Bangkok (16.12.21 - 22.12.21)
Thursday 16th December 2021
Tiem was so lovely, she got me a taxi and gave me a hug goodbye. The drive to the hostel was awesome, took loads of pics, but it became quite evident once we got off the highway that the new developments are all on the outskirts of central Bangkok, with the centre area being more like I was expecting – higgledy pickledy and run down, which I am quite pleased about as it is more like what I was expecting to see (expectations based on what I have seen in films!). Soz, but I only got pics from the highway as once we left it I had to help the taxi driver find the hostel – not that I had a clue where it was so not sure how he thought I could help him – lol.
Well, you certainly get what you pay for – £17 for 6 nights, including breakfast with an 8.7 rating – more like 6.7 in my books – grubby and tatty – but hey, it’s all part of the experience and for £17 I shouldn’t be complaining. On the plus side it looks like I have the 8-bed female only dorm all to myself although from looking at the locker situation (which I had to pay a deposit for) there are a few other people here, but not many. I was hoping it would be packed with lots of peeps for me to land on, but it’s all good – all part of the experience. Now to work out exactly where I am and decide on what to do for the afternoon.
Later – Vaping is illegal here – if caught in possession of an e-cigarette you can get up to 10 years imprisonment and a 30,000 baht fine! It’s actually worse than inciting a rebellion against the state which is up to 7 years imprisonment! However, according to this article people do vape in public – I have not seen anyone yet and am not going to take the risk, but I do need to find a vape shop as I am running out of juice. https://thisrupt.co/current-affairs/vaping-illegal-but-shouldnt-be/
Even later – so I decided to go for a walk and get some street food for dinner – that was the easy bit, finding my way back to the hostel, not so easy. I walked around for a good hour, then realised I had walked down the same street at least three times, turned out I was literally walking around one block over and over again, so stopped turning right all the time and did a couple of left turns. Eventually I got Google maps out – thank God for Google maps – I was only 5 minutes from the hostel! Being adventurous (not) I bought the same food as I got from the night market in Samut Prakan and, due to all the spices, it was just as good cold as it was hot.
Friday 17th December 2021
I fell out of bed last night, well more liked slid. Having sat up I swung my legs over the side of the bed which turned into a ski slope which I proceeded to slide down with my feet landing on and propelling me off my ruck suck and onto the floor via my right knee and finally my right bum cheek – so happy to be the only person in my dorm!
Saturday 18th December 2021
What a day yesterday turned into – action packed and my 2nd marriage proposal!
Two guys, Wallop and Thom, outside a tourist office stopped me to ask about my hair. After them taking photos of it I asked where I could find a decent coffee and that was it, I was whisked off, on the back of Wallop’s bike, to a coffee shop that only happened to be outside of Phra Sumen Fort and, while Wallop told me how much he liked me and said we should get married at least a dozen times, my day was literally mapped out in front of me.
First it was a trip back to the tourist office where Thom’s colleague tried to sell me a package for travelling up North which included a day with the elephants and an overnight trek into the jungle, all transport and accommodation etc. coming to £240, which I expect is a good price, but I’m sure a DIY trip would not only suit me better but cost a lot less. The lady was not happy when I said I would have to think about it, told me the price would up in a few days’ time, but I shall not be pressured.
After that Wallop whisked me around 3 temples, first the Wat Indhaaviharn, which is a vintage temple with a towering Buddha. And it really was a tower Buddha, supposedly the biggest there is. Here I made an offering to Buddha and made a wish. I learnt that a Thursday’ child (me) is represented by the meditating Buddha, 19 is my lucky number and orange my lucky colour. We then did a quick pit stop at Loha Prasat (Wat Ratchanatdaram Worawihan) which is stunningly beautiful, mainly red, white, and gold, with a little bit of green thrown in. After that I followed a group of Buddhist monks up the man-made mount to Wat Sake (The Golden Mount) – again stunning. On the way in you must ring each of the 12 huge bells and bang the gong, magical. The view from Wat Sake was amazing and again the contrast between the rich and poor / new and old could so easily be seen. All the Wats are ‘working’ Wats so there were people praying and making offerings to Buddha in all of them – 95% of Thais are Buddhist. In fact, as you walk around Bangkok you can’t but help pass at least two or three Wats all of which are so ornate and glisten at night – so beautiful and rich in deco and colour.
After all that sightseeing, and forgetting you can’t buy alcohol before 5pm, I told Wallop I wanted a beer, so he drove me 20 minutes to his flat, which is on a Thai style council estate, where we sat outside with his aunt and ate fish and noodles and drank beer. What a fabulous evening, his aunt owns a stall which is on the corner of their block, she sells snack style foods and soft drinks. She was also very curious about my breasts and once again the silicone issue was raised! I also met his uncle who is a tuk-tuk driver, and had photos taken of me pretending to drive it – lol. We then went around the corner to a friend of his who runs a little outside shop, a bit like a solo market stall, and even though it was late they were not short of customers and, believe it or not, several people have ‘corner’ shops hanging outside of their front room (?) windows – obviously you have to have a ground floor flat to do this. Unlike Clapham Park estate, this one had a guarded road entry and its own night market – so different and so awesome to experience ‘real’ Thai life and witness all of the wild dogs roaming freely.
As for Wallop’s flat, what can I say, it had no kitchen! The front door opened straight onto what would be the front room area / cooking area, but Wallop and his flat mate use it for the food / dumping ground area, but they do have a fridge and microwave, of off that was the bathroom (no toilet paper, just a bum gun), 2 bedrooms with all the beds on the floor and a small balcony that housed the air con unit, washing machine and washing line – if I ever get the chance to return I will take some sneaky photos.
As we were leaving it looked like every Bangkok taxi and tuk-tuk were parked up, double and triple parked, blocking each other in, a bit like all the white vans that appear at night where I live in Morden, but without blocking each other in, there would be fist fights come the morning if they did.
For breakfast this morning I had a portion of sticky rice and pork strips, which I think it may have been skin, but it was so succulent and dissolved in the mouth. So now, after such an exciting day yesterday, I need to decide what to do with my Saturday afternoon – perhaps another walk into the unknown – I wonder if it will be as interesting as yesterday?
11:30
I found the Khoa San Road, purely by accident. At first it, and the surrounding roads, was a market area but by the time I found it everyone was beginning to pack their stalls away. By 5pm things started to change, and the bars started to open and set up on the streets ready for an evening of partying. So, I left but only to return later. This time the actual Khoa San Road was cordoned off and to get onto it you had to show your covid pass. To be honest it was not my cuppa tea as it was full of teeny boppers dancing their nuts off to pop music. Don’t get me wrong, a few moons ago it would have been my vibe – full on – but as the years advance, as much as I still like a night out night, I prefer a more mature crowd and that it certainly wasn’t, but I stayed for a couple of hours, walked up and down it several times and took a video of the length of it. Ha ha, typical of me, I got lost on the way home and found myself walking around Victory Monument trying to decide which road I should take in order to find my hostel. Now, looking at the map I was miles away and not really sure how I did find my way back, but thankfully I did 😊 Think I’m in for a hangover tomorrow!
Sunday 19th December 2021
As predicted – I’m hung over 
So, laying in my bunk this morning and feeling very sorry for myself, I decide to watch the video of the length of the Khao San Road that I made last night only to find that I was stalked by a man from India who’s here on business buying jewellery to sell back home. Right at the beginning of the video the Indian man is there – if you get the chance to watch it, he’s at the very start and is looking straight at me, he’s wearing a blue shirt, black trousers and black shoes, and if you watch it all you will see him pop into view several times, to the side of me and in front of me. To be honest I didn’t actually notice him while I was filming, but I do remember him from the evening because after videoing he was sitting at a juice bar and called me over, so, unaware of the fact he had been stalking me, I sat with him for a while – he said he taught I was from India (LMFHO) and offered to buy me a fruit juice, if he had offered to buy me a beer, he may have had my company for a bit longer! On reflection I am so grateful that he didn’t as having now watched the video it’s all a bit creepy and we’ve all read stories about gorgeous sexy female tourists and creepy businessmen.
PS – the video is not uploaded as i need to create a YouTube account and load it there first – when I get around to it I will do this and then create a page just of videos – but don’t hold your breath waiti8ng – lol
I saw quite a few ladyboys last night – lol – there’s one in my video, about half way through, but you only see the back of him, however you do see the westerner he was with staring lovingly at him – bet he couldn’t wait to get him back to his hotel room…..
The only pics today are of the guy opposite, every day he cooks street food and every evening his wife goes off with the cart to sell it. My dinner pics are not their food but from a lady just along the road from them – one bowl of soup came in 5 plastic bags and two plastic sashies of sauce and this is typical of how all Thai street is served!
Monday 20th December 2021
I knew there had to be a catch, Wallop asked me to lend him 2000 baht (£45) and he’d pay me back on Wednesday when he takes me to the train station – being chauffeured around, fed and watered comes at a price – not – street gal here – me no silly – give you 2000 baht and bye-bye Wallop. So, I dug deep into my wallet and gave him 500 baht (£11) to cover his costs. I wonder how many of the female tourist he showed me on his phone have lent him money – now I know your profession Wallop! I wonder if he will show up to take me to the hospital later – I think I should make my own way there – it’s not that far, about a 30-minute walk max, and google maps is free!
Later – Worse day ever – even shed a tear, but only a very little one, I fucked up and am feeling sorry for myself. Went to the wrong monument looking for the Thai Travel Clinic to get my last rabies and JE jabs, spent well over 2 hours looking for it – even Google maps (had to have a Mac D to get wifi) told me I was in the right place and only 9 minutes away – I was in the wrong place and over an hour away – worked this out in a bar whilst drowning my sorrows. Every time we’ve gone round Democracy Monument I’ve said to wallop, ‘ah, Victory Monument’ – did he ever correct me – NO. So, guess where the hospital is and guess where I was. And guess who didn’t get their jabs
However, the walk up and down and around and around Democracy Monument was very interesting. Along both sides of one main road were lots of poor, possibly homeless people, just lounging on mats on the street. And along another road I came across a marketplace but they were selling tickets of some sort, I thought they may be betting slips but I couldn’t see any TV screens, so perhaps they were some form a lottery, it was intriguing to watch how everyone was deeply sunnitising the tickets before purchasing them, and they were all laid out individually, really strange – I must find out what they are.
And on a final note, please let me inform you that if you are lost in Bangkok there is no point in asking an officer of the law for directions – I did just that and they sent me the totally wrong way, I actually found myself heading back to my hostel and had to do a U-turn!
As promised I managed to get a couple of sneaky picks of wallop’s frontroom / kitchen as well as his shrine to the Golden Boy aka baby Buddha, the toys, food and derink surrounding the Golden Boy are gifts to him – I’m sure Golden Boy may appreciate the gifts even if he’s not impressed with Wallop borrowing money from female tourists!
Wednesday 22nd December 2021
Totally hung over and have a train to catch – but what a funny day / night
Sitting outside a bar last night and a little girl in front of me kept staring at me, dad had a fair few glances as well – lol. Later, outside another bar they turn up and recognising me say hello and just as I was about to leave I got chatting to them, dad bought me a drink – I forgot to leave. Time passes by, One (dad) takes daughter home and returns, tells me how he is a single father to two girls, their mum passed away in a car accident 5 years ago, I want to believe him, it’s the worst scam ever if it is one. Anywat he buys me more drinks, eventually the bar closes so One offers to take me to his friends place where we can get even more drink – OMG – talk about embarrassing, I go to get on the back of his bike and we both end up on the floor with the bike on top of us – like I pulled it over with my weight – crushed my left foot but being totally pissed I didn’t feel a thing. Not sure how, but I finally managed to get on the bike and off we went. At his friends’ bar I got chatting to the lady owner (she confirmed his story) – the way she spoke English made her look like she was in pain – it was so comical and I found it really hard to contain my laughter – anyway she was absolutely lovely and told me about how much women are supressed here, especially once married, and how her x husband didn’t want her to work, just stay at home, cook and have children. She even explained how a lot of Thai girls / women think their only way out is to marry a farang, and how it was unusual for a woman, such as herself, to have their own business – well done you. Eventually, as always, it was time to leave and you will not believe it, me and One and the bike ended up on the floor again, same foot crushed again – but this time I was even more embarrassed as One’s friends came rushing over to rescue me – I managed to get myself up, brush myself off and walk away with my head held down – ha ha. One, being a gentleman, came and found me and this time I got on the bike first, wriggled myself onto the back and he took me back to my hostel.
Right now, whilst writing this, I am sitting in a bar, just had a Thai style English breakfast and coffee and am beginning to sobber up – my left foot is bloody killing me – it wouldn’t surprise me if I have a broken bone in there somewhere – and I have bruises all up my leg . On route to here, guess who drove past me, head down so as not to catch my eye, with a new wifey on the back of his bike – Wallop – I so wanted to grab the girl and warn her, but hey, it’s all part of the experience and I just hope she is not mug enough to lend him £50.
Had a nice walk after breakfast, went back to the fort and had a stroll around it’s garden – had to have my temperature taken to get I but at least I didn’t have to pay – sat and comtemplated life whilst viewing the Chao Phraya River and Rama VIII Bridge, which I can see from my hostel but not so clearly.
Bit of a shame (but only a little bit) that I am moving on today – 2 new solo female travellers turned up at the hostel this morning – we could have been friends! Anyway, I’m looking forward to getting to Koh Tao tomorrow – never been on a sleeper train before so that will be exciting. One more coffee and then I think I will head to the train station, work out where I need to get the train from and all that jazz and then hang out in a coffee shop till it’s time to leave.
Later – After picking up my ticket I went and had a fruit juice and got chatting to a woman who was returning to Koh Tao, she lived there for 7 years, and reassured me it is nothing like Bangkok and the chances of being scammed were very slim. I’m already feeling a more positive vibe, she thinks I will love it there – I think she will be right.
And off we go, ten minutes late but the ticket did say that departure time was not guaranteed – I’ve been sitting on this sleeper train for a good hour but cheaper than sitting in a coffee shop – bought some dinner from an Indian guy, he gave me 2 for the price of one – said I was a nice English lady – that’s what they all say! Got a French guy and a gal (not sure about her accent) in the seats to my right, but no-one next to me or in front of me – lets home it stays that way. Not sure how these beds work – a guy came round earlier and dropped the top bunks down, filled them with bedding and then popped them back up again. I’m expecting that these bottom ones, which are locked in as chairs will hopefully, at bedtime, be unlock and turned into a bed which will then be made for me– fingers crossed.
Something I have just remembered – as I was leaving the hostel a new arrival gave the lady 500 baht, the locker key is a 100 baht deposit and the room key 200. Anyway, at the same time the lady was also checking me out and didn’t give the new arrival her change, she had to ask for it! I remember she did the same thing to me – I had to ask for my change. And guess what, she didn’t give me back my deposit, I had to ask for it – tourist scams – I’m going to be even more vigilant than I have been and start double checking my change – especially when drunk – lol – and keep my eye out, there are many ways to scam a tourist and they use them all in Bangkok.