Thailand & Malaysia

So I was awakened by a light knock at my door this morning. It was my breakfast. I had an omelet, some toast and coffee. It was delicious. My movie doesn’t start today until 3:30 which has given me plenty of time this morning. I found a cool store a few blocks down, and I wanted to get a few things. The neighborhood is really cute. More touristy, than my 1st neighborhood I was in. Lol, I really threw myself into the deep end on that one.
So I took my stuff back to the hotel and went back out on the street to hail a GRAB. I waited a minute or 2, as I’m watching the Grab, come closer. Then a motorbike pulls up and asks if I want a taxi. I say no, that I’ve ordered Grab. He’s says, yea. I ask him if he’s grab and he says yea. I then tell him I’ve ordered a car, and show him my phone. (Hindsight, I shouldn’t have done that. ) He says, yeah, Siam Paragon. Which is where I’m going. So I said so you are with Grab, and I don’t have to pay anything because I’ve paid it with Grab right? He said Yea.
So a few things here. I’ve really wanted to take a GRAB motorbike through the city and haven’t had the nerve. I was dying too. So he hands me a helmet, I jump on and we take off. It’s about a 15 minute bike ride, and it was a blast. Once I settled my feet right, I felt more comfortable. He was nice, asked where I was from, I told him the truth. He asked if I was here by myself, I said I was (I figured, it wasn’t a car, and if I got in trouble I could jump off at the next light,) He said, “I can come home with you and drive motorbikes?” We both laughed. The bikes can really get around the city much better than cars can and it was fun.
So he gets to the mall, and I thank him, and he says, “Wait. You have to pay me”. And I said, remember when you said you were with Grab? Remember?” He goes, Yea. Lol, all of a sudden he’s back to basic English. I said “You told me you were with Grab, that’s why I got on. You know that. I know you know that”. I didn’t raise my voice, I didn’t get mad, but I let him know that I knew he was scamming me. So I said, how much? And he says 450 baht. Well, on Grab it’s only 87 baht for the trip I took, and 137 baht in a grab car. I only has about 200 baht on me, and told him so. I gave him 180 (which ends up being $5.21) which is fine. He got more money out of me than normal and I let him know I was on to him. So whatever, it ended up fine.
I had been reading up before I left about scams that involve the taxis. (not Grab, but the city ones) They quote you one price and then as the trip continues, they quote you more. And it’s not about trying to nickel and dime someone, it’s the point that they are not being fair or trustworthy and they have earned a bad reputation for it. And then, locals use them and they do the same thing to them. So there is a big movement in the city to hold these guys accountable, within the local community.
That’s why I’ve been taking Grab, you don’t have to deal with that. And if I had wanted to use this guy on the motorcycle, I would have negotiated a price before I got on. And I wouldn’t have gotten on for 450 baht. But it was my mistake to not delve a bit deeper before I got on. But it was the middle of the day, and I knew where we were going and what the way there looked like. . But, that’s how you learn. And that’s the thing about it here. They don’t rob you at gunpoint, they waste your time to get more money out of you. But, Grab didn’t charge me for the car trip I had ordered, and I had a really good teachable moment. . 🤷🏻‍♀️
I figured something would happen at least once, and there it was. I still had a blast on the back of the bike going through the streets on Bangkok.
So I had a great little Vietnamese lunch at this mall I was at. It was huge. And one floor was a food hall and it was massive! And packed. On a Wednesday!
It looked most like tourists and high school kids.
So I go in to the movie theater, and the one I chose was listed under the “Top 10 best VIP movie theaters in Bangkok” by a Bangkok magazine. It was called the “Honda Ultimate” (they must sponsor it?) and all the seats were squishy recliners with a pillow and a blanket. With my ticket I got 2 free snacks and a drink. So I got Hagen-Das chocolate ice cream, (just the individual cup), popcorn and a coke. So the movie starts and they bring it to me.
Well, 1st of all, I’m the only one in the theater which was great. So I go for the ice cream 1st. I take the top off, and then try to take the paper lining between the top and the ice cream off, and I can’t. I’m chewing on it, trying to stab it with my wooden spoon, thinking am I going to have to get up and go find someone to open this for me? Finally I get it open, but have you tried to eat ice cream with a wooden flat spoon in the dark lately? I had this image of me flinging it everywhere and getting it all over this nice blanket I had been provided. (The pillow and blanket were sealed in a bag, so I figure they are sanitized, which is really nice.)
So I safely finished the ice cream and settled in for this great movie with popcorn and a comfy blanket. It is definitely the way to see a movie. But even some movie theatre in the states have the recliners, and it’s really nice. One thing about this theatre is you had more space between seats. Again, it’s all about space.
So as the movie was finishing, I started thinking about how I was going to get back to the hotel. The experience with the motorcycle taxi unnerved me a bit and I was irritated that I had let that happen. And then I realized, there is NO WAY I could let that be my last experience with local transportation on this trip. I was going to have to get a Grab motorbike taxi for the ride home. So after the movie finished, I went out to the entrance, and got me a Grab motorbike taxi. And he said my name, and had a green GRAB jacket on. So I got on and we took off. It was a beautiful night, the streets were busy and I had a blast riding on the back of that thing through the streets of Bangkok. And he got me back to my drop off point, and I gave him a huge tip on the app afterward. He helped me set getting a motorbike taxi right. And he had no clue. 😆
So tomorrow check out is 11 and my car service picks me up at 11:30. There a big summit (I think it’s APEC- Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation) going on this week here, and roads are closed and the metro has certain lines that are closed, so I’m just going to get to the airport early and hang out in the lounge and read.
I really like the vibe of Bangkok. I like Thailand more than I liked what I saw of Malaysia. Next time, I’d like to see a bit more of Penang, and they say Malaysia has really amazing beaches.
I just felt more comfortable in Thailand. Now the house in Penang wins hands down. And the host and I really enjoyed chatting back and forth. But overall, I found I was happy when I got back to Bangkok. It’s an easy city to get around, there is plenty of public transportation, and lots to see and do. And I barely scratched the surface. There is a rhythm here. It’s a swirling, chaotic , layered, deep, historic wave of energy that works. There is definitely and order to the chaos. Everyone does the dance and it works. With the traffic especially, it flows.
I didn’t get a feel for Penang’s flow. The traffic seemed much more dangerous, chaotic, jerky, unsettling. Like everyone had a car, but couldn’t drive very well. Again, maybe getting out of Georgetown next time. We will see.
But in that house, in the evening, when it was raining, I felt the magic of Penang. The rain hitting the tin roofs, all the beautiful green plants, the history surrounding you. I definitely felt it then.
So I’m packed, and heading to bed. I’m taking off Thursday evening from here and will be at JFK Friday morning. Gotta love the time difference. I’ll gain a day heading back. I don’t understand it, but it works. ❤️Read more