Published August 3rd, 2008
in Thailand.
Day 362 - Wednesday April 16, 2008
Bangkok, Thailand
Our goal on Wednesday was simple. We were going to visit Dream World and I wanted to add three more roller coasters to my “credit count”. If the park was nice it would be a treat, but I wasn’t expecting much, given the quality of the other parks we have visited in Asia so far. Genting Highlands sure left a bad taste in my mouth!
Dream World runs a tour for 1000 Baht per person that includes a ticket and transportation and a buffet lunch. While we considered this, with tickets only selling for 450Baht per person, we figured it would be cheaper to take a taxi. Around 9am we hailed a cab outside of our hotel and began the fifty minute drive to Dream World. Continue reading ‘Bangkok Disneyland?’
Published August 2nd, 2008
in Thailand.
Day 361 - Tuesday April 15, 2008
Bangkok, Thailand
After reading online about the problems people encounter at the Thailand/Cambodia border at Poipet, we decided that it would be better to get our Cambodian visas ahead of time instead of just showing up and getting them there. To find the Cambodian embassy’s location, I looked at our guidebook and did a quick search online to confirm the information. Everywhere I looked listed the same address, so we were quite confident upon setting out. Thanks to a map in our guide book, I figured the embassy to be a thirty minute walk away. Better yet, it was in a part of the city we hadn’t seen yet, giving us even more incentive to walk.
Before setting out on our trip to the embassy, we shot over to the MBK Center mall across the way from our hotel to get some passport sized photos taken for the visa. Just outside the mall, we took a few minutes to watch passersby leave tributes at the outdoor shrine before getting our photos taken inside. Luckily the process from beginning to end was very quick, although the photo processor did a lot of airbrushing. While it was nice to look pretty, I don’t think altering the way you look is smart in a passport photo!
The walk from the MBK Center to the Cambodian Embassy location took a little longer than I had thought and the fact that 90% of the route ran beside a skytrain line didn’t help either. Despite our frustration, the walk wasn’t too bad, even given the heat. (Around 36 degrees Celsius with 70% Humidity) After passing the street several times and then asking a door man from an adjacent hotel complex if he knew where the embassy was, we found out that it had moved. Continue reading ‘A Typical Day Of Travel!’
Published August 1st, 2008
in Thailand.
Day 360 - Monday April 14, 2008
Bangkok, Thailand
As mentioned in a couple of previous posts, our visit to Bangkok luckily coincided with the Thai New Year celebration which is better known as The Songkran Festival. The Songkran Festival is a chance for young Thais to pay respect to their elders and of course to have a little fun. Given the sheer number of foreigners in Bangkok though, the Thai youths aren’t the only ones seen prowling Bangkok’s back alleyways with water guns. In fact, the celebration has become so popular among Westerners that one of the main water gun battle spots in town is located right on Khao San Road, Bangkok’s backpacker mecca.
During our first few days in Bangkok we experienced a small taste of what Songkran is, but felt that there was still much more fun to be had. With this in mind we decided that Monday was the day for us to get down and dirty. After putting on some comfortable clothes and sticking the camera inside of a plastic bag, (hence the cloudy pictures) we had some lunch and then caught a taxi to Khao San Road. Since the road and a few on each side were completely blocked off, we were dropped several blocks away with a few grunts in Thai from our driver and a finger pointed in the direction of the party. Continue reading ‘The Craziness Of Songkran!’
Published July 10th, 2008
in Thailand.
Days 358-359 Saturday-Sunday April 12-13, 2008
Bangkok, Thailand
After settling in for a couple of days, we decided to dive in for a dose of local culture come Saturday morning. It seems that in just about every developing country in the world, outdoor markets are heavily celebrated and integral parts of life. In Bangkok, the largest outdoor market takes place on the weekends. We set out early in the morning to visit the Chatuchak Weekend Market which is part market for Thai people and part “show” for tourists.
Since our hotel is conveniently located near the sky train, it took us no time to get to the market which was a twenty minute ride away. To say this market is huge is an understatement. In fact, the market is so large that we found ourselves quite lost on more than one occasion. After a while, we stopped trying to find our way and just began to wander through the maze of stalls. We saw everything from tourist trinkets to live animals for sale while exploring. Continue reading ‘A Descent Into Chaos!’
Published July 7th, 2008
in Thailand.
Days 356-357 Thursday-Friday April 10-11, 2008
Phuket to Bangkok, Thailand
While we weren’t sure how the trip from Phuket would go, our VIP bus proved to be quite comfortable and we arrived at Bangkok’s Southern bus terminal as scheduled around 7:30am. Once we got our things together it was time to pop out the guide book and call around to find a place to stay. After mulling it over in our minds, we decided to stay at a hotel in the Siam area of Bangkok. Siam is probably the most central area for a visitor in Bangkok as it is located where the two sky train lines come together. It is also home to several large shopping malls and hundreds of wonderful places to eat. How could we go wrong?
After we called and booked a room at the A-One Inn it was time to catch a taxi. Luckily the hotel is in a well known area and we were able to convey to the driver details about where we needed to go. The drive into the city took around thirty minutes and really wasn’t too bad. The morning traffic seemed light, although this is a holiday week, so many people may be taking some time off. Continue reading ‘The City Of Life!’
Published June 30th, 2008
in Thailand.
Day 355 - Wednesday April 9, 2008
Phuket & Phi Phi Islands, Thailand
As mentioned in our previous post, we booked a one day boat tour out to the Phi Phi Islands on Wednesday. Koh Phi Phi Leh is famous for being the filming location of the 1990’s movie “The Beach”. Due to its picturesque scenery and famed movie status, this area has become a huge tourist destination. While seeing the Phi Phi islands was important to us, it wasn’t the main reason we decided to book a tour out there. When we were sold the tour, snorkeling was emphasized as the main activity, which was in line with what we wanted. Unfortunately, unike our tour in Krabi, things on this tour didn’t turn out quite like we expected, but I better not get ahead of myself.
First thing Wednesday morning we woke up and packed our things up. I forget to mention that in an effort to spend the least amount of time possible in Phuket Town, we booked tickets for Wednesday evening on an overnight bus to Bangkok. This meant that our tour would end at 4pm and three hours later we would be on a bus to Bangkok. After a little negotiation at the guesthouse, we managed to agree on a price to rent our room until 7pm so we could come back to the room after the tour for a quick rest and shower before going to the bus station. Continue reading ‘Paradise Unrealized!’
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