Today I managed to get all the way from Sukhumvit (where my hostel was) to Banglamphu (where my hotel is for tonight) for under 50 baht! I think I'm starting to understand this place... That's cheaper than what I would've paid using a metered taxi. After I settled into the hotel I decided that I was in the mood for some crazy Chinatown experiences so I got back on the express ferry (that's how I got to the hotel in the first place - it's really cheap and goes from one end of the city to the other! and it's kind of nice and cool because you're on the water) and went into Chinatown. My lonely planet guide had a "walking tour" listed so I decided to try to follow it. I tried and I tried to follow it but the streets aren't very well signed here and the book was a little vague. I went around the same block three times before I realized that the bank they mentioned in the guide was hiding behind a bunch of stalls! Anyway, it ended up being a good walk. I ended up ditching the walking tour after a while because it wasn't all that interesting and I was having more fun just walking randomly. I ended up walking over into what appeared to be an Indian neighbourhood and then quickly got bored when I realized all it was was more t-shirts and yards upon yards of fabric.
Now, I have to say, I've had a few moments that have made me want to go back to being a vegetarian this trip. This comes mainly as a result of seeing meat hanging outside, uncovered, in 30+ degree weather. I realize it's really fresh but... still... *shudder* I think it was worse in Hong Kong than it is here... or maybe I'm just getting used to seeing raw meat hanging in the open?
Anyway, I ended up seeing something today that actually made me jump. Seriously. I jumped. I haven't been this freaked out by anything yet... I'm still a little shaken... I quickly managed to snap this picture before having to turn away because I thought I was going to be sick.
At first I thought it was dead... As I looked at it, all of a sudden it moved... IT WAS GASPING FOR AIR (well, water)!! If you look below the hanging fish you can see their tails... ungh... I have to say it really scared me. I thought it was dead!!
I took a whole bunch more pictures today and posted a few of them up on Picasa. I also added some more pictures from Hong Kong, Railay and Karon Beach (all in their respective Picasa albums.) Yay for being back at a cheap internet place that has Picasa installed!
Taken today in Bangkok:
The scooter / motorcycle drivers were crazy today. Some of the 'streets' (more like tiny little alleys) were just wide enough for two people to pass each other and the scooters were still attempting to drive through. I'm surprised I didn't get my feet run over. It was pretty crazy. In fact, the driving in general here is pretty crazy and I'm pretty surprised that I haven't gotten hit by a car, motorcycle, tuk tuk or bus yet... *knocks on wood*
I've also picked up a few new expressions that are really only useful here in Bangkok - two of my favorites being: "No Meter? No taxi!" and "No Ping Pong!!" Unfortunately, i've had to use the ping pong one way too many times... last time I actually started playing with the tuk tuk driver telling him "i don't know, I don't think it's ping pong time yet" and he kept saying "yes, it is! it's perfect ping pong time! it's midnight! come see the ping pong!" he tried and tried... I laughed and laughed...
The longer I spend in Bangkok the more it's growing on me. At first I really didn't like it here but the longer I stay and the more I explore parts of this city, the more I'm coming to appreciate it's various neighbourhoods.
Ryan's flight arrives in less than an hour! I can't wait to see him!! I'm guessing he'll be at the hotel in about two hours! I've been counting down all day and trying not to check the time too often so that hopefully the time will pass faster and he'll finally be here.
Oh! And here we go... I have a picture of myself with my bags on. It's kind of hard to see how far back my backpack goes but it's quite large.
They're both bursting right now. Luckily they're quite comfortable to wear so it's really not that bad. I think I will ship some stuff home in the next week. I need to figure out what the hotel situation is going to be like in Koh Pha-Ngan before I start shipping stuff back though (I may need the mosquito net after all!) I'm looking forward to having a little less stuff in my bags just so that I don't have to struggle every time I take something in or out of the bags.
That's it for now! Tomorrow we're heading to Cambodia for a couple of days. I'll write some more when I get the chance.
1 comment:
Great post Mo. I'm happy to hear you're reuniting with Ryan (or already have by now).
Oh gosh that fish scene is pretty scary..reminded me of my experience of visiting the fish market in India with my grandmother. Come to think of it, I'm surprised I still love seafood. It wasn't that bad but for an 8 year old it can be pretty traumatic. ;)
Post a Comment