January
2, 2015
Our taxi came early and we had no
problem getting to the airport for our 8:30am flight to Bangkok. There were
several points of security though, the first one being a quick scan of all
baggage and people entering the airport. We had to check our bags, because the
weight limit for carry-ons had changed, but we didn`t have to pay any extra, so
it didn`t matter much. We got drinks and breakfast from the only place selling
food and headed up to our gate to wait.
The flight was bumpy, but short. The
transportation system was pretty confusing. We were let out onto the tarmac and
bused around to the airport terminal proper. Then there were several options of
trains and buses, all going to different places at different times. Bangkok has
two airports, and the one we flew into was the older one, far out on the
northern end of the city. We eventually figured out which train we wanted, although
it wouldn`t come until 11. We waited at the station and applied sunscreen and
bug spray for the umpteenth time. The train was like something out of a movie. Sparse
bench seats, open windows, and full of people standing and sitting in any spare
bit of space, with other people shuffling through the crowd selling drinks and
food.
When we arrived at the end of the
line, smack in the middle of Bangkok, it was midday and none of the taxis we
approach would even consider taking us anywhere near Khaosan Road, backpacker
mecca and the nearest identifiable landmark to our guesthouse. A woman flagged
us down and convinced a dude to take us in his tuk-tuk. I was super wary of
this, because, hello, that sounds like the beginning to a scam. But he took us
to the end of Khaosan Road and let us pay what she had told us to pay (200
baht, which was way overpriced according to the metered taxi we took later, but
not horrible on the transportation scale). It was a terrifying journey of clutching
our bags, each other, and any part of the open back end we could reach while
the driver zoomed in and out of traffic as if lanes didn`t apply to him. Lanes
don`t really seem to apply to anyone in Bangkok.
We walked down the busy street
full of stalls, stores, hotels, cafes, and people and found our guesthouse on
one of the quieter side streets. It was easier than I expected based on our map
reading. We were about an hour early for check-in, but they let us in anyway.
We dropped our stuff in our room, reapplied the sunscreen and bug spray and
headed off to find something to eat, since it was 2 hours past noon.
We wandered into an art museum
that advertised a café, that turned out to only sell drinks, but the admission
was free so we walked around. Saw some traditional and contemporary Thai
sculptures and paintings. There was a whole room of stuff painted by a past
king, which was pretty cool.
When we left there, we decided to
check out the large park that was supposed to be nearby. It took us several
tries and risking our lives to cross the crossway-less highways, but we made
it. It was large and nearby, but almost completely devoid of trees. Just a
swath of brown grass. We headed back to Khaosan, as a sure place to find food and
shade.
After some shopping to pick up
some of the ever present elephant pants, we ate dinner at the Elephant Bar and Café.
I had Pad Thai and chicken and Victoria had a curry. They had a mix of foreign
food on their menu too, so we got the mozzarella sticks, because we couldn`t
resist deep fried cheese. They served their Thai milk teas in mason jars which
made us laugh all over ourselves. The group next to us asked for forks after
their food came, and we were immediately offered forks and spoons as well, but
we stuck with our chopsticks. We were seated on a balcony overlooking the
street, and the people-watching was excellent.
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| The view from our seats |
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| Delicious curry |
We asked about the potential for
laundry at our guesthouse and a few others nearby, but were turned away, so we
bought some detergent at a 7/11 and did some washing of our own in our sink. Then,
we chillaxed in our beds while watching Scooby Doo in Thai until we fell
asleep.
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