I am sorry that it has taken longer than I expected to get around to this, but it is finally time for the last part of our Thai trip.
After an early night on Saturday, we awoke ridiculously early on Sunday and finished packing up all of our belongings before heading to the reception area to wait for our taxi. It was still dark out, and so we sadly did not get to say the proper goodbye that I'm sure we both would have liked to Koh Samui. Instead, we yawned as we were driven to the ferry station to catch the 5am ferry to Surat Thani. The ferry took around an hour and a half, and on our arrival to Surat Thani we were driven to the ferry company's offices where someone tried to get a taxi for us. Unfortunately, Thailand is not like Korea in the respect that taxis are not operational 24/7, and we had some difficulty finding one that would take us with all of our luggage. Eventually the company managed to find someone and we patiently waited for our ride to arrive. When it did, we were very tempted to send it back and tell them to get us someone else. The car was falling apart and a noxious smell emanated from the fan that he insisted on turning on. We just didn't have time to wait for another one, however, and so we climbed into the car (which had no seatbelts) and made our way to Surat Thani airport. There were a number of dodgy situations on the way including the realisation that the car's brakes didn't work properly and that the accelerator didn't come all the way back up when released, but we made it to the airport in one piece and with time to spare. Jess and I had a quick breakfast of banana pancakes that were just pancakes with a banana on the side rather than real banana pancakes, and eventually boarded our flight to Bangkok.
On arrival in Bangkok, our nine-hour adventure began. First stop was the Grand Palace. We climbed into a taxi and were on our way about half an hour after landing. The taxi driver did not look like the most savoury of characters, but we weren't too perturbed. When he demanded that we pay the toll fares, we were a little unimpressed, as our previous drivers had paid them for us, but despite our grumbling, we coughed up the cash. Soon we were stuck in the traffic outside the palace gates, and asked the taxi driver to stop where we were, as we figured that walking would get us there faster than driving would. He was not impressed with this and was even less impressed when Jess pulled out a thousand baht note instead of the four hundred that he was owed. Apparently he didn't have change and insisted that we be the ones to find it. And so my search began for a vendor who would break the note. After asking around, I finally found someone and we were able to get the taxi driver off our backs as he drove away probably mumbling about foreigners and we walked away moaning about taxis.
Before we made our way to the Grand Palace, we decided to look around the area a little. Hordes of people were wandering the streets, and before we knew what was really happening, we were being swept away with the crowds towards a small temple that would prepare us a little for the ones that we would see later in the day. It wasn't anything spectacular, just a small building, but the work that had gone into it's creation and the pure quantity of people who were filing into it astounded me. We snapped a few shots here, being the typical tourists that we are, and quickly made our way outside before we could be trampled by the next lot of worshippers.
We walked across the road, occasionally stopping to look at the wares being sold which included about a million flowers and the odd bird in a cage, and found ourselves at the Grand Palace itself. Jess quickly realised that she was not wearing the appropriate attire, and was able to rent some astonishingly bright clothes to wear over her own. Once she was dressed, we tried to make our way inside, only to be informed that this was the Thai entrance - no foreigners allowed. Okay... so we made our way to the next entrance. Thai. No foreigners allowed. Eventually, after a long walk, we found ourselves at the foreigner entrance and found ourselves bombarded by people wanting to take us on tours around the whole area, despite the fact that the buildings were closing in less than an hour's time, and the tours would take an hour and a half at least. After avoiding the tour guides and weaving our ways between the tourists, we made it to the ticket booth and bought ourselves tickets to see the museum and the Grand Palace itself. Our first stop was the museum and we wandered around the air conditioned rooms (being watched closely because our cameras were out) looking at ceremonial bits and bobs and pieces of Thai history. When we were about halfway through our pleasantly paced wander, we were informed that the Grand Palace was about to close, and that if we wanted to see it, we would have to make our way there now. So we rushed through the rest of the museum, taking in as much as we could without really stopping, and practically ran to the palace.
The Grand Palace itself was absolutely beautiful with gold embossing practically everywhere. Lots of photo opportunities present themselves and Jess and I took full advantage with our cameras flashing and snapping away. We wandered between buildings and even made our way into the Wat Phra Kaow, supposedly the most holy Buddhist temple in Bangkok, where we each snuck in a photo despite the sign that told us not to. We really only had a minute in the temple itself as we were pushed and shoved along until we found ourselves outside once more. We then made our way to the palace building and took a couple of photos with the guards (just as strictly stationed and silent as their Buckingham counterparts) before getting back on the road.
Off we went to our next stop of the day - Chatuchat market - for... you guessed it... some more shopping! This time both of us had very specific aims in mind, and we got thoroughly lost in the midst of the market trying to fulfil them. I was in the search for a very specific gift for Dad and Jess was on the prowl for more sarongs to give as gifts and try as we might, we couldn't find them. We had a map, we knew where they were supposed to be, but we couldn't find them! We asked a number of people for directions, but we couldn't find them! Finally after wandering between stalls for hours, we realised that we had been going in completely the wrong direction, and eventually managed to find our way to the stalls that we needed. By this time, it was getting dark, and once we had purchased the last of our "necessities", we decided that our time in Chatuchat, as entertaining as it had been, was almost over. Our patience was wearing thin, and our stomachs were crying out, so we decided that food was needed before our journey to the
airport could begin. Not knowing where to get food, we decided to ask a taktak driver to drive us around the area so that we could find something that looked good. The first one we asked informed us that for 50 baht, he would take us to his Sports Shop. Not liking the sound of this one little bit, Jess and I bolted and reconvened away from the drivers to decide what to do next. We were trying to decide when another driver approached us.
"What are you looking for?"
"Food," we replied rather exasperatedly!
"How much?"
"50 baht."
"I will take you."
He pointed to a place on the map that seemed nearby and we agreed to get into his tuktuk. The journey through Bangkok began, and I was rather enjoying the ride, not really noticing that anything was off until about ten minutes later when I looked at Jess's face and found horror written all over it.
"What's wrong?!"
"Where is he taking us?"
"Huh?"
"We have been going for ten minutes. Where is he taking us?"
The thought suddenly dawned upon me that this man could be taking us anywhere to do anything to us, and we would never know where we were and no one would ever be able to find us. I was just about hyperventilating when the driver pulled up alongside a restaurant and told us we were there. Relieved beyond words, Jess and I gave him our money and headed inside, only to find that the prices were far beyond our budget. Not to worry, we decided. We would walk around and find somewhere else. We had barely walked ten steps when the driver was before us once again.
"Why?"
"Too expensive!" we replied in unison.
"I'll take you somewhere else."
"Free?"
He wasn't too happy about that, but after a bit of persuading, he agreed. A few minutes later we were arriving at another restaurant, this one slightly better priced, and we had a wonderful last Thai dinner before finding ourselves a taxi back to the airport.
Our trip to the airport in Bangkok was almost a story in itself as we once again had a taxi driver without enough change. However, a solution was quickly found, and we arrived at the airport in one piece, which was good enough for us. We quickly sorted through our luggage, finding space for our new prizes and then checked everything through and made our way out of security and into the departures lounge. We managed to fit in some last minute shopping with Jess buying a few keyrings and chocolates for her co-workers before climbing onto another plane, this time heading back to Korea, much to our dismay. And thus our Thai adventure came to an abrupt end with us arriving back in freezing, snow-covered Korea after a 9-hour flight.
To read the other installments in the series, click here and here.
After an early night on Saturday, we awoke ridiculously early on Sunday and finished packing up all of our belongings before heading to the reception area to wait for our taxi. It was still dark out, and so we sadly did not get to say the proper goodbye that I'm sure we both would have liked to Koh Samui. Instead, we yawned as we were driven to the ferry station to catch the 5am ferry to Surat Thani. The ferry took around an hour and a half, and on our arrival to Surat Thani we were driven to the ferry company's offices where someone tried to get a taxi for us. Unfortunately, Thailand is not like Korea in the respect that taxis are not operational 24/7, and we had some difficulty finding one that would take us with all of our luggage. Eventually the company managed to find someone and we patiently waited for our ride to arrive. When it did, we were very tempted to send it back and tell them to get us someone else. The car was falling apart and a noxious smell emanated from the fan that he insisted on turning on. We just didn't have time to wait for another one, however, and so we climbed into the car (which had no seatbelts) and made our way to Surat Thani airport. There were a number of dodgy situations on the way including the realisation that the car's brakes didn't work properly and that the accelerator didn't come all the way back up when released, but we made it to the airport in one piece and with time to spare. Jess and I had a quick breakfast of banana pancakes that were just pancakes with a banana on the side rather than real banana pancakes, and eventually boarded our flight to Bangkok.
On arrival in Bangkok, our nine-hour adventure began. First stop was the Grand Palace. We climbed into a taxi and were on our way about half an hour after landing. The taxi driver did not look like the most savoury of characters, but we weren't too perturbed. When he demanded that we pay the toll fares, we were a little unimpressed, as our previous drivers had paid them for us, but despite our grumbling, we coughed up the cash. Soon we were stuck in the traffic outside the palace gates, and asked the taxi driver to stop where we were, as we figured that walking would get us there faster than driving would. He was not impressed with this and was even less impressed when Jess pulled out a thousand baht note instead of the four hundred that he was owed. Apparently he didn't have change and insisted that we be the ones to find it. And so my search began for a vendor who would break the note. After asking around, I finally found someone and we were able to get the taxi driver off our backs as he drove away probably mumbling about foreigners and we walked away moaning about taxis.
Before we made our way to the Grand Palace, we decided to look around the area a little. Hordes of people were wandering the streets, and before we knew what was really happening, we were being swept away with the crowds towards a small temple that would prepare us a little for the ones that we would see later in the day. It wasn't anything spectacular, just a small building, but the work that had gone into it's creation and the pure quantity of people who were filing into it astounded me. We snapped a few shots here, being the typical tourists that we are, and quickly made our way outside before we could be trampled by the next lot of worshippers.We walked across the road, occasionally stopping to look at the wares being sold which included about a million flowers and the odd bird in a cage, and found ourselves at the Grand Palace itself. Jess quickly realised that she was not wearing the appropriate attire, and was able to rent some astonishingly bright clothes to wear over her own. Once she was dressed, we tried to make our way inside, only to be informed that this was the Thai entrance - no foreigners allowed. Okay... so we made our way to the next entrance. Thai. No foreigners allowed. Eventually, after a long walk, we found ourselves at the foreigner entrance and found ourselves bombarded by people wanting to take us on tours around the whole area, despite the fact that the buildings were closing in less than an hour's time, and the tours would take an hour and a half at least. After avoiding the tour guides and weaving our ways between the tourists, we made it to the ticket booth and bought ourselves tickets to see the museum and the Grand Palace itself. Our first stop was the museum and we wandered around the air conditioned rooms (being watched closely because our cameras were out) looking at ceremonial bits and bobs and pieces of Thai history. When we were about halfway through our pleasantly paced wander, we were informed that the Grand Palace was about to close, and that if we wanted to see it, we would have to make our way there now. So we rushed through the rest of the museum, taking in as much as we could without really stopping, and practically ran to the palace.The Grand Palace itself was absolutely beautiful with gold embossing practically everywhere. Lots of photo opportunities present themselves and Jess and I took full advantage with our cameras flashing and snapping away. We wandered between buildings and even made our way into the Wat Phra Kaow, supposedly the most holy Buddhist temple in Bangkok, where we each snuck in a photo despite the sign that told us not to. We really only had a minute in the temple itself as we were pushed and shoved along until we found ourselves outside once more. We then made our way to the palace building and took a couple of photos with the guards (just as strictly stationed and silent as their Buckingham counterparts) before getting back on the road.Off we went to our next stop of the day - Chatuchat market - for... you guessed it... some more shopping! This time both of us had very specific aims in mind, and we got thoroughly lost in the midst of the market trying to fulfil them. I was in the search for a very specific gift for Dad and Jess was on the prowl for more sarongs to give as gifts and try as we might, we couldn't find them. We had a map, we knew where they were supposed to be, but we couldn't find them! We asked a number of people for directions, but we couldn't find them! Finally after wandering between stalls for hours, we realised that we had been going in completely the wrong direction, and eventually managed to find our way to the stalls that we needed. By this time, it was getting dark, and once we had purchased the last of our "necessities", we decided that our time in Chatuchat, as entertaining as it had been, was almost over. Our patience was wearing thin, and our stomachs were crying out, so we decided that food was needed before our journey to the
airport could begin. Not knowing where to get food, we decided to ask a taktak driver to drive us around the area so that we could find something that looked good. The first one we asked informed us that for 50 baht, he would take us to his Sports Shop. Not liking the sound of this one little bit, Jess and I bolted and reconvened away from the drivers to decide what to do next. We were trying to decide when another driver approached us."What are you looking for?"
"Food," we replied rather exasperatedly!
"How much?"
"50 baht."
"I will take you."
He pointed to a place on the map that seemed nearby and we agreed to get into his tuktuk. The journey through Bangkok began, and I was rather enjoying the ride, not really noticing that anything was off until about ten minutes later when I looked at Jess's face and found horror written all over it.
"What's wrong?!"
"Where is he taking us?"
"Huh?"
"We have been going for ten minutes. Where is he taking us?"
The thought suddenly dawned upon me that this man could be taking us anywhere to do anything to us, and we would never know where we were and no one would ever be able to find us. I was just about hyperventilating when the driver pulled up alongside a restaurant and told us we were there. Relieved beyond words, Jess and I gave him our money and headed inside, only to find that the prices were far beyond our budget. Not to worry, we decided. We would walk around and find somewhere else. We had barely walked ten steps when the driver was before us once again.
"Why?"
"Too expensive!" we replied in unison.
"I'll take you somewhere else."
"Free?"
He wasn't too happy about that, but after a bit of persuading, he agreed. A few minutes later we were arriving at another restaurant, this one slightly better priced, and we had a wonderful last Thai dinner before finding ourselves a taxi back to the airport.
Our trip to the airport in Bangkok was almost a story in itself as we once again had a taxi driver without enough change. However, a solution was quickly found, and we arrived at the airport in one piece, which was good enough for us. We quickly sorted through our luggage, finding space for our new prizes and then checked everything through and made our way out of security and into the departures lounge. We managed to fit in some last minute shopping with Jess buying a few keyrings and chocolates for her co-workers before climbing onto another plane, this time heading back to Korea, much to our dismay. And thus our Thai adventure came to an abrupt end with us arriving back in freezing, snow-covered Korea after a 9-hour flight.
To read the other installments in the series, click here and here.
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