Archives for 2010

Oops.

That “deal” I mentioned Jitra helped us get on a boat ride… well, I think we were duped.

The man offered us a boat ride around Bangkok that would stop at a few wats before dropping us off at the next place of interest, the Reclining Buddha. His first price was 1500 baht for 2 people. We said that was too much and Jitra talked him down to 1200 baht. We figured that was good enough.

Well… it was a boat ride all right. We weren’t taken to the wats along the way but we were dropped near the Reclining Buddha. Too bad that temple was closed for the day. We determined we might as well take the public ferry back across the water to the temple our boat trip should have taken us to in the first place. The ferry fare? 3 baht.

So I’d say we over paid.

But this is how we ended up at the Dawn Temple just before sunset. It was a beautiful sight as I quickly learned all Thai temples are.

As the sun set we began our long search for Chinatown. We were trying to find the main shops and markets that our guidebook mentioned. Well… we walked pretty far and eventually found Chinatown… but never the shops. Dinner that night wasn’t too memorable but there’s a good chance I doused my food in…ahem, fish sauce.

We hopped a cab and headed to Khao San Road (you know that place we decided we’d had enough of…) in search of a Thai massage. Found one. Amazing.

xo, jill

That day off was nice though.

After unloading our new goods from Weekend Market, Molly and I set off to explore the Grand Palace and Wat Phraw Kaew (“wat is Thai for temple). Because we read ahead, we knew we needed to be dressed modestly. Long skirts and no bare shoulders. Never dressed within those constraints before. I had packed one of my many long skirts and Molly bought one off the street the night before, so we were ready.

As soon as we entered the grounds we were solicited by tour guides. We decided to join up with Jitra, a little Thai woman with an abundance of energy.

Jitra not only imparted on us her knowledge of the temple, she also took charge when it came to photography. “Take photo of this!” “Take photo here. Very beautiful!” “You stand there. I take photo!” Molly and I have enough photos of us to last a lifetime… or at least the next few years. (Below is just a sampling). Jitra was enjoying directing our afternoon so much that she even directed me into which bathroom stall I should use. Now that’s a service not included in your standard tour guide fee.

Honestly, I don’t remember too much about Wat Phraw Kaew except that it was exceptionally decorated and full of tourists and worshiping Thais. I mean, it is supposed to be the most sacred spot in all of Thailand.

After our tour Jitra helped us get a “deal” on a boat ride to another wat across the river. Ahem… more on that later.

I believe this was also the day my suspicion that I’m allergic to DEET was confirmed.

xo, jill

I liked this.

xo, jill

Except that didn’t happen.

Bangkok is known for shopping. In fact, when I told my principal I was visiting Thailand she immediately said, “Oh, Bangkok? Shopping!!!” Since shopping is the national sport in UAE, we didn’t add it to our Thailand itinerary. But then we went to Weekend Market…

Our second morning was spent taking a short ride in a tuk-tuk and wandering around the market stalls at the largest market in Bangkok.

Only open on the weekends, aptly named Weekend Market is packed with goods of all sorts. After browsing for a bit and realizing we could mail our purchases home… we got into the spirit.

I can’t reveal all of our purchases (gifts and such) but a definite favorite was the paintings by this adorable artist.

I also managed to find two pairs of shoes and other such odd and ends. The bummer was that we didn’t buy some wooden utensils and beautiful bamboo bowls when we had the chance. The market was so large we could never find our way back. Despite searching through the rest of the country we never found exactly what we were looking for. Oh and the other bummer was that we never made it to the post office. Poor Molly packed the greatest bulk of the purchases. Good thing she’s a strong one.

Our hostel in Bangkok ended up being my favorite of the trip. Not only was it clean and quiet but the staff was so friendly and helpful. After we left I received an email thanking us for our stay. We had an open night at the end of our trip so we decided to return. It was so nice to be welcomed back! Here are a few shots of the place:

And the view out the window:

xo, jill

Travel adrenaline will only get you so far.

We set off for Thailand in the evening after work on a Thursday. We had a 40 minute layover… yep, 40 minutes, in Qatar before our flight to Bangkok. Although I was super nervous when we booked our tickets… I decided to just have faith in the airlines. Inshallah, you know? There must be something to that because we made it to our next flight, no problem. And guess what? Our bags made it too!

Arriving in Bangkok early in the morning we headed out to our hostel. While Molly slept I watched the tall buildings go by amidst the smoggy clouds. Being so early in the morning, we couldn’t check into our room just yet… so of course I suggested we go get our train tickets for later in the week settled. (The same plan Shauna and I had in Peru with equally exhausting results). Getting directions from our hostel manager, we bravely hurdled onto a Thai bus. Really, I mean hurdled. They don’t exactly stop for you to get on… and once you do you can see the street between the wooden floor boards.

Sitting on the bus with the directions written in Thai in my hand, a man across the way very kindly pointed out that we were headed in the wrong direction. Oops. A quick leap off the bus, zip across the street, and some carefully coordinated footwork later, we were back on the right path to the train station.

Having completed that order of business, I can only speak for myself when I say I was feeling crabby. I mean, “Yeah I’m in this city that’s supposed to be so great but I’m hungry and I’m tired and everything is weird but not so interesting that I’d bother to dig out my hugely cumbersome camera and take photos or anything I think I’m going to fall over. I’m hot.”

That’s when a little fresh fruit was in order. Sitting on the street and eating pineapple dipped in salt, sugar, and chili can do wonders for your attitude.

The 3 hour nap we had next didn’t hurt either.

Waking up to rain in the afternoon we decided to check out one of the few museums that was still open late in the day. It was a bit of a challenge to actually find. Unlike in the UAE, taxi drivers don’t speak much English. We had instructions written in Thai… but it only seemed to be marginally helpful to our determined driver.

With only a short amount of time to spare, we arrived to the Musuem of Siam where we hoped to get a foundational understanding of Thailand. What I can tell you is that Thailand has a bit of a fascination with hologram type museum displays. The curators have very intricately paired digital characters with diorama backdrops resulting in some highly comical and entertaining renactments of ancient battles. We also determined that the Thai people are happy to joke and turn up the cheese ball factor to get a smile from their visitors. Coming from a Muslim culture, Molly and I were a bit aghast at the sexual innuedos in the museums education videos… but hey, they got the laugh!

Following the museum Molly further endeared herself to me by suggesting we hunt down one of the vegetarian restaurants in our guidebook. Then she did all the navigating! (Which was a blessing… I will improve this skill, I will improve this skill…). Dinner that night wasn’t amazing in flavor but it was fabulous to sit and eat my first pad thai in Thailand and drink fruity shakes (mango and coconut).

That night we also caught our first glimspe of Khao San Road. This is the “famous touristy backpacker” road that everyone must visit at least once. We quickly decided once was enough and were incredibly glad that our hostel was a good 45 minute drive away. We had enough of the vendors, bars, loud music, and a particular type of traveler. The kind that perhaps had spent a little too much time in Thailand… (more on that later).

Despite the nap, we happily found our beds that night and fell fast asleep.

xo, jill

(good chunk of these photos are Molly’s)