My last day in Thailand and I’ve got literally all of it to play with. I’ve got nowhere to be for a full 15 hours till my plane leaves so what to do in Bangkok for a day? (rhetorical question)
Get on a random bus of course! I was completely templed out yesterday so set out today to see what I could find in the city, travelling local style. I thought the tuk tuks were a cheap way to get around at between 50b and 200b depending how far you wanted to go. But, the bus cost me 7b, about 17.5 pence.
The bus conductor came up to me and, I presume, asked where I wanted to go. I couldn’t answer him, not just because I don’t speak Thai, but I didn’t know where I was going. I just wanted to ride the bus till I found something cool. This didn’t translate very well, who gets on a bus without knowing where it goes or where you are going? Crazy Farangs! It was great! The aggressively air conditioned bus wooshed along and I was able to sit back and look around till my curiosity overpowered the laziness of my legs and I got off.
I was pulled out into the humid heat by huge glittering buildings sandwiching a raised concrete train station. In between the road and train levels was a great pedestrian walkway, covered in what looked like giant mushrooms, alien sculptures and a bauble Christmas tree. It’s so hot out here I forgot it was only recently Christmas! The mushrooms turned out to be solid parasols, in that distinct blown inside out shape. They were painted colourfully on their underside with all sorts of scenes and patterns. Nothing matched or had any uniformity of style which gave a really cool, creative and fun feeling. I think they were all painted by different groups or artists.
Now off the bus (I didn’t look at what number it was, which might have been useful for my return trip) I wandered around the city. I got lost wandering around a department store that had so many mobile phone repair shops I’m surprised they can all make a living! Acres of illuminated glass cases with rows of mobile phone screens staring blankly at the passing crowds. If you enjoy haggling, this is the place to come. A few stall owners gave it a go with the ever successful “hello sir, you buy something”…. Yes, buy something, anything, because you have money which should be spent on something.
I did indulge in a nice meal in the department store. It was a Japanese restaurant serving all you can eat sushi in one hour. They clearly are marketing to people with smaller appetites than me. I was wary that I may kill their profits for the day by my attendance, but I just love sushi so much!
From here my plan extended back to the hostel, shit, shower and damn, I forgot my shaver. Can you comb beards? I smartend myself up as much as possible, which consisted of ruffling my hair and using deodorant for once. Checked out and caught a tuk tuk across town to the skybar. I had done my research on this place and knew the dress code (black walking trousers and scruffy boots time) There was nothing I could do about this, I’m travelling, do you want my money or what?
The Skybar is on the top of a really tall tower and gives a pretty much panoramic view of the city from 255m up. Its so high, your ears pop in the elevator. I had hoped to get there to enjoy sunset, but the traffic is just something else, London doesn’t know the meaning of the word. I’d missed sunset but no matter, a Hangovertini – invented for the movie – set me on the right path for the night. The view was amazing and a few people were trying to get photos, including Kellie and her ma, Julie.
After getting a couple shots in (photos now, drinks later) we got chatting. Turns out this is the first time Julie has been out of Australia in her life, dragged to Bangkok by Kellie who is getting new teeth. I didnt know there was such a thing as new teeth, but apparently the chap glueing hers on had worked in some pretty famous faces, fitting fake fangs.
Now this sort of experience is going to cost a lot, so I’m glad I bumped into someone to share a bottle (or two) of wine with. It wouldn’t nearly have been as much fun without them both! And after two bottles of wine, it was getting fun..
Here is where I end this blog post. I’ve written up what happened next but it carries an 18+ rating level and the warning that you may find out more than you really need to know.
So… Reader beware…