Yesterday, we got up at 4AM Singapore time (it's an hour ahead of Bangkok) and got ready to go. We caught a taxi because the MRT doesn't run that early. It was a quick trip, and the roads were quiet, but it was super annoying that the taxis charge double fares during "late night" - i.e. whenever the metros are closed, the taxis are twice the price.
Anyways, we got to the airport at 5ish for our 8:15 flight. Might I remind you that going through "security" and "customs" is a joke? Literally scan our passports and our thumbs and we're good to go. We went and got breakfast (BK ftw.... "Burger King for the win" meaning that's where we went and it was good). Then we went and got our tickets...
I just want to point out that some Asians have AWFUL manners. To the point that it actually makes me angry. We were standing in line with a few other people before the lines actually opened (we were there REALLY early) and we watched them have their little meeting and then waited for them to open up their lanes. Meanwhile, some little tour group woman with her group of at least 20 barge in as they're sitting down. Every single person from the group cut the group of us that had been standing there before them. The tour group leader actually physically moved me, pushing me back for her group. I nearly started yelling at her. One person I could maybe understand, but the whole freaking group seemed to have this mentality.
Anyways, we got our tickets and then Gabe got breakfast on the inside of security, and then we walked down to the gate. I fell asleep on the floor and then Gabe woke me up at 7 to go through security. It was an interesting way to set up the airport - the security gate (metal detector, etc) is next to the actual gate, and you only go through just before you get on the plane.
So. Slept in the airport, slept on the plane, and then we arrived in Thailand! We got off the plane and walked towards immigration. The airport was cool - lots of plants and statues and an interesting design. We got to immigration and had to wait awhile but we were finally through. We came on a Groupon, so we had a travel agency giving us a ride to our hotel. Finding said travel agency was sortof difficult, but we finally did. They didn't have our names (office mixup) but they brought us to our hotel without too much time lost.
Our hotel is in the fashion district, right next to a big mall and an open market with all sorts of things. It's a good location. Once we dropped off our stuff, we decided that we would go explore the weekend market. We walked up the street outside our hotel (it's more of an alleyway) and found a tuk-tuk. It's a funny little contraption... a motorcycle turned open-air-car. They're surprisingly loud.
The driver was really nice and said he'd take us for 50 Baht (30B=$1) which we thought was great. The catch was that he wanted to show us a gem store. Every book, article, website and person we've gotten information from has cautioned us against these "deals", but we figured we had the time, so we let him take us. It was a nice building, and they gave us free drinks. Then we were herded through the jewelry making room (that was cool) and then to a giant room with a shark tank in the middle, filled with table after table of jewelry. It was a little overwhelming, and very over-priced. They had some really pretty stuff, but too fancy and expensive for me. Gabe said something about my having cheap taste....
Anyways, he got his free gas (oh, yeah, the drivers get free gas, food, clothing, a commission or other stuff for bringing tourists to these shops) and then we went to the Chatachuk Weekend Market, which is only open... on the weekend.
Oh, dear lord... It was MASSIVE.
Row after row, stall after stall of everything you could imagine. Books, shoes, clothing, jewelry, flowers, dishes, fabrics, purses, pets, pet supplies, belts, guns, baskets, furniture, decorations, home decor, toys... You name it, it was there. We spent several hours there, and got some cool stuff. Gabe got an amazing piece of art (haha, he'll call it something else - check out his post to see what he has to say about it, and all of the rest of Bangkok) and we got some other cool stuff. We even saw a Thai Tea Twirling Artist... Gabe will have to add about that as well.
In the market, we found a little stall with food. I had some delicious fried rice and Gabe had some phat thai. How that's different from pad thai, I don't know, but he assures me there is a difference... We shared a bottle of green Fanta, and lunch was all of $3 or so. Green Fanta is, despite our belief that it tastes like apples, a combination of pineapple, banana and orange. I still think it's apple with the label just being silly.
So we finally became exhausted from shopping, so we headed back to the hotel. We relaxed for a few minutes before going out to explore closer to our hotel. Walking around proved interesting, with a lot of strange but good smelling foods and interesting people. No one carries shoes in my size, so that's a shame, and things aren't nearly as cheap as we were led to believe... A dress shirt is 150B, about $5, and rarely does anything else drop below that price. Small things (watches, some cheap flip flops, headbands, leggings) may be less, but never less than 100B. I did find a nice large, purple suitcase for about $60, which we will need to bring all our stuff home. (We only brought carry-ons for the trip here.)
We brought it back to the hotel and then left for the Patphong Night Market, which had been highly recommended. On the way, we agreed to let our tuk-tuk driver stop at a tailor's to look at suits.... Almost two hours later and calls to both sets of parents, Gabe was measured for two suits and four dress shirts and I was measured for two suit jackets. Gabe thinks he paid too much, but they are tailored, custom suits. The tuk-tuk driver was really nice and gave us his number to call for all of our business in the future.
Anyways, when we finally got to the night market, we didn't want to spend any more money... So we walked around, saw some of the bars, got offered some shows (for the sexually mature) and had dinner. I ended up with a schwarma (a cross between a gyro and a kebap) and Gabe had miscellaneous street food for the evening... He'll talk about that as well.
We headed back and I fell asleep promptly. It was a busy but fun day.
ราตรีสวัสดิ์ (Rātrī s̄wạs̄di̒)
Thai for: Goodnight
sounds like a big day in Bangkok. 30/1 seems to be about the same as 20 years ago.
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