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Didn't get a chance to comment much on Bangkok the first time we were there so we'll do it now! We were the typical virgin travellers when we arrived in Bangkok, took us about 20 modes of transport to get to the city and then it just completely overwhelmed us! The first day we had a walk around and locals kept stopping to talk to us, we were getting really sick of it but apparently they just like to practise their English??! So we got talked into going on a 20 baht tour of the temples. Now at this point we hadn't read the part in the guidebook which told you to look out for these tours as they were a scam and the driver took you to a suit shop to get you to buy something, in return he would get free gasoline from the shop! Excellent, so we rocked up at this suit shop, walked in and then walked straight back out, they weren't too impressed! As it turned out it wasn't too bad, we got taken to a few places that weren't worth looking at and then we came to the Lucky Buddha which was really cool. A local guide type person took us inside and showed us how to pray to the Buddha which was good and the Monks were milling about inside-very authentic!! We were then taken to the Grand Palace, which conveniently or not, the Tuk Tuk broke down on the way! Well, by this point we didn't really care and we were pretty much outside the palace anyway. The Grand Palace was cool, really lovely building and the detail was incredible. It poured down with rain when we were there so we had to take shelter for a while. Also, we hadn't planned to go there that day so I had to loan a grandad shirt and sarong to cover up which looked really attractive! We also went to see Wat Pho which was really good, we loved it. Its a giant, gold, reclining Buddha, really amazing, you can't believe how big it is. We also had a ride on the Chao Prayer river which was nice if not a bit confusing at first knowing which boat to get on! We also visited Jim Thompson's house, the American guy who kind of made the Thai silk industry. It was quite interesting, his house was made of wood and there are no nails in it at all, its all kind of slotted together.
Our second visit to Bangkok was slightly different. Having travelled for about a month we were a bit more confident and found the bus that took you straight from the airport to the city!! One slight downfall was the fact that we had no accomodation booked! We arrived and managed to find a room, paid for 3 nights and took our bags up...only to discover that it was a complete hell hole and the room was disgusting! We stayed for the first night because we were so tired from travelling we couldn't be bothered to find anywhere else. The next morning we made it our number one priorty to find a bed somewhere else, which we did, thank goodness. So we got our bags and kindly told the receptionist that we wouldn't be staying any longer because the hotel was horrible! She only refunded us one night but we would have gladly paid to leave that place!
So with our bags in a nice, clean hotel room, the shopping could commence!! There is so much to buy and everything is soooooooo cheap, it's great! We stayed right next to Khao San road this time as well and spent most of our time there which is funny because the first time we went we didn't like it at all! One of the highlights was Gulliver's, an English sports bar which had beans and toast on the extras menu, so we went there for beans on toast for breakfast every day we were there!!!!! We had been craving beans on toast so much, we never knew it could taste so good! We visited Chatuchak weekend market which was huge, there were so many stalls you went dizzy trying to look at everything, it was so hot and stressed us out a bit so we took refuge in Siam Square in the Haagen Dazs ice cream cafe! Fabulous!
Anyone who is going to be visiting Bangkok you must take a Tuk Tuk ride, we love them! We used them all the time to get around, they are absolutely terrifying but fantastic at the same time. It's quite ridiculous how fast they go and how late they brake but when you get off you feel yourself wanting to get back on, it's like a fairground ride!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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