[ Zoom Map ]

Bangkok, Thailand
13° 45' N 100° 31' E
Feb 14, 2003 03:30
Distance 5268km

Choose another map, showing:

• Thailand
• South East Asia
• Asia
• Eurasia
• Eurasia, Africa & Pacific
• The World

Other entries in Bangkok

Kroong Tehp (Bangkok)

Text written in: English

I might have dozed on the flight. If I did, it seemed like a quick snooze between meals, as the lights flickered back on and they served breakfast in the tray next to me while I slept. I could see rice fields, old run down buildings and bits of cloud out the window.

On arrival in Bangkok I got talking to two poms, a guy with a brown blonde chequer-board pattern bleached into his short shaved hair and a woman from Swansea who was wearing a peach-coloured t-shirt with an 'Om' symbol on it... We got talking and she turned out to be less predictable than her shirt. An old kiwi guy was bleating away in a grating accent about how he the English were welcome to leave their crappy weather and come live in NZ, but that all these "Japo-Vietnamese What-nots, I dunno...". I cringed.

I decided to rub him up the wrong way directly and told him I quite liked those sorts of people and that variety was the spice of life, unless you like life bland of course. He said, "Oh you're not one of them are you?" and I informed him I was born in India (from imported parts) just to stoke the fire a little. He looked a little disdainful and Om-girl looked thrilled. I had had enough, I made a b-line for the immigration desk, got my stamp and made a dash for the luggage conveyor belt before the two could catch up.

Wandering around, I was immediately struck by the smiles. It was like everyone had just discovered they had won the lottery and were only really working to pass time. An element of humour and 'Sanuk' was there in every encounter which was sorely missing in Europe and parts of Australasia.

My plan had taken on a more concrete form overnight, and I had decided I would like to go to Ranong, on the western coast, near Burma. It was north of a place called Khao Lak which was reputed to be very quiet and offer speed boat trips out to the Similan and Surin archipelagos. The diving there was supposed to be superb. This would put me in a good position to plot my path down the coast past Phang-nga, Krabi, Ko Phi-phi and across to Surat Thani.

It turned out that I had arrived just in time for a long weekend in Thailand and that everything apart from Ko Phuket and Ko Samui was booked out. Phuket Air had a flight to Ranong at 13:55 daily for just 2000 Baht, which I decided to waitlist for.

Waitlisting in Bangkok... For reference, waitlisting just involved writing my name on a piece of paper and agreeing to drop by half and hour before the flight. Waitlisting for domestic several flights at once is probably a good idea and seems to require no commitment.

Shame I was feeling too phased by the long flight to think of that at the time...

To kill time, I decided to check out the food court which runs off the corridor joining the international and domestic terminals. The ground staff and thai flight personnel tend to eat there and they don't serve much 'falang' food (food for foreigners, or thai food adapted to the western tongue). Like many food courts of its type, one had to purchase coupons and could then spend them at a variety of stalls placed along the perimeter. Unused coupons were refunded after the meal. The furniture was spartan and the lights flourescent.

Each stall owner laughed at my hesitant curiosity, suggesting and sometimes even offering samples of things to taste. A flight attendant taking her break helped negociate and even offered to help pay when my coupons ran out and I needed to buy more. Naturally, I declined, feeling a bit suspicious as to her motives. Then I realised I was being a bit uptight, and that she was just being helpful. Five different curries and a coconut juice later, I had parted with a pound, and my helpful friend's apparent good will remaining untarnished.

A certain amount of mistrust is healthy. People approaching in poorer areas with apparently unnatural good intentions may just be helping, or they may well expect to freeload for a while. This is probably not going to kill you, but it can be irritating if the person persists.

On my first visit to Bangkok, I had been hopping around town checking out the sights and was about to find the entrance to the temple with the huge Emerald Buddha (Wat Pra Kheao), when I was accosted by a helpful chappy who told me there was no point in searching, as it was closed for a public holiday. He suggested a ride to another nearby temple and negociated an exceptionally good price for me with a tuk-tuk driver. Wandering around inside the temple grounds, I ended up talking to a well-educated and well-traveled thai man who was pleasant and unassuming. We talked about all sorts of things and after about an hour, the topic of conversation had moved quite naturally on to the topic of good deals. He said that excellent deals could be had on gemstones. It seemed that wholesale export of these gems was not possible but that individuals buying them could take advantage of the fantastic prices and make a total killing selling them in their home countries. I smelt a rat and politely took my leave. Later I found out this was the intro to a variety of common scams involving gemstones and jewelery.

Jems and Jewelery: Be warned, unless you know what you're doing, don't jump at so-called bargains, even if 'tipped-off' by a 'friend'. Ask at the TAT (Thai Authority for Tourism, e.g. at the end of Khao San Road at the Tourist Police) for a list of reputable stores.

The flight to Ranong turned out to be so heavily overbooked that no seats came free for the wailist. The 4-day long weekend, combined with the high season had taken its toll. Spots began to appear in front of my eyes and the striped shirt of man I was talking to starting dancing from side to side. I decided to camp up a night in Bangkok, get some rest and think about it later.

I checked into the Washington Suite hotel (which I had been been to before) which between the airport and the centre of the city [#insert address!#]. It's a convenient spot and is surrounded by thai stuff, with not many falangs (foreigners) around. By thai stuff, I mean night markets, stands with interesting food, and that slightly seedy industrial jungle feeling that comes with any genuine thai town.

I told them my previous rate (B550/night), got my key, took a shower, and flopped onto the bed. I slept four hours until 8pm and woke up feeling confused. I could probably sleep more, but I decided to stroll around a little and take the opportunity to satisfy my curiosity. And perhaps my chilli cravings...