Bangkok

“I’m sorry but the Temple is closed until 12:30. They are praying but there are other things you can see until it opens. I am an official. I can help. Do you have a map?” I pulled out my map and the seemingly sincere Bangkok local took out a marker and started writing all over it. “Have you heard of this? You need to visit…”. He spoke in a thick Thai accent but his English was relatively good as he kindly presented himself as someone who sincerely wanted to help. “It is too far to walk but I can get you an official Tuk Tuk.” A Tuk Tuk is a motorized open air taxi. Kind of like a cross between a three wheeled motorcycle and a golf cart. They are commonly available throughout Asia. The next thing I knew an official looking driver with name badge appeared ready for service. “For 50 bhat, about a $1.50, he can take you to all of these other places and bring you back at 12:30”. Oh, the 50 bhat scam I thought. I read about that in my guide book on the flight over. No thank you I replied. I then walked a mere 20 meters further and found the entrance to the Grand Palace and Temple of the Emerald Buddha. Of course, it was completely open. I later found out how the rest of the scam goes. You get a tour all right. A tour of various merchants that work in cooperation with the driver. The driver gets a kick back and by playing the numbers, the merchants make some sales. All of this is done with friendly, seemingly helpful, smiling faces. I’m not sure if you actually get to see much of the other tourist sights.

I’m currently in Bangkok for a 2 day layover before flying to Delhi, India. The first leg of my Journey was a 13 hour direct flight from Houston to Tokyo which proved to be easier than I thought it would. After a 4 hour layover I flew onward for another 6 hours or so to Bangkok. Going through customs and all was a breeze. I then sought out someone with a cell phone so I could notify the Hostel I'm staying at that I would soon be on my way for a 1am check in. I had success with a phone at a rental car stand. From there I proceeded to an official pay taxi and handed the driver a map and instructions in Thai as to where I was going. I reminded him to start the meter and made it to my location without a hitch.

Booking a budget accommodation, sight unseen, can be kind of a gamble but this time the gamble paid off well. For $18.50 I have a nice clean air conditioned room with bathroom down the hall. The location is quiet and the staff is very nice. A few minutes walk gets me to the Sky Train which allows good access to city.

Yesterday I walked around quite a bit and visited the Grand Palace, Temple of the Emerald Buddha, and Wat Pho with its very large reclining Golden Buddha… Considering my crazy jet lagged state I probably over did it a bit but the sights were quite impressive… Posted September 13, 2009. (Note-I've crossed the dateline and my posts are automatically mis-date by one day. Actual post date is one day later. I have yet to figure out how to fix it).