Bangkok - Day 1

by Bec 7:01 PM 5 comments

So it's ten to four in the afternoon here is Bangkok even though my body is telling me that it is actually ten to seven. I officially love this place. I arrived last night after a nine hour flight. I flew with Thai Airways and it lovely. Except for the two screaming babies which meant no sleep.

We arrived at Bangkok airport and then had the fun job of catching a cab when you don't speak the language and hoping you (a) make it to the right place, (b) make it in one piece and (c) aren't going to be one of those girls that hops into a cap in another country never to be seen again. We got to the hotel just fine. In fact, our cabbie was all kinds of awesome/ terrifying. The first indication of this was when he opened his boot to put our bags in but he could only fit one case due to the ENORMOUS sound system in there. We hop into the cab, not understanding a word he was saying, but laughing because he giggled like a little girl every few minutes. We had no idea what the joke was, possibly my hair after 9 hours on a plane? but it was contagious. Anyway, he turns around and says "Michael Jackson?" and I say, "Sure, why not". So this DVD player comes out of the centre console of the car, a MJ concert DVD starts up and he cranks it up. Right up. All I could feel was the bass in my back. It was awesome. So there we all are bopping away to Thriller and Billie Jean and laughing at the ridiculously overloaded utes (that's pickup trucks for all you Americans out there) when I notice that the speed limit is 60km/hr. Apparently, that's not the speed limit, more a speed minimum since our driver was doing 140km/hr although I must commend him on his occasional use of indicators - high 5 cabbie guy!

We finally get to the hotel and it's stunning. So swanky that automatically Kim (my housemate/ travel buddy) feel totally underdressed. Then we go to check in and find out that we're actually checking in a private floor because  we're much to special to check in with the plebs down in reception. We booked our room opting to go for the deluxe option to spoil ourselves a little and that's what we've done. Our breakfast is in a private dining room and cooked to order, today I had a croissant, scrambled eggs and bacon, although I think I am going to go for the choc chip pancakes. Actually, I'm in the dining room now taking advantage of the free wifi and snacks. I've got apple juice, watermelon, cashew nuts and macaroons in front of me. Pretty flash right?

Today we hit the Chatuchak Markets and got us some bargains. Last year when I went to Vanuatu, I picked up some of the guys below and have decided to expand my collection. A lot.

Yes that is Jack Sparrow

Then I went nuts with Thai silk scarves.

And I may have bought a couple of pashminas. So pretty.

And a wallet.

And Kim got a new bag. I bargained for it for her. We got a great deal.

Arm courtesy of Kim

And a table runner.

And another scarf, although this one is not for me - I swear!

We got back to the hotel and had a really tasty lunch which was a Thai buffet and it had a chocolate fountain! Seriously. Then, because it is 33 degrees here, which is about 92F with humidity which makes you feel like you are walking in water, we jumped into the pool and hung out there until we were so wrinkled that we looked like old ladies.

So now we are killing time before we go out for a traditional Thai show and dinner tonight. I'm really looking forward to embracing the culture here. The people are brilliant and so incredibly kind, from the staff, to the complete stranger who helped us buy train tickets without us even asking.

That's it from me today.

Be awesome to each other.