17/2 - Bangkok, City of Angels

After breakfast I decide to take the taxi downtown. The hotel is quite out of the way, and the skytrain doesn’t stop anywhere near it. The taxi is very reasonably priced though, all the way across town in thirty minutes for a mere 300 baht. And aircoed. I’m dropped off at the Grand Palace and sightseeing commences. The beauty of Wat Pho, the stunning golden spires of Wat Kaer Wa and the oddly out-of-place French architecture of the Grand Palace. Its like Molensloot Castle from Kuifje has been dropped in Bangkok. I get to see the famous Reclining Buddha, 45 meters long and covered in golf leaf, and the tiny Emerald Buddha, which is housed on top of a 10 meter high altar in a gorgeous chapel.









Walking from sight to sight is a delight on the one hand; Bangkok in all it’s chaotic beauty, the wide avenues flanked by majestic palaces and government building, the tightly packed streets filled with vendors of all kinds and the bustle of Thais and tourists on the their way to work, house or the same places I’m seeing. On the other hand, it’s impossible to get rid of the tuktuk-drivers, offering you rides. They’re easy to get rid of; harder are the con men trying to lure you into a cheap trip. They tell you that wherever you’re going is closed, and that they can get you a ride to something much nicer. It’s hard to get rid of them, since they open the conversation very friendly, asking you where you’re from and where you’re going. After a while you get used to it, but the problem is that some of them are really just out for a little chat, no strings attached. The Thai are a very friendly people, and they know all about Holland: ‘Ah Holland! Hoe gaat ie?’ ‘Good football team!’ ‘Ruu van Niestelroo!!!’



I continue by river boat to the other river bank to visit The Temple of the Dawn, decorated with porcelain used as ballast in Chinese trading boats… it doesn’t look any less splendid for it. Another boat takes me too Chinatown. I arrive when all the shops are closing, but the area is still very busy. It’s an attack on the senses: Strange smells, most of them nice, some of them not, nearly all of them unknown, tiny, dark, busy streets, the droning of the traffic and the lovely sounds of Thai and Chinese conversations everywhere.





After scouring Chinatown I’m spent. I take another cab, this one takes me back for a mere 110 baht. A 9km ride for 2,50 euros? It’s a joke. Back at the hotel I relax a little and visit the IT Mall next door. It’s hard to discern illegal software and DVDs from the real thing: It looks the same and prices are not that different either. A legal copy of Il-2 1946 set me back 45 euros at home; it’s available here for a mere 600 baht or 13 euros… DVD shopping is a dream, although VCDs are rather more popular here. Prices for older movies range from 150 to 300 baht, with new releases around 400. You adapt soon: 9 euros for a movie like Pirates of The Carribean, Dead Man’s Chest is a bargain, but after browsing for a while it doesn’t feel that way oddly enough… I’m proud to say I only got two films so far, which have cost me 200 baht. I’ll get some more tomorrow I think…



Dinner at the food court is nearly free. I get a 200 baht cash card which is necessary to pay at the stalls, and I get some freshly cooked (important) chicken, with rice and some veggies. It’s not high cuisine, but who’s complaining when you pay 35 baht? I get two bottles of orangina, then two more, I add two bottles of mineral water and a roll of Mentos and I still have 85 baht on my card!!! Bangkok is CHEAP. I’m typing this is in my room, and I already know that two days won’t cut it here: I’ll be going back here. Who’s with me?