More Bangkok for Your Buck

How on earth do I summarize the highlights that Bangkok has to offer?

Imagine a city that never sleeps. Imagine dirty congested streets that excite rather than frustrate. Ah, some of the most remarkably tasty food on the planet. Street noodles down Kho San Road for . Where else can you sit in a restaurant eating spicy green curry and see a baby elephant stroll by. Imagine Patpong, a more sleazy shopping area (with GREAT prices) where you can be handed a "pussy menu"? (I won’t go into details!)

In Bangkok the locals wash their dishes in the street, chickens and kids wander amongst the cars; and yet the temples shine and sparkle in the evening sun reflecting their golden hue to the heavens. Bangkok is insane and you must keep an open mind to enjoy the atmosphere. Laugh with the scam men who try their best to take your cash.
Eat from the street vendors at 4am when jet lag hits. Haggle for the best price down at the market even though you may only be saving yourself a dollar. Take time to visit the stunning temples and watch as the monks wander alongside you. Enjoy and let this crazy city envelope you.

Quick Tips:

Do your research:

• If a well dressed fellow tells you he used to teach in Chicago and the Grand Palace you are heading to is closed…know that this is a well tried and tested scam to send you in some other direction, i.e. a gem store or tailor.

• If the tuk tuk price seems too good to be true - it probably is and you will be spending some of your sightseeing time on route to a gem store or tailor.

• Unless you are in the business, don’t bother buying gems… not all that glitters is gold.

• If the taxi refuses to click on his meter (because it's broken, doesn’t have one, or whatever reason they give), it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t use the cab… just realize you will be paying more.

• Don’t stick to one area. Make the time to explore. Each area in Bangkok is very different and your experiences will vary depending on the area you stay. Kho San, Sukhumvit, Silom district, Siam square all offer a totally unique experience.

• I have to say this…if you are here for the sex. Protect yourself and think twice. Even those of age are not always willing participants.

Best Way To Get Around:

Bangkok offers every possible option for transportation. Tuk Tuks, Metro, taxis, sky train, and the canal (Klong) boats, all offer easy and cheap ways to see the city.

Walking the city is impossible as it's too big, but walking around your area works as long as you beware of other drivers (they won’t watch for you) and the heat. A short, twenty minute stroll, can seem like hell if the temperatures top 130 degrees like when we were there.

The Swana Hotel was our diamond in the rough. We made our reservations online from USA and after arriving at the airport in the early hours we were tired and nervous about what this Thai hotel had in store for us.

The taxi drive from the airport was ½ hour and once downtown me and Karl began glancing nervously at each other as the driver circles the streets looking for the "Swana". The said streets began to take on a dodgy look. Graffiti, scaffolding, people washing their cookware in the roads… and there we were outside our hotel right in the midst of this. Gulp.

However, on entering and being shown to our "superior" room ($39 for a double), we were amazed! The entryway, corridors, and subsequent rooms were stunning. More fitting to South Beach than the gritty streets we were driving through.

The website lists the style as contemporary Thai decor, and that is no exaggeration… from the beautiful engraved wood headboard, the black wood furniture, hardwood floors and gorgeous bathroom. The room also had the much needed a/c, as well as refrigerator, cable TV, and adequate closets.

As it was dark on arrival I was excited to check out the view of the morning from the windows… what a sight. Directly below us there were dirty alleyways with chickens, pigs, and kids running around. Corrugated iron roofs and then with the rising sun just past the houses, a golden temple caught in the lights glistening. Wow. This view sums up Bangkok in a nutshell. The glitz and the poverty side by side.

Breakfast was included and each morning there was a choice of "western" breakfast (scrambled eggs, toast, bacon, coffee, juice) or "Thai" breakfast (soup with rice and fishy meaty things). Both were delicious!

It turns out the location couldn’t have been better and those dirty streets we feared on arrival were as safe as house to walk down night or day. We were close to Khao San Road backpacker ghetto… A great little community that you will love or hate with 24 hour a day craziness and teeming with European backpackers. It is also located at a walking distance from the Temple or the emerald Buddha, Grand Palace, etc.

Ironically enough the restaurant "Cabbages and Condoms"; dedicated to HIV and AIDS awareness is located in the Sukhumvit area which had more signs of the ‘bought’ women than the previously visited Khao San road area.

Their catch phrase is "Our food is guaranteed not to make you pregnant". After dinner watch for the offering of a wrapped condom with your coffee rather than the traditional mint.

Despite all the kitsch; this restaurant does have a very serious nature. Proceeds from the food and the adjacent gift shop are given to the Population and Community Development Association, a non profit organization.

The restaurant itself is beautiful, lit with fairy lights and offering an indoor dining area as well as outdoor. The food was wonderful though more high scale (and higher prices) than other restaurants we chose. Well not expensive by US standards but expensive compared to the casual places around Khao San Road.

The ambience, the tasty food, the good cause all make it worth shelling out a few extra dollars for an interesting experience.

We found May Kaidee’s restaurant fairly difficult to find. We knew it was in the alleyways behind Khao San road and it took a while to seek it out, but it was well worth the effort.

May runs a guesthouse, cooking classes, massage, and this restaurant, which is wonderful. She serves 100% vegetarian food (no fish sauce used) and the prices are cheap cheap cheap (40-50 baht a dish). The setting is basic but the food anything but that. I had a wonderful green curry and the food was well presented and so flavorful.

I wish we had longer in Bangkok because it would have been great to participate in the cooking classes. Prices for that vary but are usually 1,200 baht for a full day where you learn 10 dishes. Yummy. Our whole meal for two including shakes and beer was just a few dollars.

SHOPPING ???

If you like car boot sales and flea markets, try Chatuchak Market for size. Over 35 hectares of market stall upon market stall selling everything from puppies, chipmunks, foods, crafts, and flea market type junk.

It's open from 9am to 6pm both Saturday and Sunday. I suggest you get there early to avoid both the crowds and the heat.

The easiest (coolest and cheapest) way to arrive is via the BTS Sky train (Mo Chit stop), from here you just walk across the street. The Metro also has a stop here. The Market itself is just a mind-blowing maze of 15,000 stalls and it's great for gift shopping. Personally, I chose to concentrate on the food and animal stalls. All kinds of weird and wonderful foods were available and I really can’t tell you all I tried as I don’t even know what I was eating half the time.

I was curious to see all the animals on display even though I knew it would bother me. Strangely enough, they seemed healthy and well fed. It was early when we arrived and all the puppies were being washed and blow dried for maximum sale potential. Although there are plenty of clothing stalls and places to get gifts I was recommended the MBK MALL for more serious souvenir purchasing.

This immense mall (8 stories high, 2500 stores) is every mall rat's fantasy. It's modern, marbled, and unlike the market, it has great air-conditioning making for greater shopping potential.

Located in Siam Square on the BTS (National Stadium Station) this place is teeming with Thai teens. One whole floor was full of electronics, the food court was amazing, and if you can get the local clothes to fit, they go for great prices.

If you like Buddhas, you will be in your element here in Thailand. I was buddha’ed out by the end of this trip. Emerald Buddha, little Buddha, big Buddha and the Granddaddy of them all - the reclining Buddha!

First seen by me at the very beginning of “The Beach”, where strangely enough, the reclining Buddha resides along the street. Poetic film license because here in Bangkok the Reclining Buddha rests in Wat Pho- Bangkok’s largest temple.

This Buddha really is a wondrous sight. 150 feet of gold leaf splendor as he reclines (hence the name) one arms along his body the other propping up his head. The feet at the other end were 9 feet long decorated so intricately with Mother of Pearl which is a characteristic of the Buddha.

Wat Pho is 20 acres with over 1000 Buddha images to view if the reclining fellow doesn’t hold your interest too long. For me at least I just loved watching the numerous Monks that wandered the temple grounds, serenely floating by in their orange robes. Karl accused me of having a Monk fetish by the end of the trip as I just couldn’t help watching and wanting to talk with them. Though quiet and serious looking they would instantly start giggling when I spoke to them. Indeed quite endearing!

We were hesitant about driving a car in Bangkok (they are crazy drivers), yet I had read about a place called the "Tiger Temple", located two hours North of Bangkok.

Before leaving the States, I had considered booking a tour in advance which included the Tiger Sanctuary but there was only one company I could find and it was really expensive. My advice… wait.

Get to Bangkok first and just hit up one of the hundreds of travel agencies along Khao San Road. We didn’t want to get ripped off, so I chose a decent looking agency that seemed to know what they were talking about.

It's about impossible to get a trip just to the Tiger Temple as the visiting hours with the tigers are limited; so we chose a tour that included other events also. Our mini bus picked us up the next morning, and we were a small group of six with a great English speaking guide. The driver was manic, like all drivers there, and we sped on out of Bangkok city and along the highways at breakneck speed. I noticed the hanging "shrines" all the drivers have hanging from their rear view mirrors and was pleased to see our guy had a pretty impressive collection. I hoped they protected!

The drive through the countryside goes something like this. Poverty, poverty, poverty, glitz gold temple, poverty, poverty, poverty, glitz gold temple… get the idea. One constant is the giant billboards of the King everywhere you go. That guy sure likes to have his face on display!

Our first stop was the Dameon Sukak floating market, which though touristy was very cool to see. We look a long boat along the congested canals and bought food which was being prepared from other boats. Foods, gifts, homemade crafts where all for sale from the river sides or other boats. From here we drove up to Kanchuburi where we got the chance to see what’s left of the original bridge over the river Kwai; built by the allied soldiers for the Japanese army. The small museum there was interesting too.

Then finally, it was on to the Tiger Temple which was another hour further north. The sanctuary is an old quarry surrounded by donated forest land. At three every day the saved tigers get released into the quarry for visitors to come and visit. I had done much reading up on the sanctuary previously and am well aware of the critics who believe the tigers are drugged for visitors' safety.

After my visit I’m inclined to disagree, overall this experience was the most exciting thing I’ve ever done in my life! On arrival to the park we were given information on all the rescued tigers and the monks who care for them. We were handed new clothing (if ours was too bright so as not to piss off the tigers). Funnily enough one of the taboo colors’ to wear is orange. Odd only in the fact that all the monks wear Dayglo orange. You are given instruction not to make sudden arm gestures and to follow the monk’s serene movements as much as possible. We walked alone to the quarry (about ½ mile) and on getting closer could hear the occasional roars. I was getting nervous.

This side trip was an anniversary gift from Karl and I was beginning to wonder if he was trying to get rid of me or something??!! Our arrival to the quarry floor was greeted with an amazing sight… ten full grown tigers; all tethered on long (ten feet) ropes, basking in the sun and eyeing us greedily. GULP. We waited our turn (it wasn’t busy and some tourists just wanted to look and not touch) and then a Monk took me by the hand and led me to the first tiger.

I have to say my heart was beating so fast. I tried to move slow and copy the Monk as he sat me down right by the first tiger. I reached down and petted the creature and the thrill and emotions were unbelievable! What an experience. Then to the next tiger, and the next until my turn was over but just 5 minutes of waiting and I could go again and again. One particular Monk took a liking to me and had be lay on the tigers head and touch the huge paws.

There were a few scary moments when the tigers would bare teeth but the monks calmed them with some milky bread they would lay out, toys and pouring water on their noses for distraction purposes. At one point two male tigers did begin fighting but the Monks got everyone out of the way safely. It wasn’t a dangerous situation but the roars echoing round the quarry were a big reminder that these cats were not domesticated.

In all, it was the best experience of my life. Further donations are helping to build another 12 acres for the cats to live and play. All the cats there have been brought up as cubs and can never be released into the wild as they have lost their ability to hunt; but the next generation of cubs they are hoping to be able to release to live as true wild tigers. This will be easier once the next stage of their project is complete.

Check out www.walkingwithtigers.org for more info.

How many of you know a place, a street, which has its own website?

REALLY CHECK IT OUT.

A place where Backpackers mingle easily with ladyboys?

A place where baby elephants wander the streets alongside the tourists?

A place where you can drink your alcohol from a bucket and eat fried maggots from street vendors?

How about buying a fake college education, press pass or Prada handbag?

WELCOME to Khao San Road.

Watch Leonardo Dicaprio in "the Beach" and see the very low end ($5 a night) accommodation where he stayed. This kind of hostel is readily available if you have the inkling to do so. Most people visit Khao San Road at some point during their stay in Bangkok and it's either loved or hated.

True, Khao San Road is a real backpacker Ghetto; where Europeans gather and spend their months mingling and exchanging travel stories. In the movie, Leonardo criticized these people as wanting to be different and see new cultures and yet they all gather together. Thinking they are being different and exciting... yet hardly leaving the area they feel safe in.

It’s easy to see that when you wander down K.S. Road and see all the blond, tall, dreadlocked backpackers congregating; but the road undoubtedly holds a charm of its own. I, personally, loved K. S. Road. I explored with my husband, and alone, at all times of the night and day. Something is going on 24 hours a day and people-watching here is a must ! Just grab a "bucket" of whisky, sit back, and enjoy the crazy world pass you by.

When jet lag strikes at 5am; it's nice to know there is a place you can wander to and buy $1 street noodles amongst other time displaced travelers. Another huge advantage of the road (well to me) is the lack of sex tourists. Khao San attracts the low budget, European travelers who baulk at paying $2 for dinner never mind buying a Thai girl for the night. It was a really welcome break after being around the Sukkhumvit for some time and having to witness the fat, old American or Japanese business man with a pretty young Thai girl on his arm.

Much of the accommodation is on the cheap and grungy side but in recent years Khao San Road is getting trendy and nicer hotels are popping up all over. It can be loud staying along the road but if you choose to stay a few streets back you can get the quiet nights without being too far from the action... and action is what Khao San Road is all about !