Bangkok and Koh Samet

My Round-The-World trip has started. I'm currently back in Bangkok to arrange my visas for Laos and Vietnam. I will actually visit Thailand three times in the course of my travels, since Bangkok is such a natural hub for exploring other parts of South East Asia. I will use it as my base to visit Australia, right after Nepal in May. I'll head down South to Koh Lanta and Koh Phi Phi then to give them some much needed tourist money.

Bangkok is a good place to buy cheap stuff, anything from fake designer goods to dodgy CDs. I bought a digital camera here at half the price from Europe.Upon Arrival in Thailand, I only spent little time in Bangkok, and didn't really bother exploring it as I was struggling with the jet lag. I opted to head straight away to the island of Koh Samet. It isn't the most beautiful island in Thailand but Koh Samui and Koh Pha Ngan are now so flooded with rerouted travellers that it's hard to find accomodation there.

Vanessa


Vanessa and Veronique, Brussels Belgium (Bangkok, Koh Samet, Chang Mai)

I had a very relaxed week spent on two different beaches of the island. I first met with a very nice couple from Yorkshire, Heidi and Lee, then spent the remainder of the week with Vanessa and Veronique from Brussels. This week of pure laziness was great to put me on the appropriate rythm.

Some would describe Bangkok as a frenetic place, difficult to handle, but the more I wander around town, the more I enjoy it here. Bangkok doesn't get anywhere close to offering a breath of fresh air, and is indeed chaotic at first glance. However, it is orderly, purposeful and predictable. Some of the buildings and monuments here are incredible. The myriads of Buddist icons are a feest for the eyes.

We happened to spend New Year's eve in a temple after our Tuk Tuk driver dropped us a mile away from our destination. We walked past this peacefull temple, took off our shoes and just let ourselves flow with the Buddhist hums.

Bangkok is known as the Venice of the orient, on account of the vast canal network that still serves as a principal means of transport for many residents. Most travellers head for the Khaosan Road. This place is such a traveller's ghetto, it's almost a parody - I'd avoid it if at all possible. Yes the hotels are cheap, but they're not good value. They're shabby and faceless and feel like you've been sentenced to prison. I'd recommend something near the river, which is important, since the river buses are the fastest easiest way to get around town.

Chinatown

Bangkok has a significant Chinese community, and here as in many other large cities, there is a Chinatown, not that I'd have realised it, since Chinese and Thais are still indistinguishable for me. The heart of Chinatown is the Sampeng Lane and the surrounding maze of close-packed alleyways. This is not the place to be if you're in a rush. The crowds of local shoppers are thick, and noisy, and you just get carried along with them. I was the only farang (foreigner) there. The merchandise on offer is very typical of modern asia: chunky flip-flops, T shirts, cosmetic products. It isn't really my scene, but a good foretaste of what it will be like in China.

In most countries I travel to, I always try and learn some of the basics of the language, but I found Thai pretty impossible to master, even the basics. All I can manage after the first week is thank you (Khap kum khrap). I find this irritating. I'd love to be able to tell those pesky tuk tuk drivers "what part of no do you not understand?".

Anyway, some of the locals I've met taught me some of basics, but anytime I use them I get uncomprehensible answers from the locals. I'm not giving up just yet.

Getting Around Bangkok

Bangkok's roads get hopelessly jammed during rush hours, when the best option is to take to the river. The Chao Phraya Express is a river bus that can get you to within walking distance of most of the important landmarks in the city, and it's far cheaper than using taxis. Taxis, however are clean and efficient - if you make sure you get an official one. All official taxis are obliged to use the meter - make sure they use it. I

avoid the tuk tuks, those three wheeled motorcycles that shoot around town at high speed. They're dangerous, and they usually try to rip you off. If you do use one make sure they take you where you want to go, and not to their uncle's designer clothes emporium.

Temples

There are thousands of buddhist temples in Bangkok, otherwise known as Wats. They are generally beautifully painted. Some of the most magnificent Wats in Thailand can be found right in the centre of Bangkok. On first impressions, it's a bit like a religious Disneyland, brightly coloured spires, lots of tourists. Wat Pho has the largest reclining Buddha statue in the world, 15m high and 46m long.

Traditional Thai massage

For a few Euros, you get a damned good massage in just about every part of the country. Thai Massages, painful at times, are quite relaxing afterwards. They crack all your fingers and toes and have a good go at breaking your back, push their fingers in your ear, stand on you, wrench your neck, elbow you in the back and tickle your legs. They call it traditional Thai massage, to distinguish it from modern Thai massage, where you pay a lot more money for girls to do a more localised massage - on your genitals.

Khaosan Road

The Khaosan road is a sad parody of what a traveller hang-out would be like, It's often called "the Human zoo" by Thai locals. The streets are lined with pirate tape stalls, tattoo parlours, loud bars, body piercing studios, and students in their gap year getting pierced, tattooed and dreadlocks.

I'm not sure I'd want to risk body piercing in Bangkok, AIDS capital of the continent. Most of the bars screen pirate versions of current Hollywood blockbusters. You can take your pick from blackboards chalked up outside. Consequently, most bars are full of Redneck Westerners sucking back cold Heineken. Thai hookers move in discretely later on in the evening. You can tell them by the fact that they're usually with some completely geeky western guy. We watched two such such sad pricks from Sweden on Koh Samet and it made us sick to watch the girls fawning over them as they cracked bad jokes.

I should get my visas in a couple of days and will head Northward to the cities of Chiang Mai and Chang Rai, taking a few long stops along the way. In the meantime I have a lot to enjoy in Bangkok.
I'll post back here soon, and will start posting pictures somewhere on the web when I get a chance.

Cheers

Rem