AIM House, Bangkok, Day 5

Today we plan to explore the famous Chinatown. We aren't sure what to expect but we have heard the street food is pretty awesome so bypass breakfast. The best way we find to get there is on the same ferry we used to get to the Grand Palace. I pay the 40 baht fee with what I thought was a 50. In Thai baht, 500 baht looks a lot like 50 baht. I imagine you can see where this is going. When we get 460 baht change I tell her we only paid with a 50, to which she scoops the change back up. I then realise we are a 500 down so go back. Of course, she tells me I paid with a 50 and moves me along very quickly. It's rather annoying because it's my fault, and doesn't put us in the best frame of mind for the madness of where we are heading.
Anyway, the ferry trip is very short and soon we are in Chinatown. It is small, cramped, and very hot. We walk through the alleyways that are selling loads of stuff like toys, handbags, watches and more. We don't hang around long as it looks similar to most of the stuff in all the other markets, and we really came here for the food. What we find when we get to the main street is rather dissapointing. Either we have missed a smaller street selling great food, or it is because it is nearer midday then midnight, but there aren't many stalls. The stalls we do find are mostly selling durian fruit (the smelly one) and shark fin which is scarily big. If the fin is that big how big is the shark?!
We head back on the ferry hot and disgruntled. We chill out in the room and escape from the heat for a few hours. It is days like this when you realise you can have too much Bangkok. Four of five days in the hectic heat that hangs around this place with the smog leaves you needing a breather.
We are having one of them days, which is why we end up buying some beer from the 7/11 nearby and havie a few drinks in the room. We order a couple of pizzas (2 for the price of 1) and pop down to the bar next door for a quick Chang before it arrives. It is very nice to not head out into the heat again and chill in the room, and is the perfect preparation for what will be a crazy day at Chatuchak market tomorrow.Читать далее