Let's talk Bangkok

After a sad goodbye to everyone in Australia we set out for our Asian adventure and another six months of living out of our backpacks. First stop, (if you can call it that) was Singapore airport. If you must spend 12 hours in an airport, this is the one to do it in. Decent 24 hour food, a massive shopping area and a clean and comfortable hotel INSIDE security made this stopover strangely enjoyable?!? It’s kinda like you are sleeping at your favourite shopping mall and everything is on sale (thanks to the favourable exchange rate)!
We arrived in Bangkok expecting to be greeted by a mob of touts and taxi drivers but were thankfully surprised by an orderly prepaid taxi service. We paid and jumped into an immaculate taxi and set out for our hotel. After our experiences in India, we were surprised to find that the drivers here actually stay on their own side of the road, don’t honk their horn every time they see another car, more or less stay in their own lanes and even stop at red lights!
We splashed out a little on our Bangkok hotel, knowing that we would be spending a fair amount of time there doing some catch up on planning for our journey through Thailand. We will be through Bangkok three times this journey so we took in the sights in moderation in between bouts of poolside research at the hotel.
A trip to one of the many night markets found us in the “red light” area of town. While the merchants tried to sell Jen counterfeit purses, jeans, and jewellery I mainly got bombarded with men, women, and she-men saying “ping pong? ping pong?” and others flashing me little cartoon pictures trying to coax us into one of the many “showrooms” lining the streets.

On the other end of the spectrum we got to see a couple of magnificent wats (temples) and more Buddhas than I can count on both hands and feet. We saw the famous gigantic reclining Buddha and the equally revered Emerald Buddha both set among a maze of beautiful architecture; the latter being set in the Royal Palace grounds. The National Museum is rather large, hosting everything from a collection of antique marionettes to a room full of ornate funeral chariots. There was also a lengthy exhibit detailing the history of Thailand which we had to force feed ourselves as the oppressive heat began to melt our brains.
Getting around this metropolitan city was easy given the many boats that travel the river and the very clean and new looking skytrain. Our hotel was attached to a mall which had it’s own metro stop so we barely had to leave air-conditioned comfort to get on the train.
So far the food has been fantastic. The best meals have come from the street vendors where there is usually no menu, you just ask for your favourite and they concoct it in their teeny little stall. Favorites so far: mango sticky rice, green papaya salad, and a yummy green curry that we had for dinner one night. The fresh pineapple sold by the many fresh fruit vendors is a perfect midday snack.
With some travel plans in mind and a colourful Myanmar visa stamped in our passport (our other main objective in Bangkok) we were ready to set out and see more of Thailand. As for Bangkok there are many things left to see and do on our next couple visits…Thai boxing, the Temple of Dawn, Chinatown, the flower market…. we definitely look forward to returning.