We got up at 6:30am to grab a 7am taxi to the airport. After checking in we saw a Dunkin Donuts which seem to be everywhere in Asia (except Japan) . We have glancing at the menu at several different locations and have been shocked that they don’t really have coffee- only espresso and cappuccino. Also, many of the locations have an extensive sandwich menu. Regardless, we were both hungry so we grabbed donuts. I had a Boston Cream (my favorite) that was in the shape of a teddy bear and called something like a “forget me not.” The plane ride was painless. I fell asleep approximately two minutes after I was seated with my seatbelt securely fastened and didn’t wake up until we were got back on the ground. We took an airport shuttle bus to the road our hostel is on , Kao San Road This road is filled of hostels and budget guesthouses for backpackers, as well as hundreds of street vendors selling everything from DVDs, knockoff bags, clothes and even fake international I.D. Cards. I am tempted to buy an international press card and try to use it- perhaps I can get myself into concerts and go backstage? There are also dozens of massage parlors, bars and restaurants too.
We had lunch at a little sidewalk restaurant. Vendors with push carts line the roads and sidewalks and set up little folding tables and chairs for people to eat at. The side walk literally becomes a restaurant. All the food is really cheap and delicious! I had a big plate of chicken pad thai for only 30 baht ($1.00 USD). Have I mentioned how cheap Thailand is?
All the tuk-tuk and taxi drivers park and hang out at the end of Kao San road, and nag every tourist as they walk by. One man was nice enough to help us find our hostel earlier and approached us again offering to give us an hour long tour and take us to a few of the major sites for only 40 baht ($1.30). We thought this was a good deal especially because it was faster than walking. Off course there was a catch, there’s always a catch! After seeing Wat Po, the famous big Buddha, 45 meter tall, he took us to silk factory and also to a jewelry/souvenir shop. He told us that if he takes us there he gets coupons for gas, and he gets double if we buy something. Of course we knew immediately that we were being ripped off and the prices were outrageously overpriced so we didn’t get anything. The silk factory was pretty cool, and anyone can get custom made clothing, tailored to fit you perfectly! They had beautiful dresses and lots of suits, which I would love to get because I am going to need business professional clothing in just a few months. At this tourist trap the price was still quite expensive, 4,000-10,000 baht ($135-335).
After this our tuk tuk driver brought us to the Grande Palace. In order to go inside you must have your arms and legs covered, no tank tops or skirts, not even capri’s! You could borrow clothes if you needed to, long pants for men and sarongs for women. I was dressed okay, I had Capri yoga pants on, but if I pulled them down enough they were fine. Jess needed to get some kind of long skirt to cover her legs but of course they ran out right when we got to the front of the line! We decided not to wait and that we’d go back tomorrow with Jess’s friend Air, who is going to meet up with us tomorrow and will be able to tell us more about the Grand Palace anyways. When we got outside we couldn’t find out tuk-tuk driver anywhere, we searched for 15 minutes then finally gave up and walked back to the hostel. We never ended up paying him but he did get his gas coupons, perhaps that was more valuable to him than the $40Baht- I guess we’ll never know.
We haven’t had sushi in almost a week and we were craving it so we decided to check out an area called Little Tokyo. It is full of Japanese and sushi restaurants. All of them are way over priced, but we found one that wasn’t too expensive. After the this we walked through Lumphini park and went to to the Suan Lam Night Market, The nigh market is huge and they sell maps just for the market because it’s that big! It was the typical market just like we saw in China and everywhere else, also a lot of the same stuff that the vendors on Kao San Road sell, but we bargained and got some great deals!
Tomorrow we are meeting Air in the morning and he has offered to show us around and be our tour guide for the day! My back is still very itchy and I was advised not to eat any raw sushi since I may have a parasite that is preventing the rash from healing. Perhaps if I had this information 2 hours earlier I wouldn’t have gotten sushi for dinner, but that’s just life.
Love,
Katie
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