are the Grand Palace and Wat Pho. The Lonely Planet had warned of two scams, both of which we encountered on the short walk there. Smartly dressed Thai man comes up and strikes up a conversation (odd for most Thai people), funnily enough he is a policeman on holiday in Bangkok, and what luck, he could act as our guide for the day! Next up, another man tries to offer us directions (which disarmingly were correct), but then tries to say that the Grand Palace is closed for the day (it is never closed), fortunately he knows a much better temple to visit if only we employ him as a guide....The final hurdle came with the agressive pigeon food sellers (the sellers, not the pigeons). An old woman tried to hand a bag of pigeon food to Graham, who politely refused. 'No' means 'maybe' in Bangkok, so she tried stuffing it in his backpack, which Graham did not like and firmly took the food and put it on the floor and walked on, with the woman trailing after him shouting 'Why? Why no money?', we quickly made our escape!
After tackling these obstacles and crossing some roads (pedestrian crossings are merely 'suggestions' to most Thai drivers, usually not observed) we finally made it to the Grand Palace. The not so nice soldiers at the entrance, guarding the Buddha's dignity, decided we were too lewdly dressed to enter with only knee length shorts so we were issued with comedy hippy trousers and a sarong for Brenda, tres cool. Brenda's even had someone else's damp sweat on it already, lucky girl. Inside was a mass of people and a long queue, but it moved quickly and we were in. The temple area was well worth the wait, revealing a compound littered with golden statues and 'prangs', towers often attached to temple sites, completely unlike any Western cathedral. It was hot and very crowded though, so we didn't stay too long and went for a walk around the side streets nearby, which are stuffed full of amulet markets. These charms are taken very seriously here, people inspected the amulets with magnifying glasses before buying them.
Once it was cooler in the afternoon we ventured to Wat Pho, fearing large crowds and aggressive bird-food sellers. Neither materialised in the end, with few visitors and a free bottle of water in the ticket price. Wat Pho is home to the reclining Buddha, a huge golden Buddha housed in its own temple, surrounded by lots of other prangs and temples. It was a very relaxed atmosphere in the temple compound, with monks lounging with the tourists and artists at their drawing classes. There are also always pet cats and dogs at temples as Buddhists believe in reincarnation, not always as a human, so that dog or cat could be their grandmother! As such, the animals are well looked after.
A mildly hair-raising tuk tuk ride got us back for the evening. Here was our first experience of haggling. Having got a meter taxi from the airport for 1 hour at only £3, we realised just how expensive/ a rip off these guys could be, shamelessly asking for 5 times a reasonable fare (which you eventually barter down to anyway, but it is a pain in the bum). The rides are fun though if you don't watch the driving.
That evening we had our favourite, the Thai staple of Phad Thai, basically fried noodles, usually with chicken. Every vendor in Thailand seems to sell this from about 60p up for a portion and it is very tasty. We found a vendor opposite our hotel, happily next to a guy selling beer out of a pick up with some plastic chairs, which they allowed us to convert to a 'restaurant'. Graham and I were still hungry, and we had heard lots about eating deep-fried insects so we headed to Khao San road. We were just about to tuck into some crispy crickets when there was a commotion and Brenda was nearly flattened by a tourist running away from a Thai waiter, who was whacking him on the back and head with a plastic chair, now in pieces. No one had any idea why. Anyway, back to the crickets. The best bits are their legs, but you have to pull off the lower legs as they have small hooks on which can catch on your tongue. You can then munch on the rest of the leg. The abdomen is basically a tasteless air bag. I can't say the legs were honestly much better, but it was worth a go.
A more appealing way to get around Bangkok than over-priced tuk tuk is the morning river commuter boat. For 30p a time you can fly down the river, looking at the temples on the riverside as you go. You have to be quick at the pier though, they don't hang about waiting for slow tourists to jump on board. We got off at Chinatown and meandered our way through narrow streets and markets. This is the distribution centre from the river for fruits, fish and spices to the rest of Bangkok and there were some very colourful market stalls. We wandered further toward new Bangkok to take the shiny new metro to Siam Square, home to new shopping malls and the big hotel chains. To escape the heat we went to the cinema to watch Skyfall. This wasn't a great movie but it was rescued by the compulsory playing of the Thai national anthem at the start of the film , when we joined everyone in the cinema standing to watch a propaganda homage to the king. The royal family is greatly respected here, and some Thais look on them as being almost divine, in fact lese majeste/insulting the monarchy is still a crime, so we played along respectfully.
We'd spent part of the day arranging a day trip to Ayuthaya. After an early start the next morning we took a taxi to the train station (not the ones waiting outside the hotel, they always quote a ridiculous fare and refuse to use the meter). There are carriages with class 1-3, we were in 3! Having taken trains in the UK we went in with low expectations, though actually it wasn't too bad, a little dusty and only natural air con but we all had seats. Thais aren't hot on punctuality so we left a little late, but after paying the princely sum of 30p each for a 90 minute train journey we weren't about to complain. Ayuthaya is the ancient capital of Thailand, about 70km north of Bangkok. Once a resplendent ancient city with many towering temples and Buddhas, it was left in ruins by ravaging Burmese armies and the capital moved to Bangkok. These ruins are still very impressive though, and it is a UNESCO site so has some protection. A short tuk tuk ride (more haggling) from the train station took us to the first site. You can then wander about on foot, hire bikes or even an elephant taxi. We wandered around all morning, finding the most famous buddha (or certainly the most photographed) last, which is just the head of a statue, somehow fallen onto the floor hundreds of years ago and now encased within tree roots, oddly with the face pointing perfectly ahead, peering out from the roots. I like to think this an amazing coincidence, or it is a brilliant PR stunt by the Thai tourist board!
Another recommended temple was a bit further out of town. Though only 2km away, walking in the stifling heat was out of the question (we thought...more later) so we tried haggling for a tuk tuk. Run on a mafia type basis, tuk tuk drivers band together to fix inflated prices, knowing there will always be someone to pay their daft fare requests. They then try and make you feel daft by saying the temple is further away than it really is (7km instead of 2km) and showing you the route on the map, only they always seem to take a very roundabout route and different drivers trace very different routes. We decided to walk on a bit and try flagging another one down. This driver offered what seemed a very reasonable fare of 100 baht there and back (the others were asking 500 and not even all the way to the temple), to which we agreed. However, when we got there they demanded first 150, then 200, then 300 baht to take us back. We tried to break off the deal altogether and give just 50 baht for the journey so far, but this started lots of shouting and threats to call the police (I'm sure they had better things to do). This was too much for Brenda and Graham ( I don't think the driver liked me for arguing, and refused to even look at me, offering just to take the other two back and leave me there by myself! I didn't like her either...), who gave her 100 baht and then she cleared off. Her mate, who had been egging her on the whole time then had the cheek to ask if we wanted a tuk tuk back to town! b***** off.... After all that, the temple was shut for repairs anyway, doh! Fed up of tuk tuks, we started the long slog back into town in the heat. Tired out and fed up, we found a minibus back to Bangkok as we had missed the train home. Not a happy ending thanks to the tuk tuk pirates. Our dinner back in Bangkok cheered us up though, the restaurant owner cooked great food and then performed card tricks to keep us entertained, good customer service!
Next, on to the North...Sukhothai ancient city and Chiang Mai.
More soon,
David and Brenda (and Graham)
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