Bangin Bangkok: Guest Contributor's Premier

Oh my, I (Leighton) have been given the responsibility of reporting on our week in Bangkok! Be warned, this will not be in chronological order so may get confusing. Let's go...

So we arrive at Survarnabhumi International to be greeted with 30 something degrees temps and sunny skies, hallelujah! No more thermal underwear, woollen clothes or pants. We took the airport express bus to the legendary Khao San Rd where we hunted for a room. Prices were higher than expected so we ended up at the end of Rambutri Rd (adjacent to Khao San) in a reasonably priced guesthouse with more amenities than expected for the price (a/c, cable and a private bathroom - score!)

A highlight of our time was meeting up with now Bangkok locals the wonderful Jane and Lindsay (fellow CELTA graduates from our Chiang Mai class from November.) Jane keyed us up on the sky train and ferry services which were amazingly cheap and got us around the city in no time. While we're on transport: we of course did another insane amount of walking to take us to many the parts of the city public transport didn't. We also mastered a single bus route, the number 982? 152? I can't remember, but took us in a not so direct but round about way to the train station a few times where we rode the long distance train for day excursion and our final departure from the city, but more about that later. Back to Jane and Lind's who were great hosts recommending spots to see and meeting up on their days off. We were also the honorary first guests to Lindsays amazing 18th story apartment in the Pin Klao suburb of the city. We had a great day of snacks, beers and movies with her in her living room! Yes, her apartment has rooms! Can you sense my excitement? It put any Korean apartment I ever saw to shame as did the price which was a lot more reasonable than we expected. We later met up with her colleagues and had some drinks in Kaho San. Having a day to lounge in a clean, nice home with movies and no noisy neighbors was heaven! Being this transient for so long really does make you appreciate the small things that only 'home' can offer :)

We managed to spend a fair amount of time in the downtown area of Siam browsing the insane shopping metropolis that is this region. Mall after pristine mall with 10+ stories with stores ranging from Watsons and Adidas to Gucci and a Lamborghini dealership!?! A shoppers heaven and an oasis from the heat for us as we participated in a good deal of window shopping.

The temples, though gaudy covered in gold and all sparkly, were a change and striking in their own right, especially under spot lights at night where they shimmered in a beautiful way. We ventured through Wat Pho, little India, China town and Ratchadamri (where most of the embassies are located) so Michael could add pages to his puny American passport!! We saw the locals exercising in Lumphini Park and participating in religious ceremonies for Magha Puja (one of the many public holidays in Thailand which I knew as I remember the first time I was looking at teaching English, I sat throughout a meeting at my old job counting the number of public holidays each country had in my diary and so it turned out Thailand was number one! Interesting hey!). We also saw hookers in force in a few dirty alleys in Siliom and were invited to Ping Pong shows (which we did not attend!!) couldn't get a bottle of beer as it was the religious holiday. We also saw some Mui Thai boxing, did a day trip in the sweltering heat to Ayatayah to see the ancient capital.

Anyway, this has gotten way to scattered and long, I've missed bits and forgotten others. Important points to note are that I'm happy to be back in the tropics, loving the food and generally impressed with Bangkok.

Next, off on a night train to the islands...

Thanks for reading this less elegant than usual update!
Xo Leighton