Bangkok, Thailand

I never thought it could be done but we had a whirlwind 36 hour tour in Bangkok which included palaces, protests, shopping, eating, and a little sleeping.

We arrived at the Ko Samui airport so early for our flight we were able to catch the 7:45 flight rather than 9:15 flight. The airport in Ko Samui is like an outdoor shopping area in Hawaii. The gates, seating, shopping, etc are not enclosed. It was a great sendoff to island life.

Day 1:

Once we arrived in Bangkok we tried to figure out how to get to the hotel. The light rail wasn't operational yet, although everything is in place, bus was to risky, and cabs were almost $40 USD including a 25% discount. Billy thought this was ridiculous so we walked outside hoping for a cheap miracle. A cab driver approached us and said he would do it for $15 USD and we said SOLD!

It was a nice drive into the city since it was our first experience in six weeks on an interstate. Billy splurged and booked two nights at a 3.5 star hotel near the light rail. It was an immaculate hotel with an upscale room, at least compared to some previous digs. Once we dropped off our bags we checked email and did a little research on sights to see in the city. Although our book was good we needed to know what markets to check out, hours of palaces, etc. We also checked with the front desk about the protests and how best to avoid them.

Our first stop was a market to see what new "stuff" Bangkok had that the other cities didn't. The best market was the weekend market but seeing that it was a Tuesday the hotel directed us to MBK. It was ENORMOUS and just one block away from the Red Shirt protests. The shopping center only half a block down was closed entirely due to the protests so we felt fortunate to have a place to escape the heat, noise, and have lunch. The market was more like a shopping mall so it didn't offer us what we were looking for but we still enjoyed the walk inside a Thai shopping center.

After eating lunch we had a snack at Mister Doughnut just so we could experience SushiDo which are doughnuts shaped like sushi. They didn't taste any different but a cool way to present the food.

After MBK we walked to the Jim Thompson House. Jim Thompson was an American born architect who fell in love with Thailand and relocated six traditional homes to Bangkok to preserve the architecture. The respect for early builders and their craft was evident throughout the property. He also revived the fledgling silk trade in Thailand by taking samples to Europe and selling the fabric to fashion houses in Europe. After Jim's mysterious disappearance in 1967 his home was opened to the public for tours.

That evening we had dinner and walked to Patpong Night Market. Due to the protests the market wasn't talking place but the area was filled with soldiers, trucks, protesters, and people selling X-Rated shows. It was an interesting mix and an adventure to walk through.

After our fun filled day we took the metro back to the hotel and crashed. Our goal for the next day was to start early and go hard all day.

One lesson we learned while talking to the hotel manager is that cab drivers are required by the Tourism Authority to use the meter, rather than quote a price. Problem is that most don't want to use the meter since it is less money and the money is reported to the cab authority. This knowledge would come in handy the next day.

Day 2:

We woke early to the alarm, ate breakfast, and were out the door early to get to the palace when it opened. The palace is outside the boundary of the metro so we tried to take a cab but nobody would use the meter. We got into 3 or 4 cabs and requested the meter be turned on only to have the drivers say no. We settled on a tuk-tuk driver but soon realized we were taking our life into our own hands. The streets of Bangkok are geared towards cars. There are a few motorcycles and tuk-tuks but most people move by taxi or public transportation. The tuk-tuk was weaving in and out of traffic at 40 mph and Billy and I both were nervous the entire trip. In other cities and countries the traffic and people move slower but Bangkok is like NYC, everyone is a hurry to get somewhere.

The Grand Palace was our first stop of the morning. Palace dress requires you wear modest clothing including pants for men and women or skirts and dresses and no sleeveless shirts. Billy wore shorts, knowing he could rent pants, and I wore capri pants. Unfortunately capri pants aren't ankle length so I had to rent a skirt for the day. We also hired a guide to get a bitter knowledge of the surroundings and history and she was a hoot.

Our guide's name was Lek and she was about 6" shorter than me and full of spunk. She kept calling Billy "photo man" and insisted he take or not take certain photos. Lek also kept to a strict schedule of 45 minutes at the Palacea and Emerald Buddha. When we weren't back in the 2 or 3 minutes she gave us she would come find us and make us hurry up. We couldn't help but laugh at her and vice versa. If we were to go back to the palace we would have brought a sun umbrella to shade the harsh Bangkok sun.

We toured the Emerald Buddha, Upper Terrace, and other subsidiary buildings on the grounds. The grounds cover 218,000 square meters with walls on four sides. It is still an active Palace but the current King is 82 years old and in poor health so he son will assume the throne once he dies.

After the palace we walked around the outside wall, had a snack at the market, and headed in the direction of What Pho. What Pho houses a lying Buddha which is 46 meters long. This Wat was also recently restored so the colors of the roof tiles, Buddhas, and walls were so vibrant. Even the gold shined so bright it was hard to take photos. Unfortunately our camera battery went out and we had forgotten the backup so we didn't get as many photos as we would have liked.

We risked another ride on the tuk-tuk and rode past Democracy Monument, another street market, and were dropped off at MBK mall. the MBK mall is at the intersection of two metro lines so it was a great central location to get to the other sights. Billy and I walked among the Red Shirt protesters towards our hotel and lunch.

The protesters were all peaceful and we never felt in danger or uncomfortable unless we were out at night. They had their own city set up in the streets with food, clothing, toilets, water, bedding, etc. They seemed to be in it for the long haul and not afraid to back down.

After a late lunch we returned to the hotel to pack our suitcase and arrange travel to the airport. We wanted to get a better picture of how large Bangkok is so Billy and I headed out to the 84th floor of a building in the heart of the city. The hotel manager recommended it and arranged a taxi to take us there quickly since we didn't have much time left before our flight departed. Unfortunately gridlock was worse than anticipated and after sitting for 45 minutes we paid the driver and took off on foot. We rode the metro and walked the remaining 30 minutes on foot until we reached the tower. The views were incredible and lights went on forever. It would have been an incredible sight during the day.

We spent about 45 minutes at the tower having a drink and saying goodbye to our wonderful journey. Billy and I tried to take a taxi back to the hotel but the few cabs we tried refused the meter and when Billy tried to get his meter number but the cab driver pushed him out in anger. Instead we hoofed it back to the metro and made it in time to take a quick shower and catch our taxi to the airport.

The airport was bustling with tourists heading to Europe since it was the first full day of flights after the ban on flights had lifted. Thankfully check-in was quick since we were San Francisco bound but passport check was horrendous. As usual we choose the worst line and after 15 minutes of not moving I switched lines and we were through within another 20. We ate a quick snack and boarded our plane for Seoul.

Not sure how but my name ended up on a watch list so I was subject to further screenings at the gate of my bag and body. Another lesson learned is that when the ticket says it is boarding by 12:10 it means all people need to be on the flight by 12:10. We were some of the last people to the place since we figured we had time based on the ticket.

Next stop was Seoul, Korea for an eight hour layover and then a 10 hour flight to San Francisco.