I made the journey from Kho Pangang to Bangkok by taxi, boat, bus and train. A boat to the mainland, bus to Surrathani and train to Bangkok, where I arrived at 6am in the morning. Having never been on a sleeper train in my life, I was suitably impressed with a) the efficient preparation of the train by the staff (everyone seems to wear pristinely pressed police like uniforms) and b) the relative comfort of the bed. Being 5’10” and two thirds (read smaller than I want to be) the bed was ever so slightly too small for my height, but I surprisingly slept all the way through to arrive at Bangkok’s Ruang Mang station that morning. (I am such a transport geek – see pictures).
The Danes and the Brits were coming up later that day and the next day respectively so I decided to do some washing and shopping in Bangkok.
A small interlude here. Thailand’s weather is fantastic – exactly how I like it – hot enough to never wear a jacket nor trousers and sunny enough to make everything look nice. Apart from when it rains. I have never seen rain like it. Bangkok suffered from a torrential downpour of rain that morning, but it was nothing like the heavens opening on Kho Pangang. Thrice the island was struck by a tropical storm and thrice there was a power outage. (A short vid below to highlight).
Having lost, broken or had stolen (by a stripper – don’t ask) my other three pairs of sunglasses, and despite the rain, I decided that this necessary accoutrement to my attire was the first thing to get. Shopping in Thailand is a little slice of comedy. Bartering is acceptable, in fact welcomed, and you’d soon be out of pocket if you paid the original price quoted. The calculator is also a must for any Thai shop/ stall owner. Note the following exchange (I was bartering on behalf of my friend, as apparently my Thai is better.)
“How much for this?” (an imitation designer bracelet)
(Punches into calculator 1,300 Baht)
“Ah Paeng mak, Mai au laka farang (I don’t want the foreign price).”
“OK. I give you good price.” (punches in another number – which is 600 baht).
“Nope”
(Friend punches in a number, which is 100 baht.)
“OK. OK. 250 baht”.
Crazy eh?!
Bangkok shopping is pretty great. You can pick up some wild bargains on anything. The MBK centre near Siam is great for that and I was very happy with my Windows 7 software and Rosetta Stone Mandarin Chinese (or Mandarin Chiness) which I picked up from there. Siam Paragon is most definitely for the well heeled and affluent and is easily on a par with London’s shopping malls. Siam Discovery and the Siam centre are also good for staples including Levis and a few home grown brands.
That day I managed to pick up computer software, a Patek Phillippe watch, DVDs and my prized purchase – a Lil’ Wayne wife beater. It will be making an appearance in London, weather permitting.
After meeting up with a somewhat tired pack of Danes and Brits, we decided to pursue the whole experience again – it was nice to play tour guide although one of our group was fined nearly 2000 baht for “disposing” of a cigarette in an unsuitable place. After a lot of wrangling and bartering, we got it down to half of that and a slap on the wrist. Note for the future self, never break any rules when abroad.
To celebrate our last night together, we hit the Bangkok night life, including the Patpong night market. If it exists, and you want a cheap but very credible and quality copy, it’s here. Patpong is also home to Bangkok’s notorious red light district. There is no shortage of (quite fantastically attractive) women beckoning you in wish the promise of a dance, or more, in fact, usually more. It was an experience walking down that road in itself. If you are not touched, grabbed, pulled, caressed or groped by a woman (or “woman”) walking down that road you are either invisible or have leprosy. Off we headed back to the backpackers area (Koa Sarn road).
In a club in Thailand, you are guaranteed to hear three songs – at least this year anyway, and at least three times in the night. The first is Jennifer Lopez – on the floor (also known as the “la la la la la la la la la” song) . The second is Chris Brown – Yeah 3x. The third is either Pitbull – Calle Ocho or Rihanna – S&M. All good tunes, until you’ve heard them a billion times.
Next stop Chiang Mai.
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