After numerous days & conversations deliberating we finally decided to go to Laos, as long as we went on the route through Thailand (Jo). Finally, my long wait was over, all that stood in my way was a half day bus ride across the border to Bangkok, a few nights there and then a sleeper train to Laos. Would it be worth it? It most definitely would!
Still feeling the effects of her illness, the morning we left was not a good one for Jo. Desperately loo hopping at any given opportunity we were greeted at 9am (1 hour later than expected) by what can only be described as 'a shed on wheels'. The rickety wheeled, packed to death 10 hour bus journey had only just begun, yet I was already feeling guilty in putting Jo through this in her state as it was more than enough to suggest we should stay here an extra night until she recovered fully.
Soldiering on like the determined lady she is, once we reached the Thai border and had waited for our VIP bus to Bangkok, the trials and tribulations of the mornings journey had disappeared and she was beginning to feel a little better. Five minutes on our swanky new bus and we were soon hauled off the supposedly broken down vehicle (sure it was a scam due to not enough bums on seats) and placed into a minivan to Bangkok. Not quite the same luxury but it was funny listening to a traveling Korean girl suggesting that she would be happy to pay more money for being downgraded. MUPPET!
Arriving in Bangkok we immediately loved it and with our need for a big city once again firmly within our grasp we set out into its heart. Looking round several places we somewhat begrudgingly decided to check in for the night into somewhere slightly over budget but only until Jo had fully recovered. I'm still not sure if she was prolonging her sickness in order to negotiate our stay at Rambuttri Village Inn where they had an amazing roof terraced pool. Hmmmm, we will never know!
Having spent the next morning soaking up the sun and enjoying the roof top views from our lovely new pool, it soon became apparent that as Jo was feeling better from a decent nights sleep (air-con inc.) that we couldn't justify staying here any longer as not only was it extremely expensive but because we had so much to see in such little time. I mean we couldn't spend all our time here in Bangkok sat by the pool, could we? Moving across the Khao San and into a quiet little alley, our new home here would be conveniently named Happy House GH. A great place to hang our hat, half the price and one we will definitely stay in on our return to the city.
Four jam-packed days in this fast paced metropolis, we managed to take in several meals of muesli, fruit and yoghurt, a selection of coloured Thai curries and at least a gallon of Chang beer. Well and a few cocktails in Jo's case, and that was just our meals!
Musing about the impact this place would have on our ever depleting bank balance, we decided to sight see on our first trip here and shop on our second. That being the case we still managed to spend massive amounts of time wondering aimlessly up and down Khao San Rd, a full day in the city centre at the MBK & Siam Square shopping centres, mooching around Chinatown both day & night, the windy streets of Sampong Lane Market, Wat Pho (our only temple visit), The Golden Mound, Swinging Bridge, watching Thai Chi, Dance lessons & rollerblading in Lumphini Park and also even taking time out to visit local and national exhibitions at the Bangkok design & culture centre.
Participating in every mode of transport available, we can now proudly sya we have experienced the Bangkok Skytrain (a shit version of the DLR nowhere near the sky), the local metro system, trains, tuk tuk's, taxi's and even a nerve wrenching moment on the boat trip down the river where we both nearly fell into the river whilst boarding!
Our only negative side to our time here came when we decided to explore the exotic nightlife that Bangkok's Pampong district prides itself on. Well what an experience that was! After days of ignoring constant touting for various Thai delicacy shows we finally decided to check out a Ping Pong show. At the time we were told there would be no cover charge to get in and the drinks would be priced at 100 baht ($3), which in our eyes was reasonable given we were entering a dinghy-arsed strip club full of lady boys and ugly women firing off a plethora of tricks and toys from their nether regions. Having ordered a beer and a wine, 30 minutes later our bill had arrived and with it was all I can describe as being the scariest looking him/she bouncer I have ever seen. Demanding we hand over the somewhat strangely calculated fee of 2,500 baht we quickly backed down from a transcending argument, finally being robbed of the only money we had on us (1,500 baht) and we abruptly left the venue to much annoyance.
Looking back on it we probably knew it was going to happen but then again it turned out to be funny as even when we were refusing to pay, the girls on stage were still firing fireworks and ping pong balls at us.
Catching the sleeper train Jo so happily desired, our next destination would be to wake up and cross the border into Laos. Not nearly as good as the previous sleeper train but still clean and fun, getting a good nights sleep turned out to be imperative as our patience at the border was soon to be tested!
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Same thing happened to us when we visited the infamous Bangkok ping pong show. Rip off as it is , you can't go to Bangkok and not see one! Think we ended up paying £25 for two drinks, but dave did get to use a ping pong bat to knock the balls back to her! Happy times...
ReplyDeleteEmma x