January 13, 2008
Written by: Brian
Current Location: Saigon / Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Living the Life
We had one week to fill in as much stuff as we could possibly handle in the city of Bangkok. We decided against heading out to the beaches as it would take a day of travel each way and we wanted to rest up a little before we headed off to Vietnam. So like the adventure travelers we are we set out to the mall for half the week. I know, I know, we can see malls in the States and honestly, we are not even mall people. It was nice though to relax in the air-conditioning, eat at Outback, and see a few movies.
I think anyone who takes a trip to Bangkok should take a day or even two to check out the mall and movie scene. Ok in our case we took a week and a half, but hey we’re weird. The malls here are unbelievable. They are as big as the Mall of America in Minneapolis but 10 times nicer. There were 4 malls right next to each other with anywhere from 6-8 floors each. There are around 15 Starbucks in the malls and there 3 different cinemas. There was an Apple Mac store in each mall and one mall sold any software you could imagine, pirated of course.
The mall we ended up spending the most time in was the Siam Paragon, which was the fanciest of the 4 malls. We, of course, could not afford to buy much from there except a book, a Starbucks and the movies. There was also the coolest cafe called TRUE that played great music, had 27 inch screens with internet and wireless internet, allowed you to listen to an ipod through your table (all tables had an ipod set into them) or just chill and play on your laptop (which is what every one seemed to do there). The place was packed all the time. We TRUE-ly did enjoy our experience there.
The movie experience was like none we had had before. I know you are thinking what could make seeing a movie so great..... Well let me tell you that the leather recliner chairs are a pretty good start but I am getting ahead of myself. The movie cost us about $7.00 for two tickets then another $6.00 for two popcorns and a huge Coke. You had a choice on the popcorn, you could have original butter, cheese, or fresh caramel corn, but even better was when you mixed the cheese and carmel together for a sweet and salty combo, yuuuummm.
We saw four different movies over the week and half we were there and each was in a different theater, which allowed for a different type of experience for each movie. The first movie we saw was National Treasure in the average theater. It was nice, comfortable and we got to reserve what seat we wanted for the film. We then went all out for New Year and saw “I Am Legend” in the IMAX theater, which was unbelievable. Regardless of what movie you see, the IMAX is a pretty cool experience. It had great sound and we had great seats. We were running out of movies to see and thought it would be interesting to see Elizabeth – The Golden Age, so we went into the auditorium style theater to see this. The theater easily sat 300-400 people and was huge. We had chosen seats right in the middle that were eye level with the gigantic screen. The last movie we saw was Mr Woodcock, which as bad is it looks...... well it was as bad as you think it would be, but we were in a theater with leather recliner chairs that made us feel like we were in first class. Not bad for a $3.00 movie
We know that we will once again return to this wonderful country and delve into more adventurous area's but for now it is "Sawadee" Bangkok, and "Good Morning Vietnam". Be first to comment this article |  Add as favourites (30) | Views: 129
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A Day in Bangkok
Written by: Susan
January 9th
Current location: Bangkok, Thailand
So our budget for this portion of the trip excluding lodging was to be 1000 baht a day (roughly $30 US dollars). We decided to give a rundown of what exactly a 1000 baht can buy and what our day typically looks like in Bangkok. Current exchange rate: 33 baht = $1 (or at least that’s what we’re using….who knows with the way the dollar is falling!)
In the morning we start off with breakfast or in the case of this day, lunch because we had woken up so late.
1 Phad See Ieuw – 30 baht
1 Garlic chicken with rice – 30 baht
1 mango with sticky rice – 20 baht
Then off to the Grand Palace and the temples surrounding the Grand Palace called Wat Phra Kaew. Unfortunately (or fortunately in our case since we then didn’t have to pay the 250 baht per person admission fee) the actual palace was closed due to a 100 day mourning period because the King’s sister had died a few days earlier.
1 Hawaiian rental shirt (I had a sleeveless shirt on so they wouldn’t let me into the temples even though I did have a scarf) – 50 baht
After spending an hour walking around the temples and peering in on the tiny, tiny emerald Buddha for which these temples are famed for, we headed for the monk’s village (if you can call it that considering it’s right in the middle of Bangkok) of Ban Bat. There we wandered around and looked at all the monk’s bowls that were still being handcrafted from 8 different pieces of metal. The trade was near extinction due to the industrialization of China and the monks began buying the cheaper machine-made bowls from China. I guess Wal-Mart isn’t China’s only customer. So now the only people that buy these bowls are tourists and of course we’re suckers for anything handcrafted.
1 handcrafted Monk’s bowl – 350 baht
Then of course we got thirsty.
1 bottle of water – 5 baht
We decided to walk back towards our neighborhood because we didn’t really feel like hassling with a tuk-tuk. On the way, we passed by another temple (Wat Saket and Golden Mount) that was worth a sneak peek plus it had a fantastic view of Bangkok from the top.
2 entries – 10 baht
Afterwards we headed back towards our neighborhood. On the way we ran into a street loaded with food vendors selling lunch to an all girls school that was apparently nearby. Of course, I had to stop in for some sampling.
1 bubble tea (tapioca balls inside a green tea flavored slushy) – 10 baht
1 spicy green mango salad – 20 baht
2 spring rolls (these things are hard to resist) – 20 baht
1 Coke slurpee from 7-11 – 10 baht
There are over 3500 7-11’s here in Bangkok so they’re really hard to miss and actually really convenient when you’re walking down the street and suddenly get this idea in your head that the only thing that will really quench your thirst is a Coke slurpee.
Afterwards, we headed back to our room for a little R&R (which pretty much means laying in our air-conditioned room and aimlessly flipping through the 10 TV channels here). Then we were off to wander the streets for the night. The great thing about our neighborhood of Banglumphu is that it’s never boring. Things change night after night. The people watching is fantastic. You see old, white men with young Thai women (which provokes all sorts of questions in my head), backpackers fresh off 10 hour flights from home wandering around looking for a place to stay, families with their young children, old hippy couples with fake dreads. You name it, it’s here. And of course, the street food vendors are out in full force.
1 bbq pork skewer – 10 baht
1 bbq beef skewer – 10 baht
2 more spring rolls – 20 baht (YIKES! I think we might turn into spring rolls here pretty soon)
1 bag of fresh cut pineapple – 10 baht
1 plate of Phad Thai – 20 baht
After all the walking around today, we felt we it was time to kick back with some foot massages and plus it’s hard to resist when they’re so cheap.
2 half hour foot massages – 130 baht each
After feeling fully refreshed it was time to rejoin the crowds and wander aimlessly around for a few more hours. But first, some fresh fruit and sweets for dessert.
1 peeled and sectioned pommello (looks like a huge grapefruit) – 10 baht
1 street sweet (we don’t know what it is except it looks like a taco) – 10 baht
1 soda water – 10 baht
1 Coke – 10 baht
We finished off the evening by stopping by the internet café for an hour to catch up on news and email.
1 hour of internet – 30 baht
2 bottles of water – 10 baht
Total cost of our day: 965 Baht or $29.24
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Last Updated ( Saturday, 12 January 2008 )
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New Year’s Eve
January 6
Written by: Susan
Our new year’s eve was embarrassingly lame and uneventful considering we were in the very exotic city of Bangkok. But it’s hard to talk each other into going out and partying when we’re both not partyers and we’ve spent every evening together for the last 10 months. So instead we opted for to go see a movie, I Am Legend, in the Imax theater which was absolutely incredible. The movie was good, but the theater was even better. Before the movie we treated ourselves to a really nice dinner at a sushi restaurant. I’d been dying to have some seafood and Bangkok has its share of sushi restaurants.
After the movie, which got out at 11pm, we walked around the outside part of the mall where different beer companies set up concert stages. The one we happened to pass was playing 80’s cover songs. Only in Bangkok on New Year’s Eve could that possibly be popular. So we haggled with a tuk-tuk to take us back to our neighborhood and walked along Khoason road where all the action was happening. We bought a beer from a guy on the street with a cooler and just took in all the craziness……we ended up ringing the official new year’s in back in our room with a box of Oreos and milk. The excitement though didn’t end there.
Since our place was tucked back in a neighborhood full of locals, there was a party in full swing. Pretty fun since they were playing music and all. As expected, the party went late into the night and wound down around 3am. This is also when all the other drunks from everywhere else were coming home including another hotel guest who happened to be staying next door to us. It was a Thai girl and her Russian boyfriend (ok, I don’t know if he was Russian but he sure sounded like it). They were in a big fight and the Thai girl was crying, flinging herself around the bathroom and causing all sorts of drama. It lasted for over an hour. There went our chance at peaceful sleep. Right when I thought it had ended, I then hear the guy start screaming and yelling. It’s now 4am. I’m about ready to go over there and start flinging both of them around in the bathroom. Finally around 5am they either both fell asleep, killed each other, or had made up. Regardless, they had definitely shut up. Ahhhh, some sleep. I fell asleep fast to the sounds of silence.
All of a sudden I am dreaming about loud xylophones ringing in my ear….but then I realize that it’s not a dream. The neighbors have decided that 7am is the best time to blast traditional Thai music up and down the street for the start of the New Year. I think this was more painful than the fighting. At least you got some good soundbites with the fight. This was just pure pain. And it kept going, and going, and going. There was going to be no reprieve and no sleep for us on the first day of the New Year. So bleary eyed, we get dressed and head downstairs (and actually at this point I’m read to go anywhere away from the noise) for breakfast. Our guesthouse lady looks apologetic. Sorry she says, they have this festival every year. Great we think. Thanks for the heads up. We promptly find a new hotel and move for the rest of our stay in Bangkok. Our new hotel is quieter and nicer and we were no longer sleep deprived.
Happy New Year!
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Last Updated ( Friday, 11 January 2008 )
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January 2, 2008
written by: Brian
Current location: Bangkok, Thailand
We are at the airport waiting to board the plane for Bangkok and this Asian guy comes up to me and says “Jou know what happen when you go true da turnstile sidewazs” I look at him and say no what happens. He says “ You going to Bang-Kok”
Ok that didn't happen but I laugh every time I tell that joke and since we were standing in line to go to Bangkok I thought it only appropriate to tell it to Susan and Marni once again. We all got a good laugh from it. Our friend Marni, who was with us for three weeks in Nepal, was accompanying us into Thailand for 24 hours before she headed back to the States and the real world. We were looking forward to a nice dinner of Thai food.
Now it’s not often that we talk about our flights to and from other countries but I felt that this one stood out as probably one of the Best. The seats in the 777 had so much leg room that even my Uncle who is 6ft 7in would have been comfortable in economy seating. The food was first class Indian food with fresh rolls and all you could want to drink, they even served an after dinner liqueur.
The best part about the whole flight though was about 10 minutes after take off we saw Mt Everest. The one thing we thought we had missed on our trip to Nepal (but really wanted to see) and we got to see it for about 15 minutes. It was huge, amazing and beautiful. We took about 50 photos from the airplane window, hoping that a few would turn out.
So we arrive in the illustrious Bangkok airport. I know it sounds strange but we were excited to see this Western style airport that Marni had promised us there would a Starbucks. It had been a while since we had enjoyed the flavor of a nice icy beverage. We headed over to the first ATM we saw and withdrew $5,000 Bhat (about 165 USD). As we were leaving the ATM machine we ran into a new Dutch friend of ours named Marcel that we met up in the mountains of Nepal, small world I tell you. He asked us if we all wanted to share a cab together and grab a bite to eat. We told him that sounded great right after we get a Starbucks. He laughed and then said he wouldn't mind an espresso. When you’re traveling a small thing like Starbucks can make all the difference.
So with my Grande Vanilla Frappucino, Affogato Style with Carmel we all headed off to find the Taxis. Now if you have read our previous posts, you know what it is like for us the first time in a new city looking for a taxi ride. We asked the first cabbie how much to Banglamphu (place we were staying) and he responded 900 Bhat ($27.00) . This was more then triple what we should pay so we moved on and found another taxi stand and asked the question all over again. This time we asked to be taken by meter. The taxi stand guy says ok and pushes us off to another taxi guy who is standing in line waiting for his next customer.
He brings us over to his Toyota Celica, yes a small Celica, for all four of us and our luggage. We put three backpacks and a suitcase standing upright in the trunk of the car (we tie the trunk down) and our friend Marcel (who is a good 6'5) sits in front with his backpack. Needless to say we were packed in like sardines, but hey we were in Bangkok and thinking about the great Thai dinner we were going to have when we finally got to the place we were staying. The ride was uneventful besides listening to our slow cab driver (remember we are on the meter) swear at us in Thai the whole ride. We assume he was upset that we all got in his car and packed it to the gills and all he got was 200 Bhat for the ride. We laughed as the say Thailand is the land of smiles, though we had yet to experience one.
We arrive safely in Banglamphu, found our hotel with the help of some nice tuk-tuk drivers only to find out that they don’t have a reservation for Marni and she needs to leave for the airport at 3:00 am. We figure she can keep her stuff in our room and we will just stay up with her until her taxi comes at 3:00am.
Time to eat. We head to Khoasan Rd which is like an open street party. Picture Mardi Gras without the floats. There is street food, street bars, fresh fruit, snacks, you name it, it is here (more on that later from Susan). So we decide to eat a little from each place and sit down at the first street restaurant we come to. We order 3 plates of food, 2 beers and 3 cokes and the total comes to about 5.00 USD. Unbelievable we know, so we continue on looking for more cheap eats. We try almost everything except the fried grasshoppers, crickets and cockroaches, we were not that hungry. We had spring rolls, phad thai, cashew chicken, quail eggs, seafood soup, vegetable curry, beef soup, more phad thai and rice. It was a very filling evening and we decided to head to a popular local spot to sit down and relax for 2 more hours until Marni's taxi came.
The night flies by and we head back to our hotel exhausted at 3:00 am and get Marni's backpack and send her off to the airport. We then head back to our bed and pass-out. The next day was pretty much a blur, we were tired from our travels. We walked around the streets taking in the new atmosphere and headed back early that evening for more sleep.
We woke up with a little more vigor the next day as we finally got a decent night of sleep and headed off to the place were we can recharge our batteries, The Mall. Again it is funny as we travel the things that allow us to relax. The mall and movies seem to be one of them. We love experiencing a new culture but there is something to be said about seeing a movie in a nice movie theater. And let me tell you the movie theaters here are better then nice. They actually show some movies in first class seating that have reclining leather lazy boys chairs in them though we settled for the less expensive theater for our first viewing of National Treasure 2. The movies and mall are first class all the way and it was great to visit them for the next three days to relax.
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Last Updated ( Thursday, 10 January 2008 )
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Thailand 