Satellite
  • Day 1

    Hello Bangkok

    February 24, 2017 in Thailand ⋅ ⛅ 33 °C

    So after some last minute packing and trying to decide what shirt out of the 30+ I own to pack (should a guy own so many? Probably not!) I arrived yesterday in crazy Bangkok and it appears as mad as everyone says. I'm staying near the mecca that is Khaosan Road and it certainly lives up to its backpacker friendly rep. In five minutes of walking down it, I've been offered deep fried scorpion on a stick, Thai massages, five suits, a ping pong show and a wooden musical frog; and in another five I'll be offered them all again! Seems a cool place though and there are some quieter streets just off it to explore too.

    I went with my roommate for a wander and to a couple of temples. A tuk tuk driver amusingly tried to tell us the first temple was closed, this was despite being about ten feet from the entrance with loads of tourists walking in - we opted to decline his kind offer to "go somewhere better" and went in.

    First problem, I couldn't get in because men aren't allowed with shorts in respect for Buddha. I'd considered this in advance and thought I was well prepared - having bought a towel to wrap around me. No such luck, men also can't wear a sarong or a makeshift sarong (note to David Beckham if he fancies a visit) so I along with a load of other guys had to buy a pair of fetching temple pants which to be fair should come in handy as you can't go two minutes without seeing one in Asia! the Grand Palace and Wat Po temples are beautiful and really interesting though and the massive reclining Buddha is very impressive too.

    After this, we got a tuk tuk back towards Khaosan for a bite. The tuk tuk is a mad little motor-cart three-wheeled thing which is an experience to ride itself. The driver weaved in and of traffic for what seemed like a laugh! Health and safety would have a field day if it existed here! 🙄

    That evening I wandered around the area and had an amazing yellow curry for about a pound! Could get used to this! Had a couple of beers and chatted to a guy in the bar for a bit. We listend to a Thai singer murder some Oasis tracks but everyone was still loving it! I reckon a few of the famous whisky buckets they do here probably helped.

    I'm meeting my friend from school this weekend who lives here and we're going to go out of the city a bit - looking forward to what's in store.
    Read more