Category Archives: Bangkok

Modern Bangkok

2015-01-19 ramblintraveler 2 Comments

I know this is a long time in coming since I haven’t been to Bangkok in over a month, but since I had a lot of not so pleasant things to say about my experience there, I wanted to mention some positives about the city. In particular the public transport systems.

The three systems of public transport right in the heart of the city can pretty much get you anywhere you want to go cheaply, safely, cleanly and in style. The Airport Rail goes from the Airport (imagine that!) directly downtown. The over-ground rail and underground systems take you practically anywhere else you’d want to go within the city.

It took me quite a while to figure out how exactly to go where I needed utilizing these three systems and also a while to figure out the purchase of tickets for the underground rail (I literally stood there staring at maps and watching locals purchase before making my own) but once you get the hang of it, I wouldn’t use any other mode of transport.

And unlike Germany where it’s basically an honor system as to whether you buy a ticket for the train or not, since tickets on public transport trains are rarely checked, nothing gets past the systems in Bangkok. One time I purchased a ticket for the underground (my first try) and got onto the train, but upon exiting my ticket wouldn’t open the gate for me to leave. I went to the help desk, they took my card and scanned it and found out I hadn’t purchased the correct ticket. So I simply paid the difference, they updated my card and out I went.

These three modern and clean systems were a real breath of fresh air compared to where I had been and I finally saw Bangkok as it had been described by those who love it: modern and sophisticated. Again, now that I know about them, I won’t be using a taxi or tuk-tuk again!

On to Crazy Kanchanaburi Nights

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Bangkok, Thailand

Bangkok ‘Gangster’ Scams

2014-12-08 ramblintraveler 4 Comments

I don’t really know how close I was to the Palace because again there was no way to judge true distances on my map and to make things more interesting, maps posted along the street didn’t coincide at all with the map I had so I was kinda just going blindly most of the time…

Wat Rajaburana

Wat Rajaburana_2

Wat Rajaburana_3

At one point I came across a hilarious little squirrel. People (I’ve noticed this elsewhere now too) hang little bags or full coconuts on the trees for the squirrels! I didn’t know they had squirrels in Thailand before this! He was adorable to watch as he dipped his head in the bag for a mouthful of shaved coconut, too cute!!

Squirrel Food

Squirrel Food_2

Squirrel Food_3

As I continued down the random street I was approached by a guy who asked where I was going. The Palace, I said. To which he replied that it was closed because the King was going to be there for his birthday. What’s funny here is a friend of mine who’s been to Thailand said that these scammers always say the Palace is closed because it’s the Kings birthday… In this case, it actually was true, I just thought it was funny they always use that excuse! Anyway, he insisted that the entire area was blockaded by police and there was no way to even get close to it. BUT… he recommended several lovely temples each featuring Buddha (Golden Buddha, a temple with 8 different positions of Buddha, etc). He said for 40 baht one of the 3-wheel taxis called “tuk-tuks” could take me around to 4 of them and bring me back! That sounded like a good deal really… 4 Temples for 40 baht AND he would bring me back to where we started?? Sign #1 to not go- too good to be true. But no, I thought “I could go on a little detour, rest my feet during the ride, see some Temples then walk to the Palace once we were back to start”. Just as I got into the tuk-tuk, the guy asked where I was from. I said the States, to which he replied “I love Obama”… I should have taken that as sign #2 to NOT trust this situation, lol!!

Respecting Buddah

Respecting Buddah_2

Tuk Tuk

Bangkok Traffic

The first Temple was of the 8 Buddhas in different positions. Unfortunately no picture-taking was allowed. There was a gentlemen inside praying to one statue however that I found moving. It wasn’t a Buddha statue but rather of a man depicted with sticks at his feet. God of health is what the man said. Pray to him for good health. It was quite moving to wander around the Temple. I’ve got more to say on that in a later post, but moving on…

I returned to the taxi after my walk around the Temple and he then told me that next stop was a Thailand factory where they make very good clothes. Ok, I don’t need any clothes, but maybe it’s interesting somehow. He insisted that these shops were good for the Thai people. Ok… So we went. The shop was, well, just a shop filled with tons of different fabrics and Giorgio Armani magazines with a variety of his clothing all ready to be tailor-made JUST for you! As I wandered in, the sales vultures attacked asking me this and that and what would I like/need yada yada… I did one lap at a quick pace and headed out the door. I did notice before leaving another gringo couple there signing papers… And as I headed out the door another tuk-tuk was pulling up with more gringos… Something fishy is going on… Sign #3…

I got back in my taxi, the guy drove all of 10 feet then pulled over and stopped the cab:

Tuk-tuk man: You spend more time in there
Me: Um… I don’t need clothes. They are very nice, but I don’t need anything.
Tuk-tuk man: Don’t matter if you buy, just looking, just LOOKING. Must stay longer at next one for gas card.
Me: I don’t want to go to another one, I thought we were going to see Temples
Tuk-tuk Man: Yes, yes, Temples but factory first. Must get gas card. 300 baht gas card for going to factory
Me: No, I didn’t sign up for this, no.
Tuk-tuk Man: please, please, you do it for me so I get gas card. 10 minute, 10 minute just LOOKING

Sign #4… But he pulled the guilt trip… So ok, fine. I can spare one more shop for 10 minutes so he can get a gas card. So off we go… I wandered in and played my part listening to the sales pitch, flipping through the magazines “oh this is nice” wondering the entire time how/why any of these people think I have the kind of money to spend on those kinds of clothes with me looking like such crap after walking the streets of Bangkok all morning?? Anyway, I figured 10 minutes were up, so I left and got back into the cab. The driver then turned to me and showed me on the map where we currently were (somewhere off of Nkhon Chaisi Rd WAY northeast of where we started) and proceeded to say “next factory is right here, then we go to Temples”.

Ok, I officially reached my limit. “No” I very firmly said. He tried his pitch to me once again begging and pleading but I had had enough!! I told him to take me back immediately to where he picked me up. He finally figured out I meant business, took on a sulky attitude, turned around and started to head back. Thankfully I was paying enough attention to see that he was actually taking me in the right direction, but at a certain point we got stuck in traffic along Ratcha Damnoen Nok Rd and I just got out. I payed him his 40 baht figuring the one Temple was worth that, walked across the street away from him and wandered the streets again.

As it turned out there was a ton of very interesting stuff along that road! I’m not sure if it also was because of the King’s birthday or just coincidental, but according to some signs it said December 5th was also World SOIL day… They had tents upon tents displaying farm scenes, gardens, green growing, hydroponic setups, etc! Very interesting stuff! Also one of the tents was all about a gift festival. Not sure what that was exactly, but lots of fun stuff to look at and buy.

Gift Festival

World Soil Day_4

World Soil Day_3

World Soil Day_2

Cool Table

World Soil Day

So really, had it not been for the scam I never would have been in that area to begin with to see all the random festivities. But perhaps the part I thought was the funniest was when I was walking along Ratcha Damnoen Klang Rd where the Democracy Monument is located. Yes, I was STILL trying to make it to the dang Palace, lol!! I stopped at one of the street maps (which again didn’t look a thing like my map!) and another man came up asking me where I wanted to go… Repeat??? Thankfully not! He was a professor at the University for Political Science and was legit! He pointed the way to the Palace then asked what I had seen so far. I told him “not much” just a Temple and random other parts. I pointed on a map where I had been taken (by the scammer cabbie) and the first word out of his mouth: “Gangsters”!!

Wat Saket

Lovely Median

Loha Prasat

Loha Prasat_2

Loha Prasat_3

Loha Prasat_4

What??? Did I hear right?? “Gangsters” he repeated, then said “how many factory they take you to?”… Oh dear, lol!!! I’d been scammed alright! I laughed and said 2. He shook his head knowingly and said that the police everyday get calls about that scenario or tourists walking into the police stations to file complaints about this scam. I don’t know if the shops are part of the scam also, but I can’t say for sure. He then went on to give me another couple good tips: Never get into a taxi (actual taxis are regular cars in a variety of colors; pink, green, blue with a “metered taxi” sign on top) if the driver does not turn on the meter. If they try to negotiate a price with you before you get in, RUN! Lol!! His exact words folks! The second tip was for the shopping areas: look at 10 stores before you buy! Again, to avoid being overcharged or scammed on a price:) Lovely guy and great information, I was truly grateful!!

Loha Prasat_5

Democracy Monument

Elephant Monument

Mother Earth Squeezing Her Hair

Mother Earth Squeezing Her Hair_2

The Royal Field

I thanked the professor then headed on toward the Palace first running into the Royal Grounds where the side walk of the grounds were lined with police. I asked what was going on and one guy said that in a half hour the King would arrive! Seriously?? So I hung out in the gardens, which had a view of the Palace in the background (finally!!!) until the action began. It wasn’t the King who arrived, but rather it was a very respected woman. I’ve tried to look up in the papers something about what the event was all about but still can’t find anything. Anyway, whoever she was, she was very heavily guarded and respected! Everyone who approached her did so on their knees, never turning their back to her. After viewing the event for a bit, I headed to the Palace (which was shut) then decided to just get back to the hotel. At this point it had already been a 10 hour day and I was shot and ready for a shower!!

Royal Palace WAY in the Back…

Guarded Walk

Awaiting Someone Special

Awaiting Someone Special_2

Royal Field at Sunset

Royal Palace by night

I approached some cops to ask the best place for a taxi pick-up to which they all lined up to hail a cab for me as I stood on the sidewalk (so polite and helpful!!). I was taken to Phaya Thai (by a driver who did use his meter) which is the first stop in the Airport Rail system. Last funny- I needed a cab from the Lat Krabang station to my hotel. I hailed one and he stopped. I showed him the card I had of the hotel and he nodded “yes”, so I went to get in and said “meter?” to which he then looked at the hotel card again and shook his head. He pointed to his eyes and squinted as if to say he suddenly couldn’t read the address on the card… Scammer avoided?? Too funny!!

Monument

Elephant Monument_2

Across from Palace_2

Royal Palace by Night_2

Night Lights

Downtown by Night

On to Temples and Monks

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Bangkok, Thailand

One Day in Bangkok

2014-12-07 ramblintraveler 2 Comments

I didn’t know what to expect when first exploring Bangkok. One thing for sure is that there are many different parts to explore. I stayed in a hotel not far from the airport (Floral Shire Hotel) basically picking it because it was easily accessible from the airport AND they offered a free shuttle, so can’t go wrong there! I stayed for two nights, which turned out to be a good call since I barely had any sleep on the flight over and was dead tired when I arrived. So technically my first day there was spent catching up on sleep!

Driving into Bangkok

Driving into Bangkok_2

Bangkok

Street Markets_3

From the air Bangkok has the look of Houston (industrial and HUGE with lots of a large variety of buildings) yet as if it was set in southern Florida (tons of wet fields and watery canals/rivers giving the land a swampy look). Upon landing, the air smelled like San Jose, Costa Rica (thick jungle air with the scent of a city nearby). Honestly there were times I had to remind myself I was in Thailand and not back in Costa Rica as the plants and animals also reminded me of C.R. with loads of banana trees and geckos (love those little chirping buggers!!) crawling all around the walls and ceilings chasing after bugs. Oh, and there was the veggie truck that came by each morning by the hotel advertising fruits and veggies for sale. It brought a smile to my face once again being in place that felt easy going with simple living:)

Street Market

Wires Abound!

Bangkok_2

Street Markets_4

Before going into my day there, I wanted to give my overall impressions. Bangkok is an interesting mix of life. There is obviously poverty there and it has a very dirty feel to it (literally dirty as you could feel the street on your skin after a few hours of walking around and at the end of the day my snot was black! Too much info?? Lol!). People are everywhere, all around working away or moving about, bumping into you (not rudely, just the nature of crowds) or simply minding their business with whatever task they are into. Yet, for as sketchy as the surroundings looked and for the amount of people coming closely in contact, I felt safer there than anywhere I’ve been so far. I can’t speak for all people who’ve traveled or will travel there, and I did get scammed a bit, but I never felt unsafe. Strangely there were times I wandered with my camera in hand (I NEVER do that! It’s always packed unless in use) or walked through areas that at a glance you would think “don’t go there!!”. But my senses never felt any danger or real threat, so I went where I wanted watching the life of Bangkok unfold. That’s the feeling I came away with from Bangkok… Before moving on I have to say I’m not at all a fan of the scent of Bangkok… It’s fish mixed with dirt, car pollution, stale standing water, industrial oil and what smells like a toilet somewhere. Not everything can be peaches! 🙂

Side Street

Bangkok_3

Bangkok Life

Crabs & Clams

Moving on to my day: as I’m not a huge fan of big cities, visiting downtown Bangkok took a bit of a kick in the rear. I kinda dreaded having to navigate such a large place, especially given that the language was SO different than anything I’d been used to before. As it turned out, one DAY in Bangkok was enough for me!

Bangkok_4

Bangkok_5

Side Street_2

Street Market_2

Before heading to town I did a bit of research on what to see/do and came across a website that outlined the top 9 things to do in Bangkok in one day… Perfect! Sounds like a plan for me and it got me excited to head into the city! So I jotted down all the necessary information (where and how to get there) and the next morning headed out.

Birds in a Cage

Second Story Living

Dried Seahorses

Bangkok_5

That was about where everything went NOT according to plan… The first thing on the list was a floating market which thankfully also mentioned it’s only open on the weekends. So #1 was off the list. On to #2, the temple of dawn: Wat Arun. I asked the receptionist to get a taxi so I could be taken to the Airport Rail station to head to town (as always I figured I would walk from there or get another cab if needed to where I wanted to go). She however, suggested I just have the taxi take me into town (“much easier”). Ok, fine. Why not? So I get into the cab and we start heading to town. On the way he starts telling me about “boat”. “Boat trip down river”. I responded with “nice, ok” not realizing that he took “ok” literally and proceeded to take me to a boat tour place. Once I figured out what was going on I insisted that no, I wanted to go to the Grand Palace (a teeny boat trip across the river from there would get me to Wat Arun). He then said that wasn’t possible because the Grand Palace was closed to tourists due to the Kings Birthday being tomorrow (December, 5) which was actually true. “Too much traffic there” is what he also stated.

Wat U Phai Rat Bamrung

Wat U Phai Rat Bamrung Cocks

Wat U Phai Rat Bamrung_2

We ended up at the Oriental Pier just north of the Taksin Bridge where they gave boat tours. 2000 baht for 1 hour… Which equates to almost $61… No thanks. I would rather spend my time walking around than one hour on a boat taking typical tourist “picture, picture, picture” (how the tour lady explained the boat trip). It also turned me off that she tried to negotiate the price with me. To me, the original price is either worth it, or it isn’t. I’m happy to pay the full price of something IF it’s worth it to me. This wasn’t, so I declined all the way. 15 minutes later after finally succeeding in explaining to my taxi driver that I wanted to pay him (375 baht in total damage) and just walk to town from there I headed out on foot.

Wat U Phai Rat Bamrung_3

Wat U Phai Rat Bamrung_4

China Town

I was definately NOT in the touristy part of town… I was in the Hangover Part II, back alley, so-many-car-fumes-in-the-air-you-could-barely-breathe part of town. I was so off the map of where tourists “should” be that I never even ran into another gringo until I got to China Town. It is amazing to see how people live. Food markets and street food kiosks were everywhere lined right up along the edge of the sidewalks where cars and motorcycles (which by the way they also use sidewalks to drive on) zoomed past. There wasn’t anywhere to be able to stop for a break unless you sat for food and bathrooms? Hope you have a big bladder because you won’t find one for a while in that area! But then again, as I said I was off the perhaps “normal” path for a bit.

Car Show?

Long Live the King

China Town_2

I made it to China Town along Yaowarat Rd. where they were having some sort of itty bitty car show! There were tons of people wearing yellow shirts that at first I thought were part of a tour of sorts but later realized yellow is the color of the King, so just about everyone was wearing a yellow shirt to honor his birthday:) I ran into my first English speaker since leaving the hotel who confirmed I had been walking the right way for the Grand Palace (phew!!!).

China Town_4

Itty Bitty Car Show?

China Town_4

China Town_5

Now, normally when navigating my way around places with a map and my feet I always think after the fact “gee, those distances were a lot shorter than I would have thought based on the map”… This is NOT so with the Bangkok map! Everything is quite a bit further than the maps would lead you to believe… One block on a map seemed to be 5 in reality, lol! After about 4 hours of walking I was getting a bit tired. According to the map I was ALMOST there so I kept trucking… And this is where the scam occurred…

Bangkok ‘Gangster’ Scams

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