Days 22-24: Last Days in Ao Tha Bay

After earning myself a sunburn above my knees from Day 28's motor scooter riding, I spent most of the next few days in the shade, with some exceptions. Day 29 (Sunday) I went to the Krabi Weekend Night Market in the evening. It was like the typical Thai night market where you can stuff your face with delicious foods for less than $5, but with some singing and entertainment too. There were a group of children playing (what sounded like) traditional Thai music with the most bored expressions on their face. Except for the lead melody, they seemed to be hitting notes at random, though it didn't sound bad. I found it all extremely amusing.

Day 30 was truly a rest day. You might even call it a serious case of the Mondays, despite myself not knowing what day of the week it was. I made some more progress on my classes, read, and generally lounged around.

Day 31 I decided to rent a motor scooter and visit Than Bok Khorani National Park.

It's nearly 40 km one-way. I took some back roads (mainly Road 4011) on the way there and Highway 4 on the way back. On the way there I accidentally turned down a dead end residential road. Upon reaching the end, two Thai children came running towards me waving their hands and shouting hello. The look on their faces was as if Christmas (or Thai equivalent) had come early. When I turned around and left them 20 seconds later after getting my bearings they looked as if I had just lit all their presents on fire. It was quite a roller coaster of a friendship while it lasted.

Than Bok Khorani is a nice park with a 10-minute circumference walking path that constantly has to bridge itself over the park's small yet numerous waterfalls. The best way to sum it up is it's probably worth the $8.57 I paid to get in, but it's probably not worth the 300฿ I paid to get in. Though the park itself covers over 100 km², only the top 5% comes with your ticket.

Around sunset I took the motor scooter out for one last joy ride to Road 1003 and back. The area I stayed in, Ao Tha Bay, is exceedingly beautiful at this hour. Everywhere you look is like the OS X Yosemite default background picture. I had a hard time capturing everything in one photo, but I tried.

On the way back to return the scooter, as the sun dips below the horizon

This was my last night in Bananas Bungalows. Tomorrow morning I would catch a bus into Krabi Town where I had booked a hostel for the two remaining days before my flight.

Day 21: Ao Nang Beach, Krabi Town, and Motor Scooters!

Today was one of those really great travel days (they're all pretty good, but this one especially). I rented a motor scooter and drove it all over Krabi. I was initially worried about learning how to drive, this being my first time driving a motor scooter, but quickly realized how easy and familiar the action is. To my hands, it feels like a cross between a bicycle and a snowmobile. I had my tank filled at a local mart with gasoline from a 1.5 liter water bottle.

My first destination was Ao Nang Beach, the most popular beach in the Krabi area (as voted on by tourists).

On the way there I witnessed someone else on a motor scooter hit a monkey trying to cross the road (I think the monkey was only dazed for a moment).

This is actually Nopparat Thara Beach, connected to the more well-known Ao Nang Beach

Lying on the west side of the beach was an extremely busty woman lying front side up tanning topless. That's when I knew I wasn't in America anymore.

Curvaceous woman not pictured for obvious reasons

From the beach I drove east along the coast, cutting through the Ao Nang downtown area along road 4203, connecting to 4204, and finally east again on 4034 (see above map). On the way to Krabi Town I found a bizarre, nearly deserted tourist attraction.

Placed next to a cooking school, this structure is non-existent on Google Maps

There was a sign near the base of the stairs that said "Climb the heavy step". So I did.

At the top are four wax monks doomed to eternal meditation

Once in Krabi Town I visited the park and walked through the nearby shopping area where they were busy setting up for the weekend market.

Thara Park in Krabi Town

Using a small child as a diversion, we defended Krabi from this giant crab with our phone lasers

The ride back to Bananas Bungalows near sunset was beautiful, but I found riding a motor scooter down the highway as the day begins to cool is a quick way to become a human windshield.

Overall, I found motor scooter a fantastic way to explore the area. It's hard to beat the feeling of riding down the road, catching glimpses of everyday Thai life while a woman in a hijab races ahead of you and beautiful scenery surrounds.

Day 20: Magical Moments

Resting and relaxing. I was able to make progress on both of my courses and listen to Antonio Carlos Jobim whilst enjoying this lovely scene:

In the afternoon I partook in many servings of fried bananas -- which, as I discovered, are both different and more tasty than fried plantains. At sunset I walked out towards the sea during low tide. The light from the setting sun was lovely and the prayers from the nearby mosque echoing through the forest and off the mountainside made for an all too surreal scene. 

Day 19: Monkey Island

The first half of today was like a page out of an adventure novel. I rented a kayak and paddled around "big rock" (see the big rock in the photo in tomorrow's post) to Monkey Island. Monkey Island isn't an official name -- essentially any island close to tourists with monkeys on it is called "monkey island". There is a small beach on this specific instantiation of monkey island that's good for resting and watching the butterflies flirt after the upwind journey. There were other couples from Bananas Bungalows already soaking up whatever UV rays made it through the layer of clouds above. Midway through my visit one of the guests had their orange stolen by a macaque monkey.

On the way back I explored some of the sea caves around Monkey Island. I've called these "islands" up to this point, but they're more akin to sea stacks, like this.  The geology is very impressive. It looks as if someone put a giant cylinder in the sea and then dripped liquid sediments of various kinds atop it. Near the base of the sea stacks are many well-preserved trilobite fossils -- meaning the rock at the base is at least 250 million years old.

While exploring the sea caves, it began to rain outside. I attempted to dash to "big rock" to avoid the worst of it, but was caught in the first five minutes of the downpour. I waited out the remaining 20 minutes of rain and waves in a sea cave before paddling back to the bungalows. The tide had withdrawn by then and I had to drag my 2-person kayak across the sands.

The rest of the day was spent reading and playing card games with other guests.

Day 18: Low Tide

Today was another 'take it easy' kind of day. The wifi was still out from yesterday so I used my phone as a hotspot to catch up on blog posts and a few lectures. During the afternoon I walked beyond the dock to the sands revealed by low tide. 

Looking back toward Bananas Bungalows

During low tide, dozens of crab colonies, each with a thousand or so crabs, make their way onto the sands to feed (I presume). It's mildly amusing watching an entire army of them scatter away as you make your way out towards the sea. If they can't outrun you then they bury themselves in the sand and hope you are feeling merciful.

This crab, one of the larger ones, was about 2 inches across

Day 17: Bananas Bungalows

I successfully boarded the ferry back to Krabi the next morning. Upon arrival, myself and the other passengers were inundated by an onslaught of taxi drivers eager to give us rides for a "fair price". Nobody wanted to use the meter (I insisted) so I asked a tuk tuk driver to take me to the center of the town for 100 baht where I thought it more likely I would find a taxi driver willing to use a meter. (I would later find out that no one outside of Bangkok uses the meter in Thailand, at least not with foreigners). While waiting in the back of the tuk tuk for the driver, I downloaded "Grab Taxi", an app I heard is popular for requesting rides. Using the app I was able to request a driver with the price estimate included. As I hopped out of the tuk tuk the driver asked me where I was going. I told him I was going to Bananas Bungalow for 600 baht (I had previously been quoted 1200 baht). He told me: "I do it same price."

I think I found my new favorite haggling method.

Once again, I found myself arriving at my accommodation in a torrential downpour. When it cleared up I was finally able to fully appreciate the beauty of the location.

Looking back towards the bungalows from the dock

There are many animals here: small dogs, a large cage filled with birds and guinea pigs, a cat with wild hair, even a 3 or 4 week old puppy. I met some friends at the communal dinner that night and we went to see the bio-luminescent plankton that frequent the waters at the base of the dock.

Day 16: Ko Phi Phi

I woke up at 4:30 to catch my 7:30 flight from Don Muang airport to Krabi.

Upon arriving in Krabi, I took a shuttle bus to what (I think) was some sort of tour company/restaurant, where I bought a ferry ticket to Ko Phi Phi for 400 baht.

   

I had guessed before arriving that the cheapest way to get a ferry ticket was directly from the ticket booth at the pier, but after arriving at the pier with my ticket - and seeing no ticket office, only more tour companies - I began to think that the only way to get a ferry from Krabi to any of the nearby islands is through a third-party. I had been quoted 400 baht by multiple tour companies (and found on WikiTravel that this is the usual price this time of the year), but it still seems bizarre to me that there's no apparent public transportation option. I digress.

Upon arriving in Ko Phi Phi I refilled the data on my SIM card (I had been helplessly without 3G all day) and tracked down Antonio, whom I had initially met at the hostel in Bangkok. 

Antonio and I on Ko Phi Phi

We had lunch and a quick swim before the final ferry of the day departed at 15:30 from Ko Phi Phi to Krabi, where I had booked accommodation for the night. I bought another ticket (this time for 350 baht, from yet another tour company) and waited at the pier for the boarding call. And waited. And waited ... When is the boat to Krabi arriving? I asked the man with the megaphone. I'd seen the man earlier shouting at arriving tourists to pay a 20 baht "environmental fee". Krabi? Krabi boat already left! Shit. He said I could ride with his friends to Krabi on their fishing trolley boat that was leaving at 20:00 that night. I said thanks, but I think I'll spend the night here instead.

Not the worst place to be stranded for a day

I booked the dorm room that Antonio had been at for the past 4 nights. Antonio had wanted to come to Ko Phi Phi for beautiful beaches and scenery and a relaxed atmosphere - and had booked the cheapest hostel he could find. The scenery around Ko Phi Phi is undoubtedly beautiful, but the island is split into two halves: one for luxury resorts, the other for extravagant partying. We were distinctly in the party region. In a party hostel. And I had the closest bed in the place to the speakers blasting bass-leaded music down onto the nightly beach parties.

Antonio and I spent the evening observing the numerous fire dancing shows all the beach party hostels seemed to be putting on and walking around the town for people watching purposes.

Antonio had eaten something that disagreed strongly with his stomach a few days earlier and was still on a diet of non-alcoholic liquids and light snacks. We ended up back in the dorm room relatively early at 0:30 the next morning. Antonio measured the sound level from within the dorm room at 70dB, but I fell asleep fairly quickly after sleeping only 4 hours the night before.

Days 13-15: Taking it Easy

There's not much to report from my last 3 days in Bangkok. I spent all of day 13 in the hostel hanging out with the cats.

Day 14 I met a Polish girl, Kasia (Kay-sha), and we went to my favorite Bangkok cafe Too Fast To Sleep as well as Lumphini Park. Below is the first public trash bin I have seen within Bangkok not inside a park.

A trash receptacle for use by the public.

Day 15 I spent once again within the hostel, this time in the third-floor dorm room. There is a desk with a nice view and the fans there helped keep me cool.

A shoddy photo of the view from the dorm room.

At the end of day 15 I packed up all my belongings in preparation for my 7:30 flight to Krabi the next morning.

Day 12: Dusit Palace Grounds

Although I felt like I needed another day to relax, it was Antonio's last day in Bangkok so we went to see the Dusit Palace grounds -- a collection of palaces built after Rama V became disappointed with The Grand Palace after seeing the stately houses of Europe.

We didn't have much of an idea about what there was to do around Dusit, so all we actually ended up seeing was the Ananta Samakom Throne Hall, an ex-royal venue which now serves as a gallery of contemporary Thai art, but is really just a display room for the most recent King's (Rama IX's) birthday gifts.

Just outside the Ananta Samakom Throne Hall

After filling up on food afterwards, no taxi wanted to take us anywhere in the middle of rush hour, so we had to order an Uber. Uber's in Thailand are generally cheaper than taxis, and are arguably less convenient because taxis are so cheap anyways, especially if you split the cost, and you have to wait for your Uber to arrive at your location, whereas you can instantly wave down taxis from just about any street in Bangkok. On the plus (?) side, you might be able to get away with not having to butcher the pronunciation of your destination.

Antonio wanted to go to Khao San for drinks, so we Uber'd over there and found a place called "Moonshine Bar" with fair prices and an excellent atmosphere deep into Ratburri soi, on the other side of Chakrabongse Street.

We took a taxi back to Sharehouse from the other side of Khao San and I tried watching an action movie with Aaron, his wife, Antonio, and a recent newcomer Lily from China, but was so exhausted from the day's activities I turned in early for the night.

Day 11: I'm Park

Today I rested from the very eventful past few days. I went to the new shopping center I'm Park by Chulalongkorn University and visited a cafe called "More Than A Game," yet another board game cafe.

It 

It would have been ideal, except that the cafe lacked WiFi. So I went down a floor to a Starbucks -- the first one I have been to in Bangkok. Drip coffee here is just as expensive as in America, but the fancier drinks are perhaps $0.5-1 cheaper than back home. Starbucks is very popular here, despite the Western prices. The work environment at this particular Starbucks is great, and I imagine from the sofas and armchairs I saw scattered around that it would be a fine place to hang out with friends, too.

The nearly empty, though aesthetically pleasing, shopping center I'm Park

Day 10: The Grand Palace

Antonio and I got a late start and arrived at the Grand Palace around 13:00. Although the corner of the palace they make available to tourists is completely inundated with people, making it feel more like an attraction at Disney World than a place of worship, a dress code of covered knees and shoulders is still enforced.

Overall, The Grand Palace is similar to Wat Pho, but with the intensity of ornate and glitzy structures turned up a notch. I'm not sure whether the palace itself is open to the public, but there was a private ceremony of some sort being held on the grounds and we weren't able to see inside the formal royal residence.

Temple of the Emerald Buddha

Afterwards we took the express boat all the way down the Chao Phraya river to Asiatique, an upscale night market with great views of the river and city and a ferris wheel.

View from Asiatique

About to board the Ferris wheel

Antonio had yet to see Khao San, so we took a taxi back up to the perennial party street and had a couple of beers before turning in for the night.

Day 9: Chatuchak Market and Khao San Road

I went with Antonio from Romania back to Lumphini Park, then to Chatuchak Park. Being Sunday, the park was extremely crowded -- though we only saw the southeast corner of the park. We explored nearby Chatuchak Market, one of the world's largest outdoor markets. According to Lonely Planet, Chatuchack contains somewhere between 9000 and 15000 stalls and sees around 200,000 visitors a day. There we met up with a local friend I had met through Tinder, Tiki. Tiki, Antonio and I went to Jatujak Green for dinner -- a seperate night market embedded within Chatuchak Park that was noticeably absent of foreigners, having come from Chatuchak Market.

Tiki's friend, Eve, showed up near the end of our dinner and the four of us decided to go to Khao San Road (minus Antonio, who went back to the hostel upon arrival at Hua Lamphong MRT station).

Khao San Road is an absolutely bizarre place. Giant electric signs flash from every building, bars blast loud music and hundreds of people line the streets getting foot massages late at night. Khao San is renowned as a backpackers mecca, but it's obvious the kind of backpackers you find there are having a rather different backpacking experience than I have had so far on my trip. Parts of Khao San are similar to what you see around the rest of Bangkok -- cheap street food (with a heavier emphasis on "pad thai"), vendors selling counterfeit clothing and shoes -- but other aspects seem to be heavily accentuated to tailor to foreigners. Both sides of the street are stuffed with hostels, bars, massage parlors and flashy souvenir stores.

At the least, all these things make for great people watching. The three of us bought some beers and strolled both Khao San and its more chill cousin Rabuttri Alley. Rabuttri has more laid back bar restaurants and live music, which suited my tastes better. We ended the night in a 3rd floor balcony bar listening to the live performers playing well past midnight. Thanks Eve and Tiki for an incredible evening!

Me and Tiki

Day 8: Lumphini Park

I took the ferry and walked through Chinatown to the Hua Lamphong MTS station (subway). I had intentions to see Lumphini Park, then ride the MTS all the way to the end and see Chatuchak park as well as the Chatuchak market (both, I think, the biggest park and market in Bangkok, respectively), but by the time I arrived at Hua Lamphong a fruit smoothie at Too Fast To Sleep sounded too good to pass up and I got off a stop early.

After cooling off at TFTS I explored the campus of nearby Chulalongkorn University. It's green campus was a welcome respite from the busy streets of Bangkok.

A shady spot to read. The high today was over 90 degrees Fahrenheit.

The library

From campus I made my way to Lumphini Park.

By then, it was 17:00 and I was hot and tired. I relaxed by the lake a while before heading back to Sharehouse.

Day 7: School Tales

My feet we're still tired, so I went back to my old haunt Too Fast To Sleep to study again. The drinks there are 10-20 baht more expensive than Let's Say Cafe, but you can get street food right outside the doors of TFTS on the cheap.

There was a Thai movie "School Tales" that came out recently that looked so bad I had to see it.

It did not disappoint. The movie had English subtitles, but I think the film would have been better if I hadn't understood what the actors were saying.  My favorite scene occurred near the climax of the film. One of the characters was possessed by an evil spirit and was choking out her best friend. But another student had the bright idea to play the theme from Dvorak's New World Symphony on the flute, which turned into a duet with the evil spirit, which dissipated soon afterwards.

The only other event worth mentioning from today was I overpaid (200-300฿ more than necessary!) for a SIM card with data. If you have an unlocked phone, get your pre-paid data SIM cards from 7-11, not a random vendor at MBK center.

Day 6: Let's Say Cafe

My feet hurt from the past few days sightseeing (specifically the web of my toes where those donated flip-flops attached to my feet), so today was spent once again in a cafe. This time at a new 24-hour cafe, Let's Say Cafe.

I made some more progress on my courses while nourishing myself with coffee and omelettes.

Please ignore the list of Pokémon on my scratch paper

I find most days I'm spending around $20 (Today I spent $21.5, including accommodation and ATM fee), but I'm by no means being very frugal. A meal consisting of street food will cost around 50 baht, whereas I'm not shy to drop 150 baht on (for example) an omelette and a coffee in a cafe, or a 50 baht taxi ride to the BTS station. But, when you factor in other expenses like hygiene items, clothes, plane tickets, insurance, ATM fees, the occasional movie or fancy dinner, and maybe even some surprise expenses, traveling around SE Asia can cost closer to $35-40+ a day depending on how fast and luxuriously you want to travel. Slower traveling is generally cheaper per day whereas faster traveling can allow you to cover more ground. Which is right for you depends on your preferences and your specific balance of time to money. And of course, disclaimer, this is only my 6th day abroad, and I have yet to leave Bangkok. So take this "insight" for what you will.

I can see the twice-weekly market outside my dorm room window and lightning flashing far away to the northeast.

  

Day 5: Bangkok Old City

Today was the first sunny day in Bangkok since I arrived. I took the ferry across Chao Phraya River again to see Bangkok Old City, this time armed with a bicycle Aaron had lent me (don't worry, Mom and Dad, I wore a helmet!).

I first stopped at Wat Pho. There isn't much to say about it other than it is a beautiful temple with many large Buddhas. One fact that stuck with me, though, was that the animal statues you see around the temple were originally used as ballast in Thai ships upon returning from trade with China because the statues were inexpensive and readily available. The more you know.

One beautiful temple was enough for me, so I circumvented The Grand Palace and stuffed myself full of food at The Maharaj. Food in Bangkok is so cheap that even when you're in a touristy area and prices are higher than in surrounding areas of the city it's still difficult to spend more than $5 on a meal.

Afterwards I walked onto the campus of Thammasat University. I checked out the bookstore and couldn't find any books more expensive than 1000฿ ($28).

The nearby Bangkok National Museum was free because of the recent passing away of the King. The attendants out front were highly conversational, but the museum itself was somewhat bland. Without having any prior knowledge to place the myriad of artworks and their descriptions into context, the place felt more like a yard sale for past kings' old stuff.

By the time I rode back to Sharehouse, it was 30 degrees Celsius, sunny and humid. The rest of the day was spent in a cold shower, drinking peach tea in the air conditioned cafe next door, and dozing off beneath the fan with the cats.

Day 4: Too Fast To Sleep

After waiting out the morning rain I took the river ferry directly across Chao Phraya River from Tha Ding Daeng Rd. to Chinatown.

Looking northwest into Chinatown

I had worn my new shoes without socks yesterday and they had given my heel some small blisters, so Aaron lent me an old pair of sandals of his for the day. They were slightly too loose, but I wore them anyways. I mention this because when I tried to step off the ferry into Chinatown, the sandal on my left foot came flying off, landing in the water between the boat and the dock. Thus commenced a squadron of dock workers searching for my sandal with fishing nets while I stood aside awkwardly with one shoe on. A woman working at one of the shops felt so bad for me that she brought me a new pair of flip flops. I thanked her in Thai profusely, but later realized I was just saying "hello, hello" over and over again. My missing sandal was soon afterward returned to me. I hate sandals.

Chinatown is just as magical as the most magical portions of Tha Din Daeng Rd. The streets are so full of vendors and their overflowing inventory that walking down the sidewalk is like walking through a tunnel made of stuff.

I tried to take the bus, but couldn't figure out where the bus stop was, or if you even need to be at a bus stop to wave down the bus, and took a tuk tuk instead to Too Fast To Sleep, a cafe near the intersection of Rama IV and Phaya Thai.

I came here to reenergize myself from the walking and sightseeing I had done the past two days, and to make some more progress on the online courses I had been taking. When you're traveling, especially long-term, it isn't necessary to go "touristing" every single day. Some days all you want to do is stay inside and watch Netflix or read a book, and that's okay. All the vibrant tourist activities you "should" be doing will still be there when you're ready to go do them, and a day or two break will give you the pause you need to approach those activities with renewed vigor.

Too Fast To Sleep is, I presume, a succinct description of what it is like to attend university. It's open 24 hours, 365 days a year and is like a private library for students where the admission price is a coffee (or anything else on their extensive menu, everything costs a flat 80฿). It's a great environment for working -- especially as a non-student because it doesn't start to get busy until 6. From the second floor library I was able to watch an ambulance with sirens on become stuck in traffic for 5 minutes.

On the way back to the BTS station I turned right too soon and had to make my way through Patpong Night Market, located in one of Bangkok's red light districts. That was... interesting.

Day 3: Siam Center

My first weekday in Bangkok. I walked and took a tuk tuk to Krung Thonburi station just in time for rush hour. Two or three trains packed like this one came by before I was able to get on.

The trains into Downtown come every few minutes during rush hour.

My goal: buy new shoes at MBK Center, which Aaron (hostel owner) tells me is my best chance of finding size 11 shoes in Thailand.

What I didn't realize was that the shopping center doesn't open until 10. To kill time, I treated myself to a meal at one of the upscale, American luxury restaurants in the area. But with American luxury comes American prices.

I paid 5 pad thais (164฿) for this double Egg McMuffin. At least it came with a complimentary coffee and hashbrown (not pictured) 

This man knows how to dress for the occasion

After MBK Center opened I had a somewhat difficult time finding shoes that I both liked, fit me, and I didn't have to pay American prices for. Eventually I found these lovely slip-ons that fit both my feet and my budget.

Rocking the latest in 500฿ ($14) Asian shoe fashion

The rest of the day was spent exploring the nearby shopping centers in Siam Center. The Siam shops are more upscale than MBK. The amount of luxury items they have there is truly awe-inspiring. To give you an idea, they have a Lamborghini showroom, but it's not on the top floor. I celebrated the occasion with some more luxury American food, Krispy-Kreme donuts.

For dinner Aaron's mother-in-law came over and brought a dinner of fried tilapia and black rice with her, which she shared with Aaron, myself, and another dormie, Denis from Siberia. I tried the fish eyeball and brain. Both are very sweet, and the eyeball dissolves in your mouth. The meal was devoured so quickly I wasn't able to get any photos of it.

Day 2: Speak Easy Homestay

Today was my best day in Bangkok so far. I checked out of my hostel near Suvarnabhumi Airport and took the BTS lines to Speak Easy Homestay, my new home for the next 2 weeks.

I was too stubborn to take the bus to Speak Easy from Krung Thon Buri station and walked the slippery pavement. My shoes are in such poor shape that I was slipping on flat portions of the sidewalk.

A Bangkok threatening to rain again. Looking East from Krung Thon Buri station.

On the way the skies decided to once again unleash wet fury upon the earth and I waited out the downpour for a short while.

I had to walk past Speak Easy once or twice, but I eventually found it along Tha Din Daeng Rd. According to the owner (An American who married a local Thai), Tha Din Daeng is one of those "best kept secrets" of Bangkok that not even the guidebooks tell you about. And after walking along it for only a few minutes, I have to agree. The street is absolutely stuffed with food carts on one side and cafes, boutiques, and restaurants on the other. There's hardly a farang in sight, partly due to the homestay's location west of the Chao Phraya river. But the location itself is near perfect. A 2 minute walk and 3 baht ferry ride will get you to the other side of the river and into Chinatown. A short bus from Chinatown will get you to nearly all the major temples. And all of this happens in 30 minutes or less from the moment you step out the sliding front door.

The homestay itself is home to many (I'm not sure the exact number) rescue cats that were saved as kittens on the streets of Bangkok. You can even adopt one and bring it back to your home country, if you want -- some guests have done it before. There is a fun mural in the lobby commemorating most of the main characters.

Cats from left to right: Onyx, London, Kabuki, Rudy (on tree with coffee), Snowball (with halo), (not sure, white cat), Gollum, Crystal, Brass, Copper (on tree with coffee on head), Ninja. The real Crystal is lying on the very right.

Every cat has their own story. Onyx is the oldest. London wants to kill Rudy (who is the flabbiest of them all) and the two must always be kept seperate. Kabuki was brought up as a young kitten and will instinctively nurse herself on your shirt. Snowball was run over and killed by a motorbike. Gollum meow'd so incessantly on the streets for her mother that her vocal chords were torn and now has a raspy voice. Crystal is the bitch of the bunch and will sprint for the open door and up a tree if given the opportunity. Copper is the alpha cat and sometimes gets nasty cuts when battling the neighbor cats. Ninja is always jumping on things and causing trouble. The cats love to lounge around the hostel all day and rub up against you for occasional pets.

The owner, Aaron, has been living on Tha Din Daeng Rd. for the past 5 years. He seems extremely knowledgeable about what there is to see, do, and eat around Bangkok. He told me he could find me a good ladyboy "if you're into that kind of thing". His wife (who I have not yet met) just had their first child a day or two ago. They are thinking about buying land in the pacific northwest and founding an ecovillage. I had a great time relaxing in the lounge and listening to Aaron's stories.

Another delicious, cheap (70 baht, $1.95) meal

Day 1: A Stroll in Bangkok

I used today to become more comfortable navigating Bangkok. I took the Skytrain from Lat Krabang to Ramkhamhaeng and from there wandered the streets to get a better feel for the lifestyle of the average Bangkokian.

Coming from a relatively big, American city (Seattle), it's somewhat surprising how little diversity there is in Bangkok. 95-99% of Bangkokians are (or, at least, look) Thai, while maybe the second largest demographic group are Islamic Malays. This made a blonde, white kid wandering the neighborhood streets a very strange sight, I'm sure. Thai neighborhoods are unlike American neighborhoods in many ways. Soi's wind around like snakes. Stray dogs lie in the streets and there isn't much distinction between residential housing and businesses. Even when I accidentally walked down a dead end, residential soi, I saw food carts set up along the side of the road. Busier roads will have a fair amount of food carts. The food is dirt cheap and delicious (so far).

A 35 THB, 0.98 USD meal (10-15% of the price in the US)

7-11s can always be found within a 10 minute walk of each other, sometimes 2 or 3 on the same road within walking distance. There are also many roadside machines which will let you fill a small bag with water for 1 baht. I'd rather splurge on a 13 baht ($0.36, also about 10-15% of US prices), 1.5 liter water bottle from 7-11. Can you tell I go to 7-11 quite a bit? 7-11 was also the only place where I could find trash cans. I have no idea what native Bangkokians do with their trash.

Many more people are outside during the day than in the US. The tropical temperatures allow it, but perhaps the lack of interesting things to do inside relative to the outdoors encourage it. Thai's spend a lot of time talking. The standard of living of most Thais is lower than in the US, but they seem occupied and happy. Often times large, expensive houses with multiple cars sit across the street from apartments that would be public housing projects at best in the US.

Traffic in Bangkok flips the traffic law paradigms of the US on their head. Motorbikes weave in and out of traffic locked cars. Pedestrian walk signals are non-existent. So are right-turn signals on traffic lights (Thais drive on the left-hand side of the road). Traffic lights in general are exceedingly rare. Whereas in the US it's the responsibility of the instigator to make sure their actions are safe (checking before changing lanes, speeding up, slowing down, etc.), in Bangkok it's an interplay between both instigator and everyone else on the road. If a motorbike cuts you off it's your fault for giving them the space to pull off the maneuver. Bicycle lanes appear wherever there happens to be a bicycle. Though it seems chaotic at first, it feels very safe after a while. Where in America we assume that everyone will follow all the rules all the time, therefore we only have to pay attention to our own driving, in Bangkok anyone can be expected to break the rules at anytime. As a result, drivers seem much more alert and willing to be flexible in their driving style as to accommodate motorbikes, bikes, pedestrians, and other cars on the road.

I could add more observations -- the birds are smaller here, the locals are as friendly as they say -- but this is getting too long and jetlag is catching up to me.

This was parked along Rom Klao 27 all day, near the temple Wat Lat Krabang

An electric utility pole

The corn flavor comes not from some sort of infusion,
but actual chunks of corn within the soy milk.

View from Ramkhamhaeng station looking south

Day 0: Getting to Bangkok

My first flight left from SEA to TPE at 11:30 PST and lasted just over 12 hours. I had an aisle seat, but to my right sat a girl in the middle of an accounting degree from Central Washington University. She's damn good at chess and I couldn't win against her. My in-flight survival strategy was to begin the flight by doing nothing for as long as possible. When I became bored of doing nothing, I would do something slightly more interesting: listening to music. When I tired of that I would move onto getting my butt whooped at chess or watching a movie -- progressively more mentally stimulating things. In this way I attempted to stave off boredom for as long as possible. It was a partial success.

I'm about to board my flight from TPE to BKK. Will update after some sleep (I land 0:05, Saturday Bangkok time, which is about 9:00 PST, Friday, Seattle time -- a little less than 24 hours after boarding for my flight to TPE).

Update: Landed in Bangkok around 0:00. Despite being early Saturday morning, there were hundreds of people waiting in line at immigration. Thirty minutes later I took a public taxi to my hostel in the Lat Krabang district. The taxi driver insisted that the meter was broken and that the ride would cost me 300 baht. I'd heard of this exact thing happening before, and insisted the meter did work and that 300 baht was far too much. Communicating was awkward and difficult because the driver knew English as well as I know Thai (i.e., almost nothing). He eventually agreed, and even seemed good natured the rest of the ride. I wasn't sure whether to be offended or suave about successfully navigating the secret handshake between local and farang that says "Nice try, but I won't be hustled this time".

In Lat Krabang there were locals and travelers alike out at the party bars and the street food stalls were still serving meals. Eat-Ting hostel had been closed for the night, but the owner was still cooking street food outside. She had the hostel manager at Wanderlust hostel come by and give me a ride to his business, where I stayed the night for the same price.

As I entered my dorm room for the night there was another traveler from Belgium leaving that moment to catch a flight to go trekking through the jungles of Malaysia. Otherwise I had the dorm to myself. The mattresses here are much firmer, like a wrestling mat. The shower head, sink, and toilet all share the same room. I slept only two hours but feel fine.

Wanderlust hostel dorm room