Back in Bangkok

With our meal ticket speeding to the airport and us heading off into the sunset on the back of a tuk tuk our flashpacker bubble had burst.

Back on Khao San road, a stone’s throw from where it all began three and a half months ago we noticed things were much easier this time around. Nothing had changed, Mr Yim was still cooking his tofu, the women serving muesli was still a man (thanks to her stubble and massive calves), and tourists were still drinking beer for breakfast.

Bangkok winter meant that we could almost eat a meal in the sun without breaking a sweat. With this in mind we decided it was time for a spot of eco-tourism. Green Bangkok Bike is an initiative that has been started to save energy and reduce pollution. We were keen to get our money’s worth on the council’s free city service.

The concept of cycling around Bangkok is better in theory than in practise. When you factor in big city traffic, pollution, SE Asian anomalies (the elephant below) and heat the concept quickly loses its appeal and turns into a test of endurance. We failed the test by throwing in the towel after a mere 40 minutes. We don’t believe anyone could cycle for longer and actually enjoy it. Like spoilt children we cheered ourselves up with chocolate ice blocks and slunk home.

We’d got a taste for buying things in Vietnam and the Chatuchak weekend market provided the perfect opportunity. Touted as the world’s largest market with over 15,000 stalls and 200,000 visitors a day we were confident we could find what we wanted.

Making use of Bangkok’s sky train it was easy to get to the market - ride until the end of the line and follow the signs.

Shopping in the market was like panning for gold. We spent most of our time walking past clothes that will never be sold looking for the good stuff. We came away tired but happy with some exceptional purchases in tow.

Sick of paying for slow internet on bad computers Dan decided to remedy the situation. The perfect place to visit was the Phanang City Plaza or ‘Computer City’ as it’s commonly called. Ever wondered what 5 floors of computers and accessories looks like?

After doing some research the HP Mini 1001 was purchased. It takes up very little room and you can’t tell it’s in the backpack which makes it ideal.

With very little else left to do in Bangkok we treaded water for a few days and rested up in anticipation of India.

Random Fact: We went into a men’s clothing store and asked “are there any ties in here?”. The salesman told us they don’t have any ties to which we replied “are you not a thai?”... Safe to say the only people that thought that amusing was us.

Highlights:

- Trying to shop for things in a third world country that you think you’ll like in three months time when you arrive in a country you’ve never been to before.

- Public transport. Cheaper and less annoying than dealing with tuk tuk drivers public transport can be great.

- Taking the new netbook to a store and having all of the latest software installed in an hours time. SE Asian efficiency eat your heart out.

- Breakfast of muesli, five fruits and yoghurt with honey for less than $2 NZD. We couldn’t find anywhere in SE Asia that even came close to beating it.

Lessons Learned:

- Green Bangkok Bike, take some form of photo ID or you’ll have to give the man pleasure (i.e. money)

- Suits and tailoring in general is a lot cheaper in Vietnam than in Bangkok. The Thai’s will of course bag the quality but our semi-trained eyes didn’t notice a difference.

- The best way to get to the Bangkok airport is by using the express bus. The trip takes an hour and leaves every hour. Pain free and cheap.