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| Bangkok,
Thailand |
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Rating
:  (4 stars)
Feb 07, 1998 17:29
Pros: interesting
place, excellent transportation, good food, friendly people, not
a very expensive place, nice shopping malls
Cons: very
hot temperature
After checking through customs and claiming my luggage at Bangkok,
I made my way to the exit. I was amazed by how big the airport was.
In the arrivals hall there is a huge T.V screen on the wall, that
I stared at it in amazement. I had barely seen a normal T.V in India,
and now here I am only 2½ hours away in a country that is
way more advanced
than India. It's gonna take a while to adjust. On the plane I met
2 Irish travellers that are heading to the same area as me, so we
decided to travel together. Instead of paying 250Baht for a taxi,
we thought we would catch the local bus instead for a fraction of
the price. As we stepped outside the airport it hit me. The heat
was so unbearable, that I felt like I was stuck in a hot humid oven,
and it was 8pm in the evening.! A 2 minute walk from the terminal
we caught the no:59 bus costing me 4 Baht. (7p) The 2 hour bus ride
took us through the heart of Bangkok, spending most of my time
staring out the window in amazement. There were lots of 7 Eleven's,
Kentucky Fried Chickens, and McDonald's. I was really excited comparing
everything to India. If you came to Thailand direct from England
you would think it was fairly dirty here, but to me coming direct
from India, the streets were spotlessly clean. Here, there are no
holy cows roaming the streets, no one using the pavements as a toilet,
no long stares, or beggars tugging on your arm. You just get left
in peace.
Thailand has excellent transportation, and good food. The Thai's
are very respectful and friendly people, although they hate to lose
face, and can have a major evil streak in them if angered. Nevertheless
I like the Thai's, and their country. Eventually we made it to Banglampoo,
(the major budget backpacker area) where I headed onto the Koh San
Road strip. Along this road there are about 60 hostels crammed in.
The area is pretty full of backpackers, and finding a vacant room
was a problem, luckily I managed to find a single room. Koh San
Road is open 24 hours a day, with hostels and restaurants all showing
the latest feature films.
After unloading my backpack I headed into a restaurant and ordered
a large fresh cheese baguette with a pineapple iced milkshake. Mmmmm.
I've been dreaming of a Thai pineapple milkshake for months, and
here I am at last. It was as if I was dreaming, literally only hours
ago I was in underdeveloped Calcutta. I spent the night roasting
in bed under the spinning fan set on full speed. Why is it that
spinning fans seems to make all the rooms feel hotter.?? Looking
around the countless amounts of shopping centres was amazing. For
the first few days I walked around the air conditioned centres in
a daze, monging out at everything on sale. I mean I hadn't seen
a proper supermarket or shopping centre in 3 months. One of the
biggest complexes I came across, was the World Trade Centre which
takes up a whole City block. The centre is in the heart of Bangkok,
and is huge, with each of the 8 floors containing a maze of shops
and restaurants. On the 8th floor is a full sized ice skating rink,
and it also houses 4 big screen cinemas. The first time I walked
around there I wandered around dazed for 3 hours, then walking out
into the blazing unbearable heat of the evening.
The temperature in Bangkok is just too much. Daytime temperatures
reach a huge 35oc, and even heading to the shade for daytime refuge
would have you dripping in sweat. Going into the nearby air conditioned
7 Eleven's was great. It's so cool in there that my sunglasses steamed
up everytime I walked in.!!! finally I leave the shop stepping into
the blazing heat with a large coke in crushed ice. Ahhhh, Bloody
great. Thailand isn't as cheap as India, but it's still excellent
value. The Asian recession has hit Thailand hard, which means good
news for travellers. When I last visited here, 2 years ago the currency
rate was 25 Baht to the dollar. Since the collapse of the economy,
I am now getting over 47 Baht to the dollar.!!! |
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