So, just over 18 months since my trip to Phuket, I find myself back in the Land of a Thousand Smiles, this time for a longer stay of around 3 months. Last time I flew straight to Phuket, so this time it seemed only right that I make a little stop off in Bangkok on the way to koh phangan.
The flight was pretty hassle-free, I can't complain at all about the service from Qatar airways. There were a number of spare seats so I managed to get two seats to myself for extra leg-room and on the second leg of the flight (from Doha to Bangkok) they had actually changed my seat to the upstairs section (who knew planes had an upstairs?) which is much nicer and usually reserved for frequent flyers. No complaints here! Getting through Bangkok airport was a breeze too. However, the one thing that hits you the moment you step off the plane is (no surprise), the heat. You start sweating instantly. Wanting to get to my hotel asap I grabbed the first taxi and was undoubtedly fleeced on the price, but at that point I just didn't care. Over fourteen hours of travel will do that to a man.
The hotel is basic but nice enough, about as much as you can expect for the price, and the staff seem friendly. It is located just off the infamous kao san road, which has a reputation as a backpackers centre but to be honest, now, just seems like any other tourist street. It is lined with bars, restaurants and stalls selling the same tacky tourist crap you find in any holiday destination. It's also impossible to avoid the constant attempts to hustle you. Within 5 minutes of stepping out of the hotel, I had been offered a tattoo, a fake driving license, a tuk tuk tour of the local temples, a new suit, fried scorpions, and some Hindu "yogi" chap tried to tell me my future then asked for some money. No chance mate, I wasn't born yesterday and I highly doubt if you had any such powers you would be trying to weasel money out of tourists in kao san. The tuk tuk drivers in particular can be kinda annoying, following you down the street trying to act like your new best mate.
After a bit if wander, I got myself some pad thai and then sat with a beer, doing some people-watching. There is such a variety of people coming through here that it is quite entertaining just to sit and watch them all go by. At this point, I was starting to feel the fact I had managed about 3 hours sleep since 7.30am Wednesday and it was now Thursday afternoon, so I headed for a quick nap. Afterwards it was back out to grab some fried chicken from a street food stall (very tasty) and a bit more of a wander around. Turned out, there was a live band performing in the street outside a bar across from my hotel, so knowing I had no chance of sleeping whilst that went on I grabbed a beer and settled down to watch. Two Thai lads were playing, one on an electric drum, the other singing and playing guitar, banging out tunes from the likes of Jonny Cash, Elvis and Bob Marley. They were actually really good to watch and, as the beer flowed, a real party atmosphere got going with people dancing in the street. Apparently they are playing tonight too, so no chance of a decent sleep again!
Eventually I crashed out around 2.30pm into some much needed sleep.
I needed to arrange my transfer down to koh phangan, so first thing in the morning I headed off to the tourist office and booked a train/ferry combo for the next day. It's a sleeper train so I get a bed, meaning I can catch up on some shut-eye. Then it'll be time to knuckle down for some serious training in a tropical paradise! I'm having mixed feelings about Bangkok so far, there's lots to do but it seems everyone is trying to hustle you for something and, of course, it's lacking the stunning beaches and terrain I'm looking forward to in phangan. I don't think I could handle staying here for too long. I'm going to make the most of the time I have left here, but I'm kinda looking forward to getting somewhere a bit more chilled out.
No comments:
Post a Comment