Bangkok!

Yesterday was such a whirlwind that we’ve spent today in a lazy stupor watching movies in our hostel and staying out of the rain. We headed to Hua Lamphong train station in search of some breakfast. Luckily we found a fruit stand where we got a bag of pineapple and a bag of watermelon for a whopping 25 baht – that is just under a dollar! We topped that off with an apple filled pastry and we were good to go.

In order to truly get the feel of any city, I suggest you try out public transit. This was one of our most memorable moments of our trip to Mexico and Bangkok proved no different. I’ve now decided that we can’t go to a country and not try their bus system. This system was slightly more organized that the bus stops in Mexico but they generally expect you to get on whilst it is still in motion – something that I was not privy to. If you ever find yourself in a Thai bus, don’t give the money to the driver, he does not speak English and he does not want to talk to you. Another person will come to collect your fare. Hopping on a bus is the epitome of throwing caution to the wind. You need to rely on locals to get you where you need to go. Luckily after obliterating several language barriers, “go this way, then this way” with various hand motions, we unexpectedly arrived at a boat. Why not? Let’s hop on.

Our final destination was the Siriraj Medical Museum. If you’ve watched season two ofAn Idiot Abroad, you will remember this from the Thailand episode. This is a quite gruesome museum lacking the quality of body preservation that we have come to expect in North America. There was a lot of formaldehyde in that room. We saw about 50 conjoined twins with various connecting points. Babies in jars . Seriously. Unfortunately no photos were allowed but we did snag one of this lovely man... woman? split in half.

After that it was off to SWENSENS! Ok, so this isn’t even remotely Thai, it is an American chain but how can we say no to delicious ice cream sundaes? Good to see that the dead babies didn’t kill our appetites.

See that rose? This is a classy establishment.

We took the boat back to... wherever we took the boat from, and grabbed a taxi to Siam Mall where Siam Ocean World is. It is Southeast Asia’s largest aquarium and it was VERY impressive. It is an expensive tourist attraction by Bangkok standards at $36 but well worth the money. This was far bigger than the Vancouver Aquarium and had far more to see, including several activities like the “Happy Fish Happy Feet” foot bath – get your dead foot skin eaten off by little fish! It mostly tickled but that didn’t stop B from squealing like a stuck pig. She was sitting by a 4 year old girl who was far more composed.

We spent several hours there then went to the food court for dinner. It was absolutely massive! There were at least 3 shops dedicated solely to breads. And I was worried about the lack of cake... my worries are gone! Cupcake shops galore! We bypassed the sweets and ate at a thai place. I got grilled chicken and rice – Hey, I’m taking it slow here. B got fried vegetables and rice which was “the spiciest thing I’ve ever eaten.” She couldn’t feel her mouth (hence the lack of cupcake desserts.)

We decided to take yet another form of transportation home – time for the Skytrain! The station was busier than Stadium station after a hockey game. I’m not sure if there was enough oxygen to keep all of us alive in there. We had to transfer to the underground Subway MRT. Are you counting? We took a city bus, boat, taxi, skytrain and subway all in one day. The Bangkok Skytrain/Subway system is VERY advanced compared to ours. It is amazing how parts of this city seem straight out of the third world and others are shockingly futuristic. The juxtaposition is strange to see.

We need these! Everyone forms perfect lines on either side while leaving a space for people to exit the trains first.

We were exhausted by the time we got home. The heat here takes a lot out of you and it is difficult to stay hydrated. Water is insanely cheap here – I’m currently drinking from a 1.5L bottle that I got for 50 cents!

We are headed to Chiang Mai tonight via bus. We tried to book a train ticket but they have to be booked many days in advance in order to get a sleeper car. We get in tomorrow morning (Jan 26^th) and are staying there for a week. This is where the real adventure happens... we have some incredible things planned for this week.

Dinner time!

S.