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We have been basking under the Siam sun for over a week now so this update is more than a little overdue. We landed in Bangkok after a fabulous final day in Japan exploring previously undiscovered corners of Harajuku and finally made some purchases of the obligatory tourist t-shirts which are obviously at the forefront of edgy Japanese fashion. The chaos of Bangkok was rather a shock to the system and at first glance certainly appeared to be the anathema of Tokyo. Whereas Tokyo was impeccably clean, well organised and polite, Bangkok was grimy, frenzied and if not rude then certainly in your face.Unfortunately our first day didn't go as smoothly as we had hoped as it was spent locating and travelling to the Vietnamese Embassy to sort out our visas for our ongoing travel and here not only were we scammed for an additional 1600 Baht than originally quoted but we discovered that it would take until Tuesday for our visas to be processed, an additional 2 nights in Bangkok which we hadn't planned for.However, in the spirit of easy going travelers we took this in our stride and resolved to fill our days with fun and frolics! We spent the rest of the day and night exploring Khao San Road and the surrounding areas which I must say although I can appreciate the backpacker 'heaven' of cheap drinks, massage,music, food and a whole lot of hippie Westerners the overall vibe, especially at night was more of' Booze Britain does Faliraki' than exotic Asian hub. However we still had a couple of good nights, met an English couple who had been planning their wedding down in the islands for next year and on telling them my name they looked intensely excited and asked me to write it down. I fear that our chance meeting may be forever be enshrined in memory if their first born is a girl…
Our second day in Bangkok was spent exploring the premier sightseeing spot of the city, The Grand Palace, it was certainly very impressive and it's ornate and lavish decoration was in huge contrast to the poverty which is apparent throughout the rest of the city. Myself and Tom were rather flagging in the heat though so after whizzing round the final spots we found a shady café by the river to eat lunch and slowly made our way back to the hostel for a chilled evening.The third day was Saturday and therefore the Chatuchak Weekend Market was all go and we decided to attempt to conquer the Bangkok bus system to get there. Miraculously this all went very smoothly as we found the bus stop, jumped on the crowded bus (jumped being the operative word as the buses barely stop for a second so the jump and grab is the only option!) and got off when the other touristy looking types did. The market was enormous and we wandered round for a while making a few purchases of the clothes variety. I was predictably seduced by the hugely baggy trousers that all the girls seem to wear and although I managed to resist them at Glastonbury a pair jumped in my bag (sorry Eva!) along with a vintage dress. I was very impressed by the vintage clothes section which would send many girls back home into spasms of excitement as there was some lovely pieces and the prices were of course super agreeable.
Day Four we were certainly tiring of the hustle of Bangkok and the incessant calls of "Where you going" "Want a Tuk Tuk?" so the day was spent relaxing in a nearby park. We met up with a couple that we had met in the hostel for drinks in the evening which was great fun and we arranged to make the trip to Kanchanaburi together on the Tuesday when our visas came through. Day 5 we took an impromptu trip on the river after finding that the National Museum was closed and somehow ended up purchasing a netbook at an electronics market. As I sit here typing merrily away on the nifty little gadget I think it could have been the best idea we have had and Tom is overjoyed to be able to properly sort out and store his photos, it also means that we are available for Skype so all in all a great buy. As this random day unfolded we also ended up at Siam Square the city's shopping area which was full of ridiculously new and sparkling shopping malls. Whilst walking around Siam Paragon we were sure that our casual beach style attire would get us kicked out as we meandered past the gleaming facades of Hermes , Missoni, Jimmy Choo and Gucci. It certainly didn't feel like the Bangkok we had experienced so far and seemed in stark contrast to the living conditions of most Thais we had seen. Tom was rendered speechless by the car showrooms on the second floor of the mall. The shiny Lamborghini alone in a huge showroom was of particular interest and we could only speculate wildly as to the insane price tag. We spent the evening with Ben and Lena again and it was a rather exciting one as they too were planning an unofficial type wedding down in the islands in a week and Lena needed a wedding dress so we went wedding dress shopping down Khao San Road! It was a bizarre situation to be in but we found the perfect beach style elegant white dress and at only £5 it was a bargain buy!
At last it was our final day in Bangkok and although we were happy to have seen it it's not a place I would purposely visit again as the dirtiness and pollution of the streets and constant need for awareness about being scammed for me outweighs the cultural heritage and rare places of beauty in the city. However I'm sure the nature of our trip means that we will have to call through at some point and I think we will try to make it as brief as possible!
Next onto Kanchanaburi, two hours west of Bangkok and home to a myriad of WW2 historical sites and the famous Erawan Falls, supposedly one of the most beautiful waterfalls in Thailand!
- comments
Auntie Roger You are defo having a fab time, keep it up all loving it back home. X
tommy's mum Sounds fantastic, nice to see you have met up with others on your trip, have you been asked to be bridesmaid Roisin!! Speak to you on Sunday. mum xxx
Dad I can see it is a tough life being a tourist , some great photos Tom . Waiting for next blog update (bit like waiting for the next episode of Corrie) . Dad
uglybessie Marvellous pictures, so good in fact Tom, i`m wondering if you are straight...