Back on firm ground, we arrived in Bangkok at 5 am following a night bus ride from the south. At this time of the morning we had no other real option than to head straight for our hostel and hope to spend the rest of the morning inside with a cup of tea and maybe something to eat. After taking a shot in the dark guess of the hostel's location (forgot the name and never wrote it down...) based on Amy's intuition we found Lub-d hostel (the taxi driver had no clue either). Another great modern style hostel, Lub-d was open and we were able to have some breakfast, lock our bags up and use their wi-fi and computers to plan the day ahead of us. Around 6:30 am a Thai bus driver came into the hostel proclaiming "floating market!", the exact location we were most interested in visiting. We inquired and were soon off in a van full of other tourists, all looking tired as well. Being tired turned out to be not such a big deal in the end, for we spent the next 2 hours driving to this floating market that was in fact not in Bangkok. Upon arrival the tour guides barked orders, showing us our meet-up location and time, then hurried us over to a line started to board wooden, canoe-style boats. While the idea of this market sounded great, it turned out to be more of a tourist trap type of deal. We were expecting authentic floating fruit&vegetable boats, food vendors, flowers, more Thai people. Instead we were greeted by merchants trying to sell us the standard tourist crap, an overwhelming amount of tourists and just a few food vendors. The whole experience was neat, but busy and expensive for the short while we were there and long journey to and from.
After returning to Bangkok we were able to check into our room, before setting out to find traditional Thai massage. Amy was very interested and had researched a nice, quiet and authentic house, that had an organic, Seattle feel to it. Usually lasting 2 hours, we opted for the 1 1/2 hour version not sure what lie ahead. Husky women twisted, stomped and pounded on us with intensity, our bodies were tenderized and even they seemed tired afterward. The rest of that day would be spent relaxing. Which worked out perfectly with Amy's plan to find a movie theater showing "New Moon". Displayed prominently on the side of one of the major malls, a giant New Moon poster aided Amy in her quest. We bought tickets in the "emperor class" theater and then strolled around the monster Asian mall. Malls are a big deal here, providing us with plenty to do and see, plus eat. Amy and Eric had some Dairy Queen blizzards and I went to Red Mango. Toppings were a little different then what I was used to though... We tried to contact Lindsay and inform her that we would be seeing New Moon hours before it would be released back in the states, but could not get through. Amy really wanted to rub it in. Emperor class seats had their own lounge where we were given complimentary blue Star Trek style cocktails, which were gross, before the movie showing. Inside the theater, the emperor-class room was limited to only a few dozen seats that fully reclined, and came with a blanket and pillows. Amy enjoyed the movie, Eric and I watched the movie and maybe got a quick nap or two in.
The next day we met back up with Brandon at 5:30 am to try and give the morning market concept another try. Setting out for a downtown "flower market", we arrived a little late, but still found a market full of flowers and Thai people buying their needed fruits and vegetables for the day. This was more like it, and it was fun to see exotic plants, fruits, vegetables and foods, as well as the hustle and bustle of locals minus tourists. It was then onto the Grand Palace and Wats(temples) of the Thai royalty.
Finishing our tour of the royal grounds, we took a Tuk Tuk ride to a restaurant Brandon had visited the day before with his friend whom he had been staying with in Bangkok. This restaurant offered only toast, on white bread with about a dozen flavors and was one of the city's trendy spots. You order your toast with jam, chocolate, sugar, taro root, etc. then a drink and that's about it. It is so simple, yet so successful, similar to places back home. Eric wants to open one. Back to the hostel we went in the Tuk Tuk, basically a motorcycle equipped with a body to make it more of a car with seats in the back, except much more exposed, loud and exhausty.
That night we met up with Brandon's friend Patriya to have dinner at one of her favorite local spots and enjoy some good, authentic food. Patriya grew up in Pasadena, CA and met Brandon at Harvard, but now lives in Bangkok working in finance and living with her parents who have retired there from the US and have homes throughout Thailand. We feasted on Thai style fried chicken, spicy duck and glass noodle, spicy baked fish and green papaya salad. Very tasty. From there we went and took a stroll through a night bazaar before parting ways. Some went home, some went to sleep and some went to see mysterious Bangkok traditions. Amy and I went to sleep.
From Bangkok we traveled next to former Thai kingdom Ayutthaya, en route to Chiang Mai in the north.
Thailand photo album
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