asiafun Posted January 1, 2006 Report Share Posted January 1, 2006 Thailand Day 2 BKK At 4 AM I was awakened by the annoying sound of some bird that absolutely no respect for those of us trying to sleep. It was incredibly loud and it got the dogs in the neighborhood to join in. It was not until almost 5 before the ruckus tapered off and before I knew it 6 am had rolled around. I thought to myself that I must be out of my freaking mind for getting up so early on my vacation. The ride was on time at 6:30 and whisked, if that is possible in BKK, to a central point where we met up with other tourists taking the same tour. Our guide was a gent who bordered on flaming gay but might actually have a family. We all got our matching pink stickers indicating we were part of his group and headed out on a tourist bus with a toilet that did not work. It seems no matter what part of Asia I have gone these things are out of order. Asia of all places is where you need them to work the most. After an hour drive, during which our guide rambled on about every inane detail about the Burmese Invasion, the number of ethnic groups which immigrated to the Kingdom, the many wats and each story, the multitude of kings and leaders in the history of Siam. After about 15 minutes I could stand no more and drifted off. Before I knew it we were pulling into the Ayutthaya area and the guide was still droning on. We stopped at on of the Wats with a really big golden Buddha and followed up with the ruins of Ayutthaya. I am no archaeologist but after having clambered all around the ruins I am willing to bet there is much more beneath the surface of the place. It was pretty much as cool as I expected it to be and I was able to snap off some fantastic photos. We stayed in the area about an hour and we were off to our next stop, another Wat. Along the way I noticed that the ruins of Ayutthaya were much more extensive than what the main area would lead you to believe. The former capital must have been huge. The next Wat had a large reclining Buddha and the main temple area was surrounded by a bunch of Buddha heads leading to another fantastic photo opportunity. The interior of the Wat building had a bunch of bats on the inside. I had noticed the bats and an observant elderly Thai woman took note of that and commented that the number of bats living there was a sign of good luck. This visit was shorter than the first as the guide was ready to take us to Bang Pa-In, The Kings Summer Palace. Built in the 17th century this place had a very nice mix of western and oriental architecture. The grounds were expansive and we only had an hour so I rented a electric golf cart for 400 baht and went zooming along snapping dozens of photos. When our time was up is was about a 40 minute drive to catch our boat on the Chao Praya river which would take us South back to Bangkok. Along the way the guide showed us where a huge number of cranes had flown in from Siberia and were nesting. We boarded our boat which was slightly rundown but seaworthy nonetheless. We were immediately treated to a free buffet of marginal quality but the price of the drinks was where the boat crew got their money back. After lunch, we all went above decks and watched the river village life as we puttered along the river. Once back in town we saw a few more temples which were along the water and caught our rides back to our respective hotels. The tour cost about 1300B a person. On the way back I ran into an American-Asian couple that had just gotten back from Phuket. They said the weather was kind of crappy so I decided to forgo that part of the trip as I kept hearing a number of similar comments from other tourists and the forecasts were not all that great sounding either. After cleaning up I decided to visit the Cabbages and Condoms restaurant. Located on the right side 100 meters up Sukhumvit Soi 12, this place has a garden like entrance that is very upscale until you reach the establishment itself where you are greeted by thousands of condoms decorated into a multitude of artistic displays. The food was very good and one can expect to spend about 400-500 Baht a head here. After you pay Check Bin, you get condoms instead of mints. I never was able to find the cabbage. On the way back to Soi 4 I passed more than a few clothing and trinket stalls managed by a large population of deaf people. With a little bit of effort I was able to haggle my way to a fair price on a number of items and in turn brightened the day of our handicapped brethren. One item in particular had a tag with an unusual quote that read ?Spiders are so freaking lucky, they just eat their exes?. I was due for another early 6 AM day for a tour of the River Market area but at least this tour was only going to be a half day?or so I thought! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
longwoodguy74 Posted January 1, 2006 Report Share Posted January 1, 2006 asiafun said:I was due for another early 6 AM day for a tour of the River Market area but at least this tour was only going to be a half day?or so I thought! I'm guessing that they failed to mention all of the souvenir & gem shops they planned to drag you through on the way home? Nice post! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asiafun Posted January 1, 2006 Author Report Share Posted January 1, 2006 Yes they failed to mention that and it will be discussed in day three...You were not the guy yelling at the tour guide on the mini van were you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
longwoodguy74 Posted January 1, 2006 Report Share Posted January 1, 2006 asiafun said:Yes they failed to mention that and it will be discussed in day three...You were not the guy yelling at the tour guide on the mini van were you? :: Not on this trip, at least! been there, suffered through that in the past, bro. i feel your pain! look forward to more installments! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asiafun Posted January 2, 2006 Author Report Share Posted January 2, 2006 Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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