Thailand Day 10 — Arrival in Bangkok
Tuesday Oct 21st, Day 10 – Krabi to Bangkok
We woke up and were feeling pretty sore from our climb up Tiger Cave Temple so we got a massage this morning before our Noon flight back to Bangkok. We’ll be spending a few days in Bangkok before we fly home to the U.S on Friday.
The guesthouse owner drove us to the airport in her new air-conditioned van. Not everyone has these so we were lucky to ride in such stylish transportation. There are no taxi’s in Krabi Town. Instead they have sawng thaews. A sawng thaew is a small truck; the back of the truck has benches in it and it has a roof on top. Depending on what color they are, depends on where they take you (the blue ones go to the airport). So it’s a rather big deal for our guesthouse owner to have her own mini van to pick up and take guests to the airport.
Ban To Guesthouse is a family-run business that allowed us such personal attention and a wonderful stay at minimal cost. They closed down after our 2008 trip but it appears they have re-opened which is good news if we ever decide to go back. They are currently offering rates at $11 per night – how can you beat that?
Becky and Erik are departing on their own vacation Friday as well (as a teacher, Becky gets the entire month of October off). Since they are traveling south, they decided not to stay in Bangkok with us as previously planned. We said our goodbyes at the airport and they headed back to Phanat Nikhom to rest up before heading to Hua Hin.
Arrival in Bangkok
Being in Bangkok on our own really isn’t a big deal. Joe and I were in a very remote part of Japan where they spoke very little if no English, when the train we were on broke down. And we managed to get back to Tokyo despite not having any idea what we were doing and no help. So I have no doubt we can make our way around Bangkok on our own. We got a private car to take us to our hotel, The Ariston, which has all the Western comforts. We have done without some of the perks that accompany the more upscale hotels up til this point, so a nicer hotel our last few days was a wonderful treat.
Upon arriving, we got a chilled glass of papaya juice while we checked in, along with complimentary water and fruit in the mini fridge in our room free of charge, and the bellboys were quite attentive helping us with our luggage. The room is only $60 a night but that is considered expensive according to Thai standards which is why we are getting the red-carpet treatment from the staff.
We got unpacked, acclimated to the hotel and surrounding area. We are conveniently located next to the sky train that will take us wherever we need to go (it’s like an elevated subway). We took the sky train down to the shopping center. The traffic in Bangkok is like most congested cities and you’re better off taking the public transit system to get around. Bangkok has 6 million people in the city with a total of 8 million if you include the suburbs.
We used the sky train map to figure out how to get to the shopping center
I’m not sure you could live in Bangkok if you were handicapped. In that respect, Bangkok reminds me of Tokyo….everything has stairs or escalators (there’s no elevators really). The sidewalks have a lot of potholes, cracks, uneven/broken areas. I don’t know how you could possibly get around in a wheelchair on these sidewalks.
We saw a lot of disfigured beggars on the street here. We also saw a little 5-year old girl in the wai pose begging with a cup. The wai pose is your basic Thai greeting. Where people in the U.S. shake hands, the Thai do the wai which is your hands placed together palm to palm, slightly under the chin accompanied by a slight bow. It was very sad and difficult to see these people. Yes I’ve seen plenty of beggars in other third world countries but the ones we encountered in Bangkok were so disfigured; missing arms, legs and sometimes both. It was quite unsettling. We gave what we could.
For the more adventurous, try one of the bug carts on Khao San Road
Our hotel has a very nice massage place next door so we got yet again another massage. What can I say — we are REALLY sore from that climb yesterday. That’s my 5th massage that I’ve had on this trip. I will not be getting $7 massages back home so I will enjoy them while I can. And once again, I can’t find a garbage can anywhere to throw my trash away when we’re out on the street!
The Ariston pool area was located on one of the upper floors that provided a view of the city
I’m not entirely sure what to expect from Bangkok as they are in the middle of political unrest. Every single day there are rallies on TV with these people wearing yellow. They represent the PAD — People’s Alliance for Democracy. Back in March a prime minister was elected thru democratic election that this PAD group did not want. Of course, this is how democracy works. Sometimes officials get elected you don’t like and you just have to live with it. The PAD is also claiming voting fraud saying the rural people were paid to vote a certain way. In summary, the PAD is fighting it and they have taken over the Government House by force for 2 months now (which would be similar to a group taking over the White House).
The Ministry of Defense
The other opposing group has several different names: PPP (People Power Party) or the UDD (United Front of Democracy Against Dictatorship). Or DAAD (Democratic Alliance Against Dictatorship). Their colors are red. So basically while I’m in Bangkok, I’ll be wearing neutral “non-gang colors”. Exactly one month after we flew home, PAD protesters stormed the Bangkok International Airport taking control of the flight tower. All flights were shut down stranding almost 4,000 passengers in the airport. The protesters finally agreed a week later to leave and flights resumed. I’m very glad we got home before that occurred!
Thailand was in the middle of a political crisis and civil unrest during our visit
We are not staying anywhere near the protests or the Government House so I’m relieved about that. Tomorrow should be interesting. The Bangkok Press says there is going to be a big religious ceremony at the Royal Plaza where 10,000 Buddhist monks will say a mass prayer to bless the country and to “mend torn Thai society”. However, many serving and retired police officers will be at the religious ceremony. The ex-deputy police chief plans to mobilize these police officers afterwards to re-take the Government House. The newspaper is calling the potential clash a bloodbath. Joe and I have made arrangements to go to the Tiger Sanctuary so we are well outside of Bangkok. We hope to do the Grand Palace tour in Bangkok on Thursday hopefully after this has passed.
Our hotel’s internet café became my new office – I didn’t have a laptop back then
