Back to Bangkok
August 22, 2008I finally arrived back in Bangkok. It was the smell of home sweet home…or so it felt like. I got aboard the airport shuttle bus to Khao San Road. I wanted to buy another pair of fisherman pants for myself, since my white ones were ruined by my wet orange shirt (which are now going to be tie-dyed fisherman pants). From there I walked about 2 miles to Hualumphong Station to catch the subway out to Mo Chit. From there I took a cab to the IT Square to have Eve pick me up. What a great cab drive, only about 10km and 100 baht. I got to sit in traffic for 15 minutes without moving and pay 50 baht. Anyway, I pretty much passed out from all the traveling and lack of sleep.
Friday I woke up around 2pm and didn’t do much except to sort though all my India pictures.
Saturday morning, we woke up and drove to Pattaya, about 150km to the south east of Bangkok. It is a beach area with lots of shopping. We got a chair for the beach and went into the water. 30 minutes later I was quickly jumping out of the water as a jellyfish stung me on my arm. There wasn’t really anything around that I could put on my sting (all I needed was something acidic…). Too bad 7/11 doesn’t sell vinegar. So I just sat around, took a nap and enjoyed the constant singing sensation on my tricep. There were 4 big welts on the back of my arm that turned into four dark splotches that look like burn marks. It’s tuesday and my arm is still sore. We watched the sun get pretty close to sunset but decided to leave before sunset since the sun was hidden by clouds.
I then drove Eve’s car back from Pattaya to Bangkok, over 150km of motorways and Bangkok traffic, not to mention driving on the left side of the road instead of the right side. But no matter, I pulled it off flawlessly. It was pretty fun actually, but I am also used to driving on the left side since I’ve been in left sided countries for the past 9 weeks.
Sunday I spent packing and going to the bus terminal. I got a bus from Bangkok to Phuket for 720 baht. It left around 8pm and arrived at 8am in Phuket. I got the very front seat so I was able to stretch my legs out, best bus ride ever.
I spent most of the day walking around Phuket Town. Just enjoying the sweltering humidity and sun. Then I ran into Kush! My friend from Rawai Muay Thai. He was back from traveling through Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos (which by the way is pronounced ‘Lao’. The ’s’ is silent because of French occupation). It was a pretty random encounter to just see him walking down the street. He was staying at On On Hotel, the hotel used at the beginning of the movie The Beach. My second encounter of a spot from the movie (the first being Maya Bay). After sitting in the air conditioning and drinking coffee (sprite for me!) for about two hours we parted ways and I went to the bus terminal to get a shuttle to the airport for only 85 baht (when a cab would have been at least 300 baht). My flight back to America is at 1am, so I’m just sitting here watching movies on my laptop all day from 5pm-1am!
Well I am back in America now, enjoying Ohio State football and sleeping in my own bed. Expect to see some videos coming now that I am home and can edit them on my more powerful computer.
By the numbers
0.50 - The price in US dollars of a set dosa meal in Bangalore.3 - days spent in the desert on a camel
5 - The number of countries visited (Thailand, Cambodia, Singapore, India, and including Myanmar for my visa run)
6 - days a week i trained muay thai 2 times a day in phuket
17 - number of cities visited (phuket i’ll just count as one, ranong, bangkok, chiang mai, aranyaprathet, poipet, siem reap, singapore, bangalore, bombay, ahmedebad, jodhpur, jaisalmer, jaipur, agra, delhi, calcutta)
20 - rupees it costs an Indian to enter the Taj Mahal
30 - hours spent on train from deh-ccu
70 - days spent out of the country
218 - Hours spent traveling by train, bus, and plane
750 - rupees it costs a foreigner to enter the Taj Mahal (approx. $19)
2118 - number of pictures taken
29105 - approximate total miles traveled