Bangkok, Thailand

Saturday December 11, 2004

Siem Reap to Bangkok

It was a day of travel for my fellow passengers and me. We spent a bumpy 5 hours on Cambodian road, 1 hour documenting and crossing Thailand's border, and 4 more hours of high speed roads to Bangkok. When we entered Bangkok, Anna and I commented on our disbelief. How could a city, as seemingly developed as Bangkok, be so close to Cambodia? The contrast was stark. Walking into our hotel was just as shocking. It appeared so luxurious. We were in another world. A few hours later, we gathered for our final outing as a group. We enjoyed some tasty Thai cuisine and headed out for some drinks. Anna, Lauren, and I later went to a club and danced our tails off.

Sunday December 12 & Monday December 13, 2004

Bangkok

With the next two days in Bangkok, I decided to take it easy. Sleep, massage, walking, and shopping were on my mind. In the afternoon, I thought I could make it to the Hard Rock Café. Getting to the restaurant is always an adventure, no matter what country I am in. It’s always on some obscure street…quite a challenge. When I’ve traveled with others, I have to plea my case. Traveling alone, I don’t have to consult with anyone…this is kind of nice. Craig said Hard Rock was too far to walk to. I told him walking for long periods of time was no problem. He insisted but as stubborn as I am, I took on the challenge. I was determined to make it. How far could it really be? Unfortunately, an hour into my journey, I began to wonder whether or not I would make it. The streets were not easy to follow and I really stood out. I wasn’t exactly walking through touristy streets. Crossing huge intersections was virtually impossible. To make matters worse, it was getting dark and I was near a "questionable" side of town. My better judgment urged me to hop on the first taxi I spotted. Even with a taxi, it took another 15 minutes to get to the restaurant. So, thousands of miles from home, I sat in a restaurant and ate my chicken sandwich and fries. Not quite authentic Thai but tasty nevertheless.

Monday was pretty uneventful. I walked through Ko Sam Road a billion times and drank about 4 diet cokes from the 7-11. I started to get antsy. Bangkok is the kind of city you can visit in one day. I was working on my third. I must say that I started to assimilate into the “grunge” culture that plagues the city. You know, flip flops, dread-esque hair, bra-less women (ok, not the bra-less part for me). The first day I was sporting a baseball cap, hiking shoes, jeans, and a t-shirt, I felt SO out of place. So I changed gears into flip flops shorts and a tank top, I even made my hair messy. Geez.

Tuesday December 14, 2004

Bangkok

After 2 ½ days of lounging around Bangkok, I was ready to start the tour! We met in our hotel lobby in the morning. Our tour leader's name was Trisha. She’s originally from Australia. All together there were 8 passengers: Rachel, Todd, and I from the U.S.A. Steve, Jamie, and Claire (originally from England) from Australia. Gethin was born in South Africa but now lives in England. Rolfe from Switzerland speaks about 5 languages! Of course, I tried to speak French with Rolfe...if only to gain a bit more practice. One our first day we took a klong (boat) tour and visited Bangkok’s Grand Palace. In the evening, we caught a train to up north to Chiang Mai.