Part of the fun of travel is the unexpected adventures. Many people ask me how much I plan when I travel, and I would say it's about 50/50. I planned my flights before I left up to getting to India. After that, I have planned things as I've been going. My original plans were to go from India to Sri Lanka for the month, go back to India and travel a bit, and then go home. Well..... as I was in India I discovered that there was a change in visa's in that if you leave India, you have to wait 2 months before you can come back again. Hmm... well, I already had the month in Sri Lanka planned, but what to do the 2nd month? Then it came time for me to feel like a spoiled travel brat to find a place somewhat close where I haven't been. Then it started that I was having universal signs to take me to Bali and Indonesia. 2 books I read mentioned it (NO!! NOT Eat, Prey, Love!) a couple of random travel people I met randomly told me about it, and.... well, as you can imagine, someone wouldn't have to twist my arm too far to get me to go to Bali and Indonesia!!! Then it happened that when I was getting my ticket, the flight would connect through Bangkok. I have a friend that is doing a global MBA program there, so I thought, "why not make a week stop-over in Bangkok?" And although I have to say it is my 3rd time here (I still can't believe that), wah-la! Here I am again!!
So what makes it the "Best Week Ever?" Let me break it down...
- Although it is technically called "service apartments," I am basically staying at a 4-star hotel. My friend is not only nice enough to let me stay with her, but she pretty much is giving me the place to myself and is staying with her boyfriend. Which leads me to...
- Privacy and my own place. I've pretty much been sharing rooms this past month and it feels sooo nice just to be free and have my own place!
- I can walk around barefoot and not worry about stepping on bugs or cockroaches.
- The mattress is actually a mattress and not a cot-like, which I have been sleeping on the past couple of months.
Example, last room I stayed in....
and now this room!
BUT, although the latter is more than nice, is it really necessary? Traveling to so many different places and sleeping in soo many different beds, really, all I need is a roof over my head, a bed, maybe a mosquito net, and I'm fine. Not to say I'm complaining with places like this, he he!
- The bed is queen size!!! I've only been sleeping on twin beds for most of my travels.The pillows are actual pillows, and not like cardboard boxes. And the towels are fluffy and nice and NOT like rags. Seriously.
- There is a BATHTUB! There is HOT WATER that isn't scalding hot than cold or that doesn't run out. And actually, just having hot water is luxury for me.
For example, here is the last bathroom I have and yes, as you see, no toilet or sink. The toilet was outside and was a squat toilet.
And this is the bathroom I have now!
And as I said earlier, I'm not complaining about the former. As long as I have someplace to shower or use the toilet, I am fine! Being on the road I definitely become very relaxed about places to stay and I can really get comfortable and used to anything.
- There is a TV.... which I can watch from bed!
- There is a maid. Yes, a maid, that comes to the room every day and makes the bed, does the dishes, provides fresh towels, re-supplies shampoos and lotions. AND we get the newspaper everyday. What? News! Wow! Now I can't pretend I am ignorant about world events. Or maybe I still can??
- Rooftop pool and hot tub. Enough said.
- There is A/C not only in the rooms, but pretty much every indoor place here in Bangkok.
- Bangkok is VERY VERY Western. There is everything from 711 on every corner to fast food chains like Auntie Anne's pretzels to Burger King to Haagan Daz ice cream shops to Pizza Hut. It's crazy!
- I can walk around... and NOT have people either stare me down or shout, "Aloooooo! Where you from? Where you go?"
- The people here are polite and nice. They actually WANT to help you. They actually TRY to help you. If they don't know something, they will say "I don't know" versus the opposite experiences I had in India and Sri Lanka (not always of course, but often enough).
- The public transport? Ahhhh-mazing! Sooo long rickity, always-late old trains and buses! The skytrain and metro are REALLY nice! Everything is labeled and it is sooo soo easy to get around. That probably has been my favorite thing of them all. I wish Chicago's "L" train was like that!
- I'm not risking my life either being in a car or tuk-tuk OR crossing the street. Here they drive civilized , they actually obey traffic rules, and it is nice!
- Cheap massages. Enough said.
And I could go on and on. My friend is probably sick of me acting like this is the 1st time I've ever had anything nice. And I know many of these things are NOT exciting to you, BUT again, when you don't have something for awhile, you appreciate it much much more.
My 1st day I fly all night and got to the apartment at 7am. As luck would have it, my friend from college Aimee and her husband were here also so we planned to spend the day together. Although that wasn't until 1pm, and any sane person would take a nap, BUT I was soo soo excited about all the luxuries as mentioned above, I couldn't even sleep! It was soo fun hanging out with someone from home! Yea!! We did some goofy stuff like pose with Jackie Chan at the Madam Tussauds museum,
and also some interesting things like having fish eat our feet. Yes, you read correctly. Okay, I shouldn't say eat, more or less, nibble, but it is a treatment by these special fish that literally exfoliate your feet.
It feels sooo soo funny! It didn't hurt, just literally felt like a fish is nibbling at your skin, almost kind of tickly. Hahhah! And after 20 minutes of that, I do have to say my feet felt VERY soft! We spent the day going through the Siam Paradom mall,
which is 3 jumbo malls inter-connected and literally is known as the largest shopping mall in Asia! It has an aquarium and everything!
and also some interesting things like having fish eat our feet. Yes, you read correctly. Okay, I shouldn't say eat, more or less, nibble, but it is a treatment by these special fish that literally exfoliate your feet.
It feels sooo soo funny! It didn't hurt, just literally felt like a fish is nibbling at your skin, almost kind of tickly. Hahhah! And after 20 minutes of that, I do have to say my feet felt VERY soft! We spent the day going through the Siam Paradom mall,
which is 3 jumbo malls inter-connected and literally is known as the largest shopping mall in Asia! It has an aquarium and everything!
After "all that work," literally the next day I stayed in the apartment and just lounged around enjoying all the luxuries of normal rich life. Hahahha. Caught up on internet stuff, and just relaxed! I didn't leave the complex until dinner-time. No joke.
Then it was time to actually do something. One day my friend and I went to Koh San road, the famous backpackers district and got our haircuts (which I was in D-I-R-E need of!), did a little shopping, and were just goofy...
Another day I went to a snake farm, which produces anti-venom serum for snake bite victims nationwide. Glad I didn't need that!
and also Lumpini Park,
where I was a little "sniff sniff" to see joggers and people being somewhat athletic because that is my "usual" life, not my "travel" life.
Then after those 2 activities, and "all that work" decided to get a 1-hour foot massage for less than $8! Soooooooooooooo good! I think I even fell asleep!
Thanks to cultural recommendations from a friend back at home, I went on a day trip to Ayutthaya, a Unesco World Heritage Site and former capital of Siam (for 417 years!, between 1350 and 1767!).
It actually has a fairly interesting history. Not only was this a former Asian powerhouse, but this former royal capital was a major trading port during the time of the trade winds, when international European merchants were regular visitors. It is known as a "fallen hero" because it was sacked by an invading Burmese army. Although there used to be over 400 temples, there are now a few remaining, but those that are are relatively unspoiled and it is a charming little town, which, I have to admit, it was nice to get out of crazy polluted Bangkok and have some fresh (ish) air.
The central region is pretty much an island because it is situated at the confluence of 3 rivers, and luckily for me because I did a lot on foot, many of the ruins were close to each other. In a hot sweltering day (no complaints as I am missing the grunt of Chicago winter), I wandered around to do "wat" or temple sightseeing. It REALLY reminded me of Angkor Wat in Cambodia, but obviously on a lot smaller scale. My favorite wat's were the Wat Phra Si Sanphet which was built in the late 14th century and was the largest temple there and was used by several kings. I hear it once had a 16m high standing Buddha that was something like 250kg's in gold.... but melted down by the Burmese conquerors.
I also enjoyed Wihaan Mongkhon Bophit which houses one of Thailand's biggest bronze Buddhas, a 17m high one which supposedly has survived both lightening strikes and fire.
BUT I would have to say the coolest one was the Wat Phra Mahathat, which was built in 1374. It is famous for a Buddha head that is embedded among a tree's maze of roots. HHmm.... nice way to mix nature and religion. There are plenty of rumors on how the head got there, one theory is that the image was abandoned after the Burmese sacked Ayuthaya, and trees subsequently grew around it. Or another idea is that thieves tried to steal the head, but found it was too heavy so just left it at the site. Who knows?!
Here are some other pics of the former ancient Thai capital:
Another day went to Chatuchak Weekend Market, which is literally the largest outdoor market in Asia. We were there for about 5 hours and literally covered 1/09482304324th of it. Phew! They literally sell everything there.... and I mean everything!
Then came the time to pow-wow sightsee and do touristy things. Encountering a group a Serbians (20 of them!) in my group, it was fun to brush up on my Serbian and share stories of my 5 weeks there, and also meet Norwegians and talk about my travels there as well. But alas, back to the actual tour itself. We went to the floating market, which.... although it was nice and interesting to see, it was super touristy so hence hard to maneuver the boats through the throngs of tourists in these thin boats in a thin, dirty river. But again, cool to see life literally on small boats, from selling fruits and foods to watches. Here are few pics...
Then we went to Kanchanaburi, the city where the famous Bridge over the River Kwai (which was actually a movie) is located.
They called it the Burma-Siam railway and was built by the Commonwealth, Dutch and American prisoners of war but was actually driven by the Japanese to improve communication between the large Japanese army in Burma. Unfortunately, more than 10,000 prisoners of war died and were buried along the railway. Then it's said that 80-10,000 civilians died from forced labour while trying to build it. I guess while it was being built, there were 2 labour forces working their way towards the middle, one based in Siam and the other in Burma. Very interesting and moving and unfortunately, as we were with a group, we didn't have a chance to go to the museums, which I hear were nice. BUT we did get to pet a tiger! What? Yes, we were near "Tiger Temple" which is a sanctuary of wild animals, including obviously many tigers. BUT, as that was $$$ to get into, we decided the one tiger near the Bridge was good enough for us. We got to bottle feed the tiger and then pose with them. Yes, I admit, I was a little nervous because it is a wild animal, but I survived to tell the story. I just feel bad because of how they are chained and have .002 mm to move. The tiger liked the girls, but not so much guys as the tiger literally latched onto my friends' boyfriends shorts and it took a good minute or so to have him let go. He was fairly calm about it, I think I would have had a heart attack!
But it did have me reflect a little on all the wild animals I have encountered on this trip! The Big 5 in South Africa, then later a got to pet a white lion. A polar bear (did NOT get to pet that) from afar while I was on the Arctic Circle trip and now tigers in Thailand! Who knows what my other travels will bring!
Finally my last day besides lounging and watching stupid movies, he he, went to Wat Pho, or Temple of the Reclining Buddha which is a whopping 46 m long, and the feet taking up 3 meters! It is huge!
And funny thing is my friend had wanted to see it and although I had seen the Grand Palace twice the previous 2 times, I didn't remember seeing that. But then of course I got there and remembered that I had been there! Oops! Oh well, it was still cool!
Sniff sniff... BEST WEEK EVER has officially come to a close. BUT, I think I may have the Best Month Ever next month as I am heading off to Bali and Indonesia. Sweeeeeeeet!
and also Lumpini Park,
where I was a little "sniff sniff" to see joggers and people being somewhat athletic because that is my "usual" life, not my "travel" life.
Then after those 2 activities, and "all that work" decided to get a 1-hour foot massage for less than $8! Soooooooooooooo good! I think I even fell asleep!
Thanks to cultural recommendations from a friend back at home, I went on a day trip to Ayutthaya, a Unesco World Heritage Site and former capital of Siam (for 417 years!, between 1350 and 1767!).
It actually has a fairly interesting history. Not only was this a former Asian powerhouse, but this former royal capital was a major trading port during the time of the trade winds, when international European merchants were regular visitors. It is known as a "fallen hero" because it was sacked by an invading Burmese army. Although there used to be over 400 temples, there are now a few remaining, but those that are are relatively unspoiled and it is a charming little town, which, I have to admit, it was nice to get out of crazy polluted Bangkok and have some fresh (ish) air.
The central region is pretty much an island because it is situated at the confluence of 3 rivers, and luckily for me because I did a lot on foot, many of the ruins were close to each other. In a hot sweltering day (no complaints as I am missing the grunt of Chicago winter), I wandered around to do "wat" or temple sightseeing. It REALLY reminded me of Angkor Wat in Cambodia, but obviously on a lot smaller scale. My favorite wat's were the Wat Phra Si Sanphet which was built in the late 14th century and was the largest temple there and was used by several kings. I hear it once had a 16m high standing Buddha that was something like 250kg's in gold.... but melted down by the Burmese conquerors.
I also enjoyed Wihaan Mongkhon Bophit which houses one of Thailand's biggest bronze Buddhas, a 17m high one which supposedly has survived both lightening strikes and fire.
BUT I would have to say the coolest one was the Wat Phra Mahathat, which was built in 1374. It is famous for a Buddha head that is embedded among a tree's maze of roots. HHmm.... nice way to mix nature and religion. There are plenty of rumors on how the head got there, one theory is that the image was abandoned after the Burmese sacked Ayuthaya, and trees subsequently grew around it. Or another idea is that thieves tried to steal the head, but found it was too heavy so just left it at the site. Who knows?!
Here are some other pics of the former ancient Thai capital:
Another day went to Chatuchak Weekend Market, which is literally the largest outdoor market in Asia. We were there for about 5 hours and literally covered 1/09482304324th of it. Phew! They literally sell everything there.... and I mean everything!
Then came the time to pow-wow sightsee and do touristy things. Encountering a group a Serbians (20 of them!) in my group, it was fun to brush up on my Serbian and share stories of my 5 weeks there, and also meet Norwegians and talk about my travels there as well. But alas, back to the actual tour itself. We went to the floating market, which.... although it was nice and interesting to see, it was super touristy so hence hard to maneuver the boats through the throngs of tourists in these thin boats in a thin, dirty river. But again, cool to see life literally on small boats, from selling fruits and foods to watches. Here are few pics...
They called it the Burma-Siam railway and was built by the Commonwealth, Dutch and American prisoners of war but was actually driven by the Japanese to improve communication between the large Japanese army in Burma. Unfortunately, more than 10,000 prisoners of war died and were buried along the railway. Then it's said that 80-10,000 civilians died from forced labour while trying to build it. I guess while it was being built, there were 2 labour forces working their way towards the middle, one based in Siam and the other in Burma. Very interesting and moving and unfortunately, as we were with a group, we didn't have a chance to go to the museums, which I hear were nice. BUT we did get to pet a tiger! What? Yes, we were near "Tiger Temple" which is a sanctuary of wild animals, including obviously many tigers. BUT, as that was $$$ to get into, we decided the one tiger near the Bridge was good enough for us. We got to bottle feed the tiger and then pose with them. Yes, I admit, I was a little nervous because it is a wild animal, but I survived to tell the story. I just feel bad because of how they are chained and have .002 mm to move. The tiger liked the girls, but not so much guys as the tiger literally latched onto my friends' boyfriends shorts and it took a good minute or so to have him let go. He was fairly calm about it, I think I would have had a heart attack!
But it did have me reflect a little on all the wild animals I have encountered on this trip! The Big 5 in South Africa, then later a got to pet a white lion. A polar bear (did NOT get to pet that) from afar while I was on the Arctic Circle trip and now tigers in Thailand! Who knows what my other travels will bring!
Finally my last day besides lounging and watching stupid movies, he he, went to Wat Pho, or Temple of the Reclining Buddha which is a whopping 46 m long, and the feet taking up 3 meters! It is huge!
And funny thing is my friend had wanted to see it and although I had seen the Grand Palace twice the previous 2 times, I didn't remember seeing that. But then of course I got there and remembered that I had been there! Oops! Oh well, it was still cool!
Sniff sniff... BEST WEEK EVER has officially come to a close. BUT, I think I may have the Best Month Ever next month as I am heading off to Bali and Indonesia. Sweeeeeeeet!
