BANGKOK: Part Two

BANGKOK: Part Two

You are all aware I am some what behind in keeping you up to date in my blog, yet there is so much to write about.  I do have a substantial amount of free time so you'd have thunk that I  would be all over it, some how I have got stuck in a bit of a cycle.  Birthday and Christmas has happened and New Year is very quickly approaching.  It is currently the 29th December 2014 and I am sat in the glorious sunshine after several hours at 'work' (definitely not WERK!), with a black coffee in hand, outside the coffee shop attached to my Sydney Hostel.  I am clearly describing a budget version of Carrie Bradshaw, don't expect any sordid tales of man trouble in this instalment, or shoe talk for that matter.

 Serving budget Carrie Bradshaw realness.

Anyways, as usual I have digressed. I am here to complete the Bangkok Story, the second and final chapter of BKK...

The KTK had gone and I, in true dramatic style, thought 'what on God's green earth am I going to do now?'. It was time to go it alone. Although I have had a very long drawn out process of integrating and commencing this Solo Travelling malarky. I woke up on the morning of the 17th November wondering what to do next. I already established I wasn't a fan of Bangkok and going out into the city in the heat, and to be honest I really don't think there was much more of the place left for me to see.  I was also slightly hungover from indulging in the cocktails the previous night, and on top of that I was in full mourning mode (loss of the KTK). I realised I needed to sort out transport to Pai, in Northern Thailand, this was a priority as I had finally decided that would be my 'spontaneous' destination.  I had three/four days that I could play with and I didn't really know what to do with them but Caz and Ange both had met various people who had either been or were going to Pai and nothing but praise had been uttered about it.  Seemed an obvious choice to me, and kind of what this travelling thing is about, right?

The previous day (16th) I had met a new roomie, Damien, a young Aussie guy who was also starting out his travels, his were specifically South East Asia/Asia. I saw Damien when I woke/got up from my mourning slumber and we chatted briefly about what he and I had been up to. We arranged that we would go out for drinks in the evening.  I left the hostel and decided to walk to Khao San Road,  thought this would be the perfect place to book bus tickets. Damien had already bought his ticket to Chiang Mai, and leaving the same day as I and he had told me it was in this area that he had booked his. It was a really nice day, weather was beautiful, it actually wasn't too humid and it was nice to walk and see some other sites. I took some photos of a collection of more Temples en route, this was called ROYAL PAVILION, situated along the Ratchadamnoen Klang Road.  Rather annoyingly though, and I have probably mentioned this in my previous post, but there is little to no English descriptions of these temples and the significance of the Buddha in which lies. I personally find Buddhism quite interesting and unusually, for me, I wanted to take an interest in the temples/buddha's and it's significance but was unable too, but at the same time, I have now seen A LOT of temple's and to the uneducated, like me, they look the same, covered in pure, and in some instances, grotesque wealth, given it's surroundings. To me, it seems more apparent in Thailand than it does say; the Catholic Church and England. The difference between rich and poor in Thailand is huge, and I imagine that is the same for the rest of SE Asia, there really is no middle ground, from what I saw anyway.  

 The Royal Pavilion.

Whilst taking snaps of the temples in the Royal Pavilion, en route to Khao San Road, a male approached me, he could see I was taking pictures, showing an interest in the statues etc. He started to talk to me and immediately I thought to myself 'What is he trying to sell me?' - given my experience thus far in Bangkok its not surprising. He opened with the usual questions of where I was from? How long had I been here? etc... I remained polite, after all a stranger is a friend we've yet to make, besides I am not a rude person and will always acknowledge a fellow man/woman. The male started to tell me about other temples that were in the locality and asked if I had been to any of them and if not he would tell me which ones I should go to.  He started to write down a list of places that I 'must' visit. I thought 'How kind is this?'....briefly! He was either a Tuk Tuk driver or he was the organiser of such transportation in order for a Tuk Tuk to take you to all these wondrous places listed on his piece of paper, all for a large fee.  Obvs when I turned him down he scrunched up this list of must see places and walked off. This sort of thing is so ridiculous in Bangkok, it's too much, all of the time - I must stress though this is my experience of Bangkok, I have actually spoken to people who have had much better experiences in this city.  I made my way to Khao San Road, where I passed DEMOCRACY MONUMENT which is situated on a roundabout, kind of ironic given the recent and historic political unrest in the country. I stopped at a McD's, natch, free wifi (and a large Big Mac meal - I've a hangover to nurse!!). 

 Democracy Monument.

I made my way to Khao San Road where I went to Fifty Five Travel, where I booked a bus from Bangkok to Pai, via Chiang Mai with them for 11 quid.  This was two separate bus journeys with a small layover in Chiang Mai.  Most people would go to Chiang Mai for a few days first then on to Pai, but as I was flying from Chiang Mai to Sydney, it was more appropriate to end in CM. The journey was going to be long, somewhere in the region of 18 hours. I opted for the VIP bus again, armed with hope and faith that it would be better than the journey from Koh Tao to Bangkok.

I made my way back to the hostel, a slightly different route. The royals of Thailand are plastered everywhere, there are murals and banners across roads, and on buildings of the royal couple. Could you imagine that in England or even in London? Very strange, but also quite arrogant I guess. The people of Thailand generally have a respect for the Royals, but interestingly they are not allowed to speak ill of them, it's illegal so when I asked various Thai people they are very diplomatic, I would love to have an open and free discussion with a Thai about this but no one was willing or able to, I tried though.

 Extravagant displays of the Monarchy.

The walk was about 6 miles in total, it was nice actually, and allowed me to just think about the rest of my trip doing a Jason Derulo (Ridin' Solo). I got back to the hostel and met with Damien again and we arranged that we would go out to Khao San Road that night, in true backpacker form.

It is quite tricky remembering the night, I did take lot's of photos of us pretty wasted, espesh, Damien. We started the night in a bar I had previously been in with the KTK which was good, it had a guy strumming his guitar covering classics such as Wonderwall, and other indie type music. Obvs we started with buckets, which is pretty much how we ended too. Buckets are equally amazing and dreadful, as is Thai's version of Red Bull, M150, I think it's called. We watched the street below us, and specifically; the people looking to sample the street food, the one minute they're there and the next they're not bars (bizarre), and the local delicacies such as cockroaches, scorpions and other delightful insects that Timone and Pumba would devour. Speaking of which both Damien and I did indulge in a spot of scorpion.  Pictures and videos (once I work out how to upload a video to follow), it tasted burnt but not horrific, I took it well, but I think in these cases it is very much mind over matter. The night continued with further buckets of Vodka and Red Bull and I am sure amongst other alcoholic beverages. We ended in a club just off Khao San Road, called The Cliff. From what I remember it was very good. I met a lovely girl from Amsterdam who was the perfect dancing partner, so many laughs, Selma Maroufi is her name - I hear you ask, 'How do you remember her name?' Well she wrote in the notes app on my iPhone followed by 'The awesome girl in Bangkok' - My type of girl right there! Hahaha! I will be sure to look you up when I finally get a visit to Amsterdam Selma!

We danced a lot. I remember hearing several Pitbull tracks, notably 'Timber' which followed me throughout Thailand, and for me the song of Thailand. Pitbull is incredibly popular it seems there. Anyways, here are just some of the photos from the night...

 Pre Scorpion feasting.

 Various shots of Damien, Selma & I.

 'The awesome girl in Bangkok'

 The mighty three.

Damien is a top lad, he is just 18, seems older, no bad thing, and a complete pleasure to be around and a total credit to his parents/fam. It is also nice to know I can keep up with the 'younger' ones still haha. The following day we were obvs hanging, poor Damien locked himself out of the hostel room, he did knock but I was obvs out of it myself and thus he had to sleep in the communal area. I think Damien needed some recovery time, as did I. I didn't venture out until the afternoon where I went for a Thai massage, I shan't go into too much information but put it this way, I got a brochure and a reward card. I left feeling rather rejuvenated. 

That evening Damien and I went on a boat cruise at night and then attended ASIATIQUE which was along the river. It was really nice there, very clean and it did not feel like I was in grubby BKK. It was a purpose built place with bars, restaurants, stalls, attractions and Christmas trees. Perfect way to spend the last night in BKK, for me. 

We headed back to the hostel where I drifted off to sleep ready for the final day. We needed to check out by midday, we had breakfast and got our shit together. By this point I am completely over repacking my already filled to the brim belongings, I packed far too much, it's ridiculous, but at the same time I still felt I needed it all in my life. On my final day in Bangkok I really didn't want to walk around a hot and humid city, getting my sweat on and being gross on my mammoth bus journey. Damien and I both had buses at similar times so we decided to go to Siam Shopping Centre and Central World, with the idea that we would be able to remain cool in an air con environment and not be too ratchet for our bus journeys. I checked out at about 1130hrs and needed to be back to collect my backpack at about 1700hrs. What I didn't consider was spending 5 or so hours in two shopping malls. It was arduous to say the least, it would have been OK had I been shopping, but even then I do not like shopping, I am a in and out type of guy, not a typical gay in that sense either! The shopping malls were huge. I think the last hour or two we just stayed in Starbucks, at least I was in good company! After spending near on 5 hours in two shopping centres and having nothing but a KFC, Chatime (MUST TRY Englanders - Bubble Tea, I was introduced to this phenomenon by my Brother, Shane and Lianna on our last night together before I left. Can be found in Chinatown, London. Also available all over Sydney as I have found!), and a Starbucks - so basically a full stomach and bladder - I went back to collect my big backpack from the Hostel. Both Damien and I got a taxi to Khao San Road where we parted. I have followed his journey since parting on Facebook and Insta. When I get to Brisbane I shall be shouting him up, he lives a bit out of the city but never the less it'll be awesome to meet up. Likewise when he comes over to the UK, assuming I am back by then.

I got to the Fifty Five Travel agency and waited to be collected. When I got to the bus I ensured I had my belongings on me as I had heard of various horror stories about these journeys. Unlike my first experience with a VIP bus this one wasn't too bad. The chairs reclined to almost flat, the journey was relatively smooth. There was about 9 backpackers and 3 Thai (presumably) people on the bus so there was plenty of room. We left Bangkok at about 1830hrs on 19th November and we got to watch one movie, which was at the start of the journey, 'Need For Speed' which stars whatshisface from Breaking Bad. Not a terrible movie actually, I quite enjoyed it. I fell asleep as most of, if not all did. We stopped at about 0100hrs on 20th November at a service station type place, for a 20 minute leg stretch and refreshments then back on the bus. I fell back to sleep. Sleeping on public transport is not something I do well but I was pretty comfortable and tired and slept pretty much most of the journey. I did get my iPad out of my bag which was locked. When I unlocked the bag the zip broke, I didn't think much of it, I thought I had broken the bag due to over-stuffing thus far on my trip, I was later to find out that it was probably not me that broke the zip but some filthy thief - more about that in a later post. At about 0530hrs we stopped in Chiang Mai, I was the only person going further, I was taken to a tiny back street and left outside an abandoned travel shop that was open, but no one was there. I was told I would be collected in two hours. I sat waiting, and found a toilet, which was vile. A feeling of dread was going through me during this time. I just thought that there was no way anyone was coming for me. Someone did though at 0730hrs and I was taken to yet another bus. I met a lovely couple from Belgium on this one, and after an issue over over-booking, 4 of us got our own mini bus and off we went to Pai, through the mountains, long and very windy roads, the scenery was stunning, I was playing nodding dog as at this point I had already been travelling for 14 hours. I arrived in Pai town centre, having passed my hotel and the driver not wanting to drop anyone off at their final destinations at about 1130hrs. Finally after 17/18 hours of buses I made it. It probably feels that long for you readers I imagine too. Apols for that.

My Pai update is to come, stay tuned loyal readers, for you will be rewarded...

BANGKOK: Part One

15/11/2014 - 17/11/2014 KOH TAO >>>> BANGKOK

I left The Simple Life Resort in the morning, 0900hrs to get the most to the mainland. The boat was proper chops, all the way, I was feeling a tad delicate too which obvs didn't help. It was just under a 2hr journey from Koh Tao to Chumphon on the mainland. It was there I met a lovely Thai lady who gave me a cold towel, she had been travelling for a bit around the country as she was visiting from New Zealand. She was heading to Pai as there is a beautiful flower blooming there at the time of the year, she did tell me what it was but I natch can't remember, after investigation it's called Bua Tong Flower. Our paths did not cross again, sadly but I did find that flower she was going to see;

Bua Tong Flower

The VIP bus was interesting, it wasn't at all VIP. I was not allowed to sit in my allocated seat, I find that sort of thing irritating. I was sat next to a leaking window. After about 3hrs I was told to get off the bus and was moved on to another one. I had no one to talk to the whole journey, it was pretty dire. I booked through Lomprayah who run the boat from Koh Tao, it was their bus, that reminds me, I must trip advisor this. Despite all this I did find myself arriving in Bangkok somewhat frustrated but excited to see the KTK once more.

I arrived a bit earlier than the KTK to BKK. As soon as I stepped off the bus a pack of taxi drivers descended on me wanting my fare. It was a bit much. They all claimed not to be metered taxis and I had previously read to avoid non-metered cabs. After about 5 minutes of being lost and confused I got a taxi with an apparent non metered cab, which turned out he did have a meter, but this was conveniently not working. He charged me 400baht (£8) to go what I now know is a 3 mile journey on a meter this would have cost no more than 50baht (£1).  I was just relieved to get to my hostel if I'm honest. So my initial introduction to BKK was not brilliant.

HOSTEL: I stayed at Boxpackers Hostel. This has a great concept, where you share with others, however the beds are in holes in the wall therefore creating the privacy people need. There were mostly Asian people staying here and they seemed to know each other. There was literally no atmosphere or socialising going on in the social areas. I was sharing with a female who appeared horrified that I was in the room, she stared and then ran out hahaha. My second day I met Damien who is an 18yo Aussie lad more about him a bit later. I wouldn't stay here again, it's not particularly near the main tourist hubs or anywhere of particular note. 

My first night involved meeting up with the KTK, we did this at their hotel, the Millennium Hilton Hotel which is along the river, about 6 miles from where I was staying. My journey there was incredibly frustrating, six taxis and two tuk tuk's later and I arrived. The cabbies refused to turn their meter on, or claimed to say it was too far away or that they didn't know where it was. One taxi driver even agreed a price with me and off we went, only to find a mile into the journey he had changed his price and the direction in which we were going. Needless to say I got the right hump and had a few choice words, politely of course, before getting dropped off God knows where.The tuk tuks were effectively saying the same thing and wanted no less than 400baht for the journey. I finally got in a taxi and it cost me 300baht (£6). It was such a relief and delight to see the KTK and we had only been apart for about 12 hours!!! We went out in Khao San Road, if you don't know, this road is full of backpackers, tourists. Cheap drinks, a bar to suit everyone, clubs, and these bizarre bars that just pop up on second and disappear the next, there was various other treats along the street, by treats I mean cooked food/insects. We didn't get out til quite late, we went to quite a good but grubby bar, where there was a one man band who was singing indie hits and playing his guitar, quite good actually, surprised Nichols didn't take over on the sight of a guitar!! We stayed their until closing, about 0200hrs, and the big finale was all the backpackers singing a song appaz called 'In The Morning'. Something I've yet to learn or here anyone sing in Australia, or any other part of Thailand for that matter, must've been a BKK thing.

We left the bar and it appeared everywhere was closing, I annoyingly forgot to bring out my lonely planet guide offering advice as to what is open later in the city. The only thing that sprung to our minds was a ping pong show. Yep. So with obvs not enough alcohol in our system we walked along Khao San Road until we were approached by a tuk tuk driver asking us if we wanted to see a Ping Pong Show, we went with it, that's what you do in Bangkok, right? 500baht (£10) for a tuk tuk to the venue, entrance fee and free drink. Nichols and I were in one tuk tuk, the driver was hilarious, and totes cray cray on the roads! It was exciting fosho. We ended up in this back alley where other tuk tuks were parked up and we waited for the others, who had left before us. We were told to keep our voices down, I also took a photo of Nichols outside a 'THAILAND' door, then got told that photos are not allowed. Something was clearly not right with this situ, but you roll with it, WE'RE IN BANGKOK! 

The only photo I got away with taking outside the PingPong Show venue.

Without going into too much detail about the ping pong show, what you think takes place, does take place, oh...and then some. A picture, balloon popping, banana exiting, candle blowing outing, a never ending ribbon, liquid exchange, ping pong balls flying (at me) and a stingy free drink later and it was the end. Kenickie and I were pretty shafted by the others, we sat in the front row whilst the other three sat behind us. The first night in Bangkok came to a very disturbing end, but totally hilare.

The next day we went completed the tourist things in the city. It was the groups last full day together and that evening would be our last night too. We met up at The Millenium Hilton where we got a boat over to the main pier. We first visited Wat Pho Temple with the famous Big Reclining Buddah. Oh my Buddah it was huge. The temples within Wat Pho were very impressive, and dripping in wealth. Go out into the streets and poverty is everywhere though. Is it any wonder the people of Thailand and the government are at odds? The thing about Thailand temples I have found is that all the information about them is in Thai, doesn't appear to allow for the vast majority of English/English speakers to learn about what each Buddah represents. We left Wat Pho and we got a taxi to the famous Chatuchak Weekend Market. It's said to be the worlds largest market. It's not what I had thought at all. I was thinking there would be a lot of tatt but actually some of the units were really very good, great clothing, I was natch tempted to indulge but of course I packed 28kgs of luggage, I think I could do without anymore. Great juices, food and other items were available. We spent the rest of the afternoon wandering around and taking in the atmosphere. Nichols and I remained when the other left and we indulged in a spot of having our feet massaged, kinda painful, I can't lie but felt reinvigorated afterwards. We parted so we could get ready for our last night together. 

King Rama I ashes are buried within this Buddah. King Rama I is Thailand's first King.

I have no idea what this means.

Interesting gargoyle type statues.

Huge temples within Wat Pho's grounds.

Us boys keeping it real outside another temple.

Chatuchak Weekend Market. Must see in Bangkok.

We wanted a nice meal to end our KTK trip together. We met up, back at The Hilton, Nichols had to leave a bit earlier as he had an earlier flight so the gang had decided where we would have dinner. The tuk tuk's we spoke to had no idea where the restaurant was so we asked them to take us to a nice restaurant with good food. Off we went. We spent about 25 minutes in the tuk tuk which costed us 100baht per tuk which is very cheap, probably should have rung some kind of alarm bell. We had a tuk tuk crash en route too, made us laugh a bit. Unfortunately where they took us was so far away it meant less time with Nichols at the restaurant. The place we ended up was called SOMBOONDEE - Seafood Market. Inside it looks a bit like a cafeteria, it didn't look particularly great. Still we had very little time to waste so we cracked on with ordering. Caz and I ordered a bottle of white wine and we all ordered a few starters to share. Kenickie got to pick his seabass that he ordered, alive. I had a tiger prawn dish in sesame sauce. The food was quite nice actually. The KTK surprised with me an awesome postcard with a message for me for my onward travels, the postcard was from Koh Tao, and I was genuinely surprised and touched by the gesture!! Kenickie got me a phone case 'If I had a British accent I'd never shut up' hahaha it was fitting, thanks DD! 😉

LOVE THIS.

We had our final group photo taken and said goodbye to Nichols, it was said, the bloke is genuinely one of the nicest and funniest people a person can meet! Nichols left, and then there was four... 

We got our bill, which is pretty big, we couldn't get over or at least wrap our heads round the size of it. It basically came to £70 each. The wine itself was £40 for the bottle, and Caz didn't even like it. It turns out that when we ordered our starters they made enough for 5 to share instead of just their usual serving, in doing so they upped the price of them. In terms of the mains the price was agreed prior as it was worked out with the weight of the fish. The wine was a surprise as it was certainly not a £40 bottle of white, I'm obvs a bit of a wino these days, thanks to Tras and Roly, so I know a £40 bottle when I taste one, this was nothing better than a house. We grinned we bared it and we moved on.

The remaining four of us went to DOME Bar which is located at LEBUA HOTEL. You'll know this as the Hangover pt 2 Bar. It featured prominently in the movie. It was stunning. Cocktails were about £15 a pop which is reasonable given the location and certainly no more than you would pay in London. I had the best Long Island Iced Tea of my entire life here. It was stunning. We enjoyed the views and each other's company at one side of the bar, then moved over to the most iconic part which was incredible. The big dome and the wide and long steps leading to the glass barriers to take in the view of Bangkok at night. Bangkok looked great from 60 something floors up. After a few cocktails we bided each other a good night. 

Iconic Dome.

Ange, Nicky, and Caz.

Kenickie & I.

Amazing views - the best way to see Bangkok.

I got a taxi from the hotel to my hostel, this was the first and only time I got in a metered taxi in Bangkok, and the 5 mile journey cost 67baht (£1.20) - that's when I realised they take tourists as proper mugs in Bangkok.

We said our goodbyes in the foyer of the Lebua Hotel. It was sad. I felt very sad when I got in the taxi. I had made some incredible friendships with these guys, and it has elevated Caz & I's friendship. I've known Caz for years now and although we don't see each other regularly I've always known she is great company, and a lot of laughs so I had no doubts that our time together would be anything but great. I've made a true friend in Ange, Nicky, and Rich on this trip too. As a group it's a funny match, we were all brought together thanks to Keely & Ross' wedding and we leave having a bond with each other. Not once in my time with any of them did I get annoyed or frustrated or miserable. I genuinely enjoyed their company so much. I've natch remained in contact with them since we parted, which is now approaching a month later. I actually factually still miss the KTK. 

OBVS, a reunion is on the cards.

The KTK's final photograph of the trip.