Bangkok Dangerous

    I flew into Bangkok and was offered a taxi at the airport for 700 Bahts, I laughed and kept walking, another pitch so I explain that I am not spending too much. The old lady barks out 800 bahts, I laugh and say that's what I paid for my flight here. She starts calling me cheap and I call her a stealer, she quickly tells me to leave. I find an ifo desk to which they direct me to a bus to the subway, then catch a taxi from there. costs 200 Bahts. If I knew where I was going would not have needed taxi and only cost about 80 Bahts. My first 3 minutes in BKK and I was a target for the ATM tattooed on my 'Farang' forehead.

    My room in Rachada 14 was on Huai Kwang Soy 14 near the subway, which was great to get around. The room itself was pricey, almost 900 bahts/night....equivalent to about 30$. It was a very spacious, clean and up to date room, so no complaints. The neighborhood was a little intimidating at first, but not at all once I took a nice walk.

My room was a nice and clean

     There was a little spot at the corner, where I ate lunch every day, a nice noodle soup, and an old school bottle of Coke for 55 Bahts(about $1.50). Was great food and the price was right.  I was fairly close to a main road and a big market, so I had some nice walks. My first walk through the market, I found a pair of shorts, my toe found a loose sidewalk brick and I was hobbled with a break. Luckily it was not too painful and I was able to walk as close to normal as I previously could.

    Later that evening, I went downtown and found the famous Soi Cowboy, and was totally entertained by the atmosphere there and just the scenery, many lights and a lot of people milling about with eyes as, or more wide that my own. My personality allowed me to interact freely with the different personalities that I came across without much shyness, so it made for good conversations. This is a must stop if you are ever in Bangkok, and even though it is primarily aimed at men, there were many women enjoying the atmosphere for what it was. Definitely a seedy part of BKK, 

Soi Cowboy, alot of glitz

    The following evening decided to go to a rooftop restaurant with a friend from Chiang Mai who surprised me with a visit. We went to a place called the Red Sky restaurant, above the Centara Hotel, 55 stories above Bangkok. It was quite the view and a very nice spot to sit and chat and have some laughs with a good friend. We were then taken to a bar that our taxi recommended, I won't even give it's name as it was just a rave bar for people under the age of 23...my guess and that was way to young and loud for us so we called it a night.

55 stories above Bangkok

   Chinatown in Bangkok is huge, and the whole place is busy, the markets are big and they have many things for all tastes, trinkets, clothes, jewels, food, and some other things some people catagorize as foods,,,,just not me. Went to see a few temples in the area, including Wat Traimit, Wat Arun and Wat Pho and traveled the Chao Phraya river, which were all important to the history of this city.

The Golden Buddha at Wat Traimit
5.5 tons of gold

Wat Arun was under repair when I was there

The river is a vital part of economy for the people here

Wat Pho houses the famous Reclining Buddha

   The following day, my friend and I headed to Khaosan Road, a famous road that you need to see to believe. The party on this road is just surreal, The road is pretty wide, for a time, then all of a sudden, the bars pour out onto the street and take over the area. Tables and chairs, leaving little more that a path for the revelers to move onto the next stop. Vendors hocking all sorts of things including insects and scorpions, and yes, I had some of each. The party was going strong, but we had had enough and decided to cut out at 2 am. Alot of fun and for such a carnage in a small area, very safe and pleasant at all times.

Apparently, it's best to be early

The tables took over the street

mmmm,,,,scorpions,,,

and grasshoppers

     I went and found my way to the Grand Palace and the Royal Monastary of the Emerald Buddha, a water taxi and found my way to the Palace. As I approached a tuk-tuk explained to me that they are closed for about an hour for prayers and that he would take me on a tour to see the Giant Buddha...another scam...I ask how much and he tells me 20 Bahts, I ask again, and he explains that his tour is funded so 20B is all he charges. So he takes me to see this Giant Buddha, and it is a fair distance.

Giant Buddha

I then get driven back to the Palace and take the tour, the royals no longer reside here, but rather in the south of the country. They return for ceremonial duties and other events they see fit. This complex has many buildings, including the Royal Monastary, Armories, a museum, the Palace, a model of Angkor Wat (weird as it is in Cambodia...but the did posses it some time ago) and a series of smaller buildings and statues.

The Royal Palace

Angkor Wat model

Neat little guards of the Royal Monastary

No photos inside...Emerald Buddha

   My last few days in Bangkok were spent just walking around the different tourist areas and markets in the core of the city.  There was another more racy area than Soi Cowboy that is called Soi Nana, this was quite the adventure in itself and has no place in this blog. I took a tour of it and was reminded as to why I prefer the smaller, quieter cities...this place is just too big and busy for my taste...a great city of the World, to be sure, and I loved it, but it was wearing on me and it was time for me to move on.

A sample of the Bankok city-scape

It is all around, and goes on for a distance