Bangkok 2014
As always, I made certain I had provisions with us before traveling and I’m glad I did. There wasn’t much interesting available on this old train, and I had bought 4 BBQ chicken-on-a-stick thighs. They split a piece of bamboo and insert the marinated chicken, so that when it’s done you have a handle to eat it with… clever, and very tasty.
I had the top bunk and Roger had the bottom. There are pros and cons of each. The bottom has the window with the view and fresh air, but the bunk is made up of the opposing seats whose cushions slide down and meet in the middle. It isn’t always comfy and the seats don’t always quite meet up. The top bunk is one long piece so it isn’t lumpy, but there is no window and only the air from the fan. If you close the curtain for privacy, you lose the the breeze. I loved traveling by night train but I think we’ll go 1st class next time (still very cheap) rather than 2nd class fan, which is how we went. Roger isn’t sure he wants to do it again after the leg we took back to Phuket. The train was even older and in worse condition!
We arrived in Bangkok in the morning and had to weave through the offers for taxis, which were actually only tuk-tuks at inflated prices. There were a few people meeting the train that told us what the actual taxi fare should be, so we forged ahead to the taxi line and insisted on one with a functioning meter. The guesthouse was the least expensive we had on this trip and the least inspiring as well. We were going to move to another hotel but then decided it wasn’t worth the time we’d need to spend searching, and stayed on for the two nights. We walked around the Khao San Rd area, which was just another touristy street, and meandered around the neighborhoods after lunch.
The following day we set out to visit the Royal Palace. We walked along and a man who was standing by a scooter started talking to us. We had read about it… and we knew about it… AND we still were caught up in one of the notorious Bangkok tourist scams. The man said it was much better to go to the Palace and the amulet market in the afternoon. He advised us to go see the lucky Buddha and the Standing Buddha with a tuk-tuk (a woman driver just happened to walk over as he was showing us on a map), and that the government was supplementing tuk-tuks with petrol since it was a holiday weekend so the price for us would be very low. Duh! But I suppose it is all part of the Bangkok experience, and I love riding in the tuk-tuks, so I enjoyed the experience more than I might have otherwise. Hours and hours later, after the two wats and several gemstone and silk retailer stops, we finally were dropped off at our restaurant for a late lunch. We were on our way again at 4PM, which was late to see more sights.
We did manage to squeak in a visit to the incredible Wat Pho, directly across from the Palace. It was opened until 6:30PM. It was simply magnificent! This was the most impressive wat in its entire intricate splendor that we had seen so far. There was amazing mosaic work of tile and mirrors of all color along with the gold, all of which glittered and danced in the late afternoon sun.
On our final day in Bangkok, (we stayed only 3 days and 2 nights before catching the night train toward Phuket) we were determined to head for the Royal Palace and not be diverted. We reached the outer perimeter when a man said to us that the morning was reserved for Thais only and that we would have to come back to see the palace in the afternoon. He started to suggest that we visit the two wats from the previous day and we informed him that we’d already “been there, done that”, so he said we should go ahead and visit the palace, showing us the way to the entrance. 🙂 Since it was a holiday weekend (Queen Sirikit’s 82nd birthday a few days later), many of the buildings were closed. That didn’t deter the throngs of tourists though, and we felt hot and crowded and a little put off by paying over $30 to visit the place and not be able to see that much. Still, the buildings were gorgeous and everything was quite impressive.
There was a textile museum on the grounds and because it was air-conditioned, we spent a bit more time there than it warranted. In actuality, it was a testament to Queen Sirikit, who early in her reign began a campaign to teach villagers how to weave and create silks to sell and trade to support themselves. They had some of her dresses on display. She was a beauty in her earlier years, and even in her later years, she is still quite handsome.
After the Palace, we walked back toward the old city center and had a nice lunch, where Roger had his rice served to him in the shape of a bear. We’d received hearts of rice before, and more often cups of rice, but a bear was quite unusual. Ah, but we were in the heart of the tourist district. We then took a water taxi up the river and back just for the ride and scenery, a bargain at $2 RT for us both compared to the Palace. It was time to grab a shower and our packs and head for the train.
The train from Bangkok to Surat Thani (where we transfer to a bus for Phuket), was rattier than the train from Chiang Mai… it was rattier both figuratively and literally. Literally, because there was evidence (though no sighting) of a rat that chewed a huge whole in the Styrofoam container of our dinner remains, which were put under the seat since there were no trash bins anywhere. Figuratively, as the train itself was totally falling apart. Still, it was a good trip and Roger said that bed was the best one he slept on during the entire trip!
We had a wonderful time, glad to have spent the month traveling around northern Thailand and visiting Chiang Mai and Bangkok. But now, after a month, we were looking forward to heading back “home” to our own boat and bed!