72 Baht and a typhoon

So after my first long flight ever I arrived in Bangkok. After trying to find my way at the airport, I finally got outside; what a heat! Once you get outside over here, sweat starts dripping out of every pore of your body. And Thailand is not even in its hottest period at the moment! I'm not built for this climate.

After I got a taxi, while trying to make sure that I don't get ripped off on my first day in Bangkok, I had the ride of my life. What a chaos! Sean, I'll never be afraid as your passenger again! Some things I experienced during my ride:

- You can stop on the road verge whenever you want. At least that's what the crying lady who ran out of the car seemed to think.
- Once three cars ride behind each other, it's a driving lane, road markings or not.
- Everyone can change driving lanes anywhere, anytime.
- My taxi driver put on his safety belt about half-way, I didn't have any (why would I need one right?).
- Being on a scooter with your one-year old in one arm and the throttle on your other arm is completely safe.

So after this crazy, but nevertheless awesome ride, I arrived at the hotel where I met up with my friends Maartje and Bas. In the afternoon we went on a bike ride through Bangkok, which was really amazing (but hard, due to my jet-lag). This tour is quite special as it shows you places and daily activities that you wouldn't normally see.  Before the tour, we saw the golden Buddha in the Wat Traimit, worth a staggering 250 million USD! On the tour, we went so the back-alleys of Chinatown, where they have big storage places for old car parts (think of 1000's of ball bearings, for example). After that, we went by a couple of temples (of which there are numerous in Thailand) and some food and flower markets. When we went through all of these, we got into a longtail boat that showed us the canals in the Venice-like part of Bangkok and subsequently we cycled through the remote plantations and neighbourhoods that flooded some years ago.

The next day, Maartje had to leave us early to get her flight to Brisbane. Bas and I intended to get to the palace, but found it too expensive and too much of a hassle to get in (you can't wear shorts). Instead, we went to Wat Pho to see the enormous reclining Buddha (there are so many Buddha's and temples here, it's ridiculous!) and the Wat Arun, a really impressive temple.

Wat Arun

On the third, and intended final day, Bas and I went to the seven-eleven to get some groceries before we had to go to the airport. We had only 72 Baht left (which is about EUR 1,80 for the record). Unfortunately, price tags are not as well arranged as we're used to, as the cashier told us that we had to pay 105 Baht. In easily one of the more embarrassing moments in my life, we had to put something back, after which the lovely lady behind the counter had to scan every product again (amazing system by the way...). Second score, 75 Baht! Again, we had to tell her that we would like to put something back. I hope she found it was as funny as we did, otherwise I sincerely apologize for wasting her time.

Overall, Bangkok has been quite interesting, but we were glad that we could finally leave. It's chaotic, smelly, ridiculously warm and nobody speaks English properly (and if you think that you found somebody who does, they prove you wrong in no time). I can imagine that people find that amazing, but it's just not my cup of tea. After the first big-ass Buddha, I don't necessarily have to see ten other big-ass Buddha's (although the reclining one was a nice addition).

Once we got to the airport, we got the message that we couldn't catch our follow-up flight in Taipei because they would most likely suffer from their first typhoon of the year. First possible flight: in four days. They could not help us with re-booking and we weren't allowed to use their phone. Actually, I don't think they understood what we wanted at all. The lovely Chinese lady only kept smiling and saying " please call China Airlines re-booking". In a 20-minute phone conversation (which, in proper English, could have taken 5 minutes), we got our flights re-booked to next Tuesday, which means that we still had to spend 4 days in Bangkok! And that is what we're doing right now, not really inclined to go outside as our new hotel is quite far away from town. I might go to Ayutthaya though, I think I'd like it there.

Next entry: our remaining days in Bangkok and hopefully my arrival in Melbourne! (I'll try to upload some more pictures as well)