Fine Dining Gas Stations & Volkswagen Bars
The city of Bangkok has something different and bizarre to offer in every place you look. We stumbled by a Shell gas station, as typical looking as any one you would see in North America or other parts of the world. It had two rows of pumps, an overhead roof and a main building where you pay for the fuel. You have to applaud the Thai people for their innovation and creativity. At night they close down the pumps and this gas station is magically transformed into a dining area and a bar. … [Read more...]
Back To Bangkok Six Times, It Makes For A Great Travel Base
We have developed a love/hate relationship with this city. We were told that Bangkok is a great place to use as a base for traveling. It truly is. We ended up coming back to Bangkok six different times. Sometimes we stayed for a few days in between traveling to other places. Other times it was literally just to get onto the next plane, train or bus leaving for our next destination. It is a great location that makes for easy access to so many other countries. Cheap accommodation is abundant. You can get rooms as cheap as $4 Canadian a night, but they will usually be dirty little boxes with … [Read more...]
Bangkok Is A Shopaholics Dream
Shop Until You Drop If the shopaholics want somewhere to go, Thailand, or Bangkok in general is your place. You can shop until you drop here literally. You just might drop in the heat. Jack and I have never sweat so much, not anywhere in Africa had we experienced heat like this. I think it is the humidity that makes it so much worse. Like Africa we ended up coming to Thailand at the hottest time of the year. It can get between 40-45.C The pricing here is so cheap, you can try to barter with the vendors, sometimes you can be successful at getting the price down a lot, other times not. You … [Read more...]
Grand Palace And Wat Phra Kaeo
Grand Palace We spent the better part of a day sightseeing at what is called the Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kaeo, or Temple of the Emerald Buddha. The Grand Palace used to be the residence of the Thai Royal Family, but is now only used for formal events. We saw many different temples ornately decorated with gold and porcelain pieces. It's a stunning site for the eyes. Plan to spend several hours or the better part of a day here depending on your level of interest. The section that housed the Emerald Buddha had strict clothing rules. You have to remove your shoes, no shorts, no tank … [Read more...]
Bangkok Tuk Tuks And Taxis
Tuk Tuks Designed So You Can't See? This is really annoying when you are taking one of the tuk tuks to get you around the city. You can't see a damn thing!!! I think this design is intentional so you don't know where they are taking you. The Taxi Game Let's talk about what we call the taxi game. One day we took a taxi out to the Chatuchuck weekend market. It was no problem to get to the market. We simply had our hotel call a taxi for us and it was there within minutes. Getting back from your destination especially at night can be an issue. We had to go stand in the middle of a busy … [Read more...]
Experiencing A Traditional Thai Massage
Our First Thai Massage We went back to the Royal Hotel after some site seeing. It was now about midnight, but because of the time change our body clocks were all messed up. We had slept until almost 2pm in the day and now we were not tired at all. We decided to indulge in our first Thai massage. Our hotel offers them around the clock. It was 300 baht for a one hour massage. Not even $9! It was a very interesting experience. Two small Thai ladies directed us into a room with partitions and foam mats on the floor. They hand you loose fitting pajama like top and bottoms to put on. When the … [Read more...]
Bangkok And All It’s Craziness
Bangkok in a nutshell...... Crazy traffic, tons of motorbikes and tuk tuks weaving in amongst the cars. People everywhere, street vendors selling everything imaginable from unidentifiable food to pajamas. There is music blaring, all kinds of smells and cats and dogs and the occasional rat scurrying about. Tucked away alleys have all kinds of bizarre sights and there is no shortage of prostitutes. A lot of them are transvestites, or "ladyboys" as they call them here. Some of them are stunningly beautiful. You really have to look twice before you realize it isn't a female, sometimes you just … [Read more...]