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Day 18
8th August 2012
We say goodbye to Siem Reap and to my room mate through the whole trip Roger. He has decided he is going to stay for a few more days and work out some travel plans for his 2 months in Asia. It's a 2 hour journey to the Thailand border and then another 4 hours from there to Bangkok.
We arrive at our hotel around 16:00 and Simon, Gill, Tracey, Emme and myself decide to go off and explore a little bit of the city. Before long we are lost and end up at one of the many docks on the side of the river. After some decision we decide to hop on the water taxi and see where we end up. We travel down river a couple of stops and then jump off and find ourself at the Grand plaice. As its getting late we decide to head back and jump back onto the water taxi and at this point we still haven't paid for any of our journeys. We get back to our starting point and jump off and exit, still not paying (bonus). We then head back to the hotel in time to get changed for our final dinner as a group. We head out for our final night out and eat at a local restaurant across from the hotel and then after we all jump into taxis to go to the backpackers area of Bangkok. We find a bar and have one drink and then wander through the market. Simon and I are still trying to wind Tracey up as we walk by touching her back with a leaf so she thinks it's another cockroach but she's used it it now and doesn't react. We get to the end of the street and then Bond asks if we want to go back to the hotel or another bar. Everyone is undecided so I say let's go to a bar just for one as a fair well drink, we all head off. We find a bar and are taken upstairs and order our drinks and some of the group start to play pool. Simon and Bond are playing and the looser has to do 20 push ups and at the end of the game Simon has lost and has to do the push ups. Bond offers the challenge to me but I say that I won't play for push ups but the looser will buy a shot for the winner, there's no way I'm doing push ups. I loose so order 2 B52's for Bond and myself which we both down. I then play with Tracey, last time we played I won by one shot so this is Tracey's chance to draw with me. Victory to me again but god knows how I'm the worst players ever and it's a complete fluke I win. We finish our drinks and head back to the hotel and now is the time to say goodbye to my traveling companions. I have had so much fun with all of them and they really have made the whole trip fantastic. I hope that we all keep in touch and maybe meet up again sometime as they have all been such good company though out the whole journey. As for our CEO Bond he has restored my faith in G Adventures after my previous trip with them. I say my goodbyes to my new friends and head off to bed.
Notes:
Same same, but different. This Thailish T-shirt philosophy sums up Bangkok, where many tastes make an often-spicy dish
Urban Exploration
With so much of life conducted on the street, there are few cities in the world that reward exploration as handsomely as Bangkok. Cap off an extended boat trip with a visit to a hid- den market. A stroll off Banglamphu’s beaten track can end in conversation with a monk. Get lost in the tiny lanes of Chinatown and come face to face with a live Chinese opera performance. After dark, let the BTS (Sky- train) escort you to Th Sukhumvit, where the local nightlife scene reveals a sophisticated and dynamic city.
Contrasts
It’s the contradictions that give the City of Angels its rich, multifaceted personality. Scratch the surface and you’ll find a city of climate-controlled megamalls and inter- national brand names just minutes from 200-year-old village homes; gold-spired Buddhist temples sharing space with neon-lit strips of sleaze; slow-moving rivers of traffic bypassed by long-tail boats plying the royal river; and streets lined with food carts, overlooked by restaurants at the top of skyscrapers. As Bangkok races toward the future, rest assured that these contrasts will continue to supply the city with its never-ending Thai-ness.
Full-On Food
Until you’ve eaten on a Bangkok street, your noodles mingling with your sweat, and your senses dulled by chilli, exhaust and noise, you haven’t actually eaten real Thai food. It can be an overwhelming mix: the underlying flavours – spicy, sour, sweet and salty – aren’t exactly meat and potatoes. But for those who love full-on cuisine and don’t need white tablecloths, there’s probably no better dining destination in the world. And with immigration bringing every regional Thai and international cuisine to the capital, it’s also a truly diverse experience.
Fun Folks
The language barrier may seem huge, but it has never prevented anybody from loving the Thai people. The capital’s cultural underpinnings are evident in virtually all facets of everyday life, and most enjoyably through its residents’ sense of sà·nùk (fun). In Bangkok, anything worth doing should have an element of sà·nùk. Ordering food, changing money and haggling at markets will usually involve a sense of playfulness – a dash of flirtation, perhaps, and a smile. It’s a language that doesn’t require words, and one that’s easy to learn.
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