It's been a pretty busy for the last 48 hrs, but I finally have some time, an internet connection and a power converter, so i thought I'd give you an update.
Getting out of Bangkok airport was easy. "Bud Atipat" (both nicknames) was there waiting for me and my hotel was close to the airport.
Check it was pretty smooth too. The hotel staff all spoke pretty good English. I asked the bellhop if I should give him a tip. "Tip. Yes." I tipped the change from my room fee, 2 baht. When he didn't seem satisfied I asked, "How much is customary?" (a silly question looking back) Confused, he replied, "Yes. Tip." So I slipped him another 50 baht. I have no way of knowing whether I stiffed him or way overshot the mark. He seemed satisfied in any case and then in a serupsticious whisper he asked if I wanted him to send a lady to my room. I was taken aback, but not entirely surprised. I told him i was tired and went to bed.
End Day 1
After about 4 hours of sleep I woke up, repacked my things and went downstairs for breakfast. I found it somewhat ironic that for my first meal in Thailand I had the, "American Egg Breakfast of scrambled eggs, toast and coffee. However, the cafe menu was pretty limited. After breakfast, I asked the concierge to call me a taxi and take me to the shopping center in downtown Bangkok. The cabby had some great advice for getting back to my room and sites to see. However, his English was pretty bad and my Siamese was worse so I got about half of what he said. I am here now at MKB, the Bangkok mall, trying to stock up on some essentials (power converter, Thai SimCard, Umbrella) and will then try to make some sense of the Thai railway system. Tomorrow I go north to look for work.
Thai people have been very nice and are very eager to help. However, I am also pretty sure that I am being taken advantage of. I wasn't out of the cab for 10 seconds before another cab driver asked where I was going and did i need a ride. I turned a corner and another driver told me he would take me to the Thai Center (whatever that is) for 20 baht. I can't really complain though. Even if I am paying higher prices, they are still cheaper that what I would pay in the states. It's almost noon here. I kind of expect it will take me the rest of the day to solve the mystery of the Bangkok train system.
End day 1
Peace out,
Nick
Just kidding
I though I was about to post that last piece of writing using the wifi network of the internet cafe, but unfortunately there is no such thing as free wifi in downtown. In fact, the prices in the limited area of downtown Bangkok I was today were all really wacky. I was going to buy an umbrella until I realize umbrellas cost about as much as a hotel room. Umbrellas are convenient and all, but if it starts raining and I'm going to drop 500 baht, its going to be on a hotel room.
Getting back to my hotel took more doing than I expected. The helpful cab driver from this morning explained to my that I should take the electric train out of the city before getting a cab back to my room, (some explanation I didn't catch), it is cheaper to do it this way. The driver told me which station to exit, but because I didn't write it down and some of the station names sound a lot alike I got off four stations too early. Anyways, I did some walking. I'm going to skip some stuff, but the lesson learned is,
"If you're going to write out instructions, write it in Siamese"
Finally, back at my hotel. I'm ready to crash out, but I figure I sleep now I'll wake up hungry in the middle of the night. So I grab my wallet... where's my wallet? Shit... So I unpack everything in my backpack, lay it out on the floor and am still missing a wallet. I go downstairs to the front desk and tell them I'm missing a wallet and that anybody who finds it should call me. I walk back into my room, ready to skip dinner and spend the rest of the evening trying to track down Siamese taxi companies and cancelling credit cards. The phone rings as soon as I enter my room, It is the front desk. They had my wallet. They didn't recognize me because I have long hair in my ID. For not the first time in my life I have the feeling that God's on my side. I got to have dinner tonight. Curry chicken has never tasted so good.
Lesson learned: "It is a good idea to keep two wallet on you in case one is stolen. It is a better idea to keep a credit card in each so if one is lost your life doesn't end.
I was going to write something about finding a way to get around more frugally, but I'm beat. I'll write it later
seriously,
good night,
Nick
Great beginning -- more pics -- more posts
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